Rosie Starshine's Arc

Chapter 2 of 2

Inside the brick house, the girl carried Rosie up to her room and set her on the rug. The doll with brown curls watched from the shelf, still scowling. Rosie tried not to look at her. The girl opened a drawer and pulled out an outfit. Rosie's stuffing buzzed. She saw scales. The girl dressed Rosie in a green mermaid scale top and a pink skirt. She slid tiny purple shoes with pink bows onto Rosie's feet. Then she clipped a scale headband on. Rosie could hardly believe it. This was the world she had wanted from the shelf. She wore the mermaid now. "Meet everyone," the girl whispered. She walked Rosie around the rug. First she stopped at a glittery plush with long blue and pink hair and a white striped tail. The mermaid doll's face was soft and kind. Rosie felt safe near her, like meeting someone from her own world. The girl bounced Rosie gently in greeting, then showed her the other toys one by one. Then the door swung open. Two girls walked in. Rosie stopped mid-bounce in the girl's hand. The first cousin dragged her boots and dropped onto the bed. She had long brown hair, freckles, and a skull shirt with chains. Her eyes were red at the edges. She scrolled her phone with one thumb and did not look up. "Cute," the freckled cousin said, glancing at Rosie. "A new bear. Wow. That fixes everything." She looked back at her screen. "Real special. Bet she's, like, painfully normal too." Her voice cracked on the last word. She swallowed and scrolled faster. Rosie went still in the girl's grip. The cousin's words landed like the red-boots girl all over again. Not special. Nothing. Rosie had heard that shape of voice before, right before someone set her down. The second cousin came in slow. She wore a dark green beanie and a worn jacket. Blonde hair stuck out under the hat. She looked tired, but her face stayed calm, like nothing could shake her. She sat on the floor near the rug. "Leave the bear alone," the calm cousin said flatly. She did not raise her voice. She reached out and touched Rosie's soft ear once. "She's fine." The freckled cousin rolled her eyes but went quiet. The girl who owned Rosie clutched her tighter and turned her back to the bed, shielding Rosie. "She's mine," the girl said. "Her name is Rosie." Rosie's fear eased a little. The girl had defended her. The name felt real now, spoken out loud in this room. She was Rosie, dressed as a mermaid, held by a child who claimed her. But the freckled cousin lifted her phone and aimed the camera at Rosie. "Let me get a pic," she said, smiling in a way that was not kind. "For proof she's nothing special." The screen clicked. Rosie did not know what came next, only that the cousin now had something, and she meant to use it.