• Ohio looked at herself in the mirror, she frowned, trying to fix up her dress. It was plain white and she had little pigtails that were held up with white ribbon."Can't I just wear my jumper... or tu-tu?"

    She looked up at Jasmine, her new mother, hopefully. Jasmine returned Ohio's frown and shook her head, putting her hand's on Ohio shoulders and spinning her so she was facing the mirror with Jasmine behind her. "You need to look proper."

    "Jumpers and tu-tus are proper." Ohio muttered to herself.

    "Maybe in your little trailer park it was, but not here, Jeanie." Jeanie was Ohio's middle name, Jasmine liked it better than Ohio so everyone here called her Jeanie.

    She never responded to Jeanie though, Jeanie wasn't who Ohio was.

    "Jeanie Stanton, are you ignoring me?" Jasmine growled.

    "My name is Ohio Daniels, not Jeanie Stanton." Ohio didn't bother turning to look Jasmine in the eye.

    "Stanton is legally your last name and as for Ohio, your parents must be crazy for naming you that." Jasmine spat at her.

    Ohio had had enough, she screamed. She ripped the ribbons out of her hair, letting her curls spill around her neck.

    She grabbed her favortie tutu, a blue one with a pink flower on it and ran to the bathroom, locking herself in.

    She put on her tu-tu over her dress and stumbled over to the toilet, standing on the lid and hoisting herself to the top of it, she opened the window and jumped out. Thank god it was only the first floor.

    She ran through Jasmine's flower bed and back towards the beach, tripping many times along the way.

    When she finally reached the sandy shore she stopped mid-stride and watched two other little girls around her age standing by the shore.

    They both were blonde. One sandy blonde and the other had honey and pale blonde streaks in her hair. They both stood next to eachother awkwardly, not really wanting to talk.

    I walked up behind them, tapping the sandy blonde on the shoulder. They both turned and stared at me confusedly.

    The second girl's confused face turned into one of realasation. "Your Jeanie Stanton?"

    "No." I replied. "I'm Ohio Daniels, but Jack and Jasmine like to call me that."

    "Why?" Sandy blonde asked.

    "They don't like my name." I shrugged.

    "Oh, Well I'm Sunnie Sykes, But my mommy calls me Harrietta." She made a face.

    "I'm Daisy Marie-Anne Foreman, that's my real name." The other introduced herself too.

    "Okay," I said. "Ohio," I pointed to myself, "Sunnie," I pointed to the sandy blonde, "And Daisy." I pointed to the girl with the highlights.

    I continued. "Do you wanna play with my paper dolls?" Sunnie asked, walking overto a little book a few feet away from where we stood.

    Daisy and I looked at eachother. "Sure." I nodded, and we both walked over to where Sunnie sat with all these little paper girls.

    We all sat and I grabbed one that looked kinda like me, black hair but she was a bigger girl that looked like a model and was also wearing a black tutu.

    "Her name is Indiana." I stated about the one in my hand.

    "This is Flora." Daisy smiled at her's.

    "Luna." Sunnie put her's down and picked up some clothes, a floor-length purple dress and folded it onto the doll.

    I've never had any really friends except my real parents, they were all I had until now. Even though we weren't talking it felt peaceful and I was happy.


    ----------------------


    Daisy looks up at us from her doll and her eyes are sparkling. "Now I have 4 friends!" She smiles proudly.

    "Sunnie, me... who else?" I asked.

    "My daddy and Flora." She holds up her doll and looks absolutly extatic. "What other friends do you have?" She asks Sunnie and I.

    "Just you guys and Luna." Sunnie says.

    "I have 5, My real parents, you two and Indiana." I smile, realising I had the most friends.

    We go back to our dolls after awhile and I start to think. I wanna make this friendship with Daisy and Sunnie offical so they will never truly leave me like my parents.

    "I think we should have a club. Just us and our dolls." I blurt out without thinking.

    "Really? I've always wanted to be part of a club." Sunnie grins, her smile was like a checkerboard because of all the teeth she had been losing.

    Sunnie takes out a binder that was full of notebook paper that she used to write things about her dolls.

    She turns to the next blank page and passes it to Daisy. "Wanna write the rules?"

    "Rules?" Daisy asks.

    "Yeah, not much and not too strict either." I reassure her.

    "So I can't be kicked out?" She asks, making sure she's safe.

    "No one can be thrown out. Write it." I tell her and she does so.

    We write a few more:


    Don't tell anyone about the club, Even your other friends.


    NO BOYS. They're Icky.


    Never call Sunnie Harrietta or Ohio, Jeanie or Jeanie Stanton, It's Ohio Daniels, nothing else.


    Parents can't be trusted. (except Daisy's Daddy).


    Don't be like the others. No snobbiness allowed.


    Tell the other group members EVERYTHING.


    Daisy put the pen down and smiled to herself. "What do we call the club?" She put her pen at the top of paper and look at us both expectantly.

    I hold up Indiana. "Paper Dolls." I say.

    They both agree and Daisy puts the title as: Paper Dolls Club Rules.

    We put the dolls back in the binder with the rules and agree to meet back on the beach the next day.