The Misadventures of Cry Baby

Life's a Barbie Game in her Dollhouse

  Although Cry Baby was wearing what appeared to be an attentive smile, her mind wandered off to a strange place, wondering how the new neighbors would react if they really knew what went on in this home..

  Cry Baby was awoken from her daydream by someone snapping their fingers alarmingly near to her outer ear. She turned towards the source of the action and was surprised to see it was a girl who didn't seem much older than herself.

  But age seemed to be the only thing these two girls had in common. This new girl was in the possession of the most blonde hair Cry Baby had ever seen and wore it down in a softly waved style that framed her quizzical and pale face. The girl's dress was just as silver as her extensive locks, and really very unlike any dress the girls Cry Baby's age usually wore. It came up several inches above her knee caps and hugged her chest tightly. Although it was beautiful and sparkled in the sunlight from the nearby window, Cry Baby would have gotten a severe beating if she'd ever wore a dress like this.

  All in all, though Cry Baby hated to admit it, this girl seemed much prettier than herself.

  The girl later explained she was Beth Anne, but Cry Baby was only half-listening to the girl's babbling. She was really searching, with her eyes, the room for all of the objects that would have been there normally. It looked a surprisingly different space without the alcohol bottles and cigarette buds that usually littered the floor. It even smelled different too, as Cry Baby sniffed no illegal substance in the air.

  Cry Baby could only chuckle in disgust. She hated her relatives' little game of concealment, how they all had to falsify themselves to appear as flawless as a living family of dolls, spending their replicated lives in their equally flawless dollhouse. 

  'Yes,' thought Cry Baby, 'It's just like we're playing dollhouse. Everyone thinks that we're perfect.. If only they knew what actually happens here.' However, her thoughts were interrupted yet again by the Beth Anne girl.

  "Wow," started Beth's suddenly exclaimed words, "Your family seems so nice! And your mommy's so pretty." "I wish my mother was that pretty.." she added quietly. At this, Cry Baby couldn't contain a scoff so voluminous that every head in the room turned in her direction upon the opening of her mouth. 

  Cry Baby silently prayed her face didn't glow as pink as it felt, and she slowly raised a hand to her burning cheek to test this. She, at the same moment, spotted her mother's equally fiery face in the crowd of gawking eyes, and the lady shot a venomous warning look at Cry Baby from the corner of her own. Everyone really was staring an awfully uncomfortable and prolonged amount of time. She could practically hear them hissing, 'What a freak,' 'How embarrassing,' 'What's wrong with her?' But she still waited until both neighbors and family members twisted back around and resumed their 'friendly' chit-chat to reply to Beth's rather naïve comment.

  Giving the impression of examining her shoes, she began, "You must be blinded by my mom's jewelry. When you turn your back, she'll pull out a flask," she whispered, pointing to the shining, silver container peeking out from the lady's pocket, "and no one here is really how they seem." A sigh. "I see things that nobody else sees." 

  Beth Anne seemed disturbed before this statement but, in return to it, remained even more silent and cautiously withdrew from where Cry Baby was standing. Nervously and repeatedly clenching and releasing her fists by her sides, Beth's eyes seemed to bulge out from her head as she slowly backed towards her father. She accidentally stepped on his shoes before he crouched down, so the shorter girl could whisper a thought to him whilst he would still hear her clearly.

  But Cry Baby didn't wait to find out what Beth Anne was telling her father. Cry Baby's eyes instantly welled with tears, and, not wanting the guests to notice, she excused herself to the restroom. She quickly turned on her heel and brushed a knuckle at her cheek as she scurried upstairs.

  Cry Baby pounced onto her bed the instant her feet touched the rooms scraggly carpet, and she began weeping. She knew what the Beth girl was really saying to her father. She was telling him how weird and scary Cry Baby is.

  "She won't believe me," Cry Baby miserably stated aloud. She enabled all of her tears to stream freely now. "No one ever listens to stupid, little Cry Baby. What does she know? No one loves Cry Baby."

  Cry Baby sniffled. "But they will see," she told herself. And she was very certain of this. "One day they'll see what goes down in the kitchen."

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Hey guys, it's me, KittyNerd-Hufflepuff, again. This was another pretty short chapter here, huh? Sorry about that, but they will get longer soon, I swear! I hope you all are enjoying the book so far, and speaking of which, if you are, now's the time to like this story, add it to your library, and follow me. Have a lovely day!! 💕