Dollar Runaways

Chapter 28: Sighting In

I WALKED UP to the house and went upstairs to my room. I didn't really tell anyone where I was going and just went. I gathered my dolls together and started playing with them on the floor of my room. "Can I play too?" Madison asked.

"Sure," I told her with a smile. It really was more fun with two people, but I had been enjoying the opportunity to think. I was pretty sure I was slowly going out of my mind! The simple fact was that I felt like I was losing who I really was in a lot of ways... And the thing that bothered me was that it didn't bother me. Playing with dolls on the floor felt like the most natural thing to do in the world. I didn't miss playing on my iPad or computer all of the time at all.

"Penny for them?" Madison said.

"Huh?"

"It's an old saying, what are you thinking?" She asked.

I sighed, "I just don't know who I am anymore Madison..."

She nodded, "Well, I guess I can see that being a problem for you."

"No... The bigger problem is that I'm not bothered by it," I told her honestly.

She smiled, "Well, I think that's because you really are a girl Ashley."

I nodded.

"Seriously Ashley, I know you are acting in a way, but there is no way I could ever imagine Tony acted much differently."

My old name sort of stung with that, "What do you mean?"

"Well, tell me about what you used to do? What kind of games did you play? Sports?"

"Well... I've never really liked sports." I told her, "You know, being short means that I can't run as fast as the other kids my age. My dad tried to teach me baseball... Even had this expensive fancy glove made for me last Christmas," I giggled a bit at that.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, my dad tried to teach me to catch and throw. He used to yell at me all of the time then that I threw like a girl. I can't throw to save my life!" I told her with a smile.

She smiled, "So, what did you do?"

"Well... I read a lot."

"Like what?"

"Well... It used to be things like Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and such, but then I started getting bored because I finished those books in less than two hours every time... The librarian at school started recommending more books to me then. I had all of the Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and Twilight books at home." I blushed a bit at the last one, "And those were all too easy too... So, I read the Game of Thrones book series last year and actually found something I couldn't just breeze through. My teacher mentioned that they reminded her of a modern War and Peace so I read that next..."

"You read War and Peace?!?!" She asked incredulously.

"Uh-huh, and it was... Well... Not boring, but really hard to keep track of. There are waaaay too many characters. I think that's what my teacher meant."

"So, you're like some kind of genius then?" She asked.

I blushed and felt embarrassed, "I guess I'm kind of smart."

"You are going to be so bored in third grade..." she told me.

I shook my head, "I figure at least I get to learn how to be friends with girls and not be in middle school sorting it out."

She nodded, "Maybe that is a good thing, the girls I go to school with can be really mean." I sensed something there, but she went back to me, "So what else did you do?"