As I looked around the playroom, I could just remember all the great times we had. But they were all over now. I missed Alisha, and right now, I needed her. As I sat on a bed in the dusty, messy dollhouse, I looked around at the empty playroom with all of her old toys just sitting there, including me.

“I’ll come over in two hours,” I could hear Alisha say, “And I’ll give her to your little sister.”

Is she talking about me? I thought.

I walked around the dollhouse, so I could think. Then, I got an idea. I hid behind the sofa in the dollhouse so that Alisha couldn’t find me.

If she can’t find me, she can’t give me away.

I could hear Alisha’s footsteps coming into the playroom. She searched the dollhouse for me. She knocked over most of the furniture in the house until she found me curled up behind the sofa. She carried me down the steps and piled me into a huge box with a lot of her other toys. I felt unsteady and crushed by them. Suddenly, all of the colorful, square game pieces came flying at me. I tried to bury myself under all of the other toys.

When we reached the house, I recognized the girl who was on the other end of the phone. It was Briana Johnson. She and Alisha used to always have playdates and sleepovers just to play with their dolls. Now I belonged to someone else. Jenna, Brianna’s little sister, ran upstairs to her room with me in her hand and instantly started to play with me.

She brushed my hair for a while, which I enjoyed at first. But it went downhill from there. Jenna grabbed a purple marker and started to draw all over me, even my face and arms. Then, Jenna brought me downstairs to dinner, and unlucky for me, it was meatball night. By the time, dinner was over, I had red sauce everywhere—all over my favorite shirt and jeans.

As Jenna fell asleep, I thought hard about an escape plan. I might’ve just been an 18-inch doll, but I had big ideas. As I climbed up the nightstand, I checked Jenna’s alarm clock. She wakes up at 8:00 AM. First, I needed to somehow get a hand on her phone, since Alisha wakes up at 6:00 AM, which was perfect timing. I did my best not to go to sleep that night. I only closed my eyes. Each minute, it got harder and harder to stay awake. Eventually, I gave in and quickly drifted off.

The next day, I woke up to the sound of Disney Princess music from Jenna’s alarm clock. I had overslept. I desperately checked the clock to make sure this wasn’t a nightmare. Sadly, it was real life, not a dream.

I watched her check her calendar. Then, she threw me into her backpack.

“Today is show and tell!” she said excitedly.

Oh no! The longer we drove, the faster the butterflies in my stomach multiplied. I also felt a strong pulling on the top of my head. I could tell that I was hanging in her backpack, but how? When I looked up, I could see that my hair was caught in the zipper of her bag. I pulled and pulled and pulled, but nothing happened. I rumbled and rolled out of the car, still hanging inside as she walked into her preschool.

I’ve seen all the Toy Story movies, and the preschool life wasn’t that great for the toys. Jenna crammed me into a small, square cubby and unzipped her bag. Then, she pulled and pulled my body, hoping to get me out. When she finally did, I lost a lot of hair.

My heart was beating out of my chest as she carried me to center circle. Mrs. Amy, her teacher, asked her to share first. I was so scared to hear what she was going to say.

‘’This is my doll. I have not named her yet. My sister gave her to me from one of her friends. She wears a white tank top and skinny jeans. I am thinking of naming her Emma. The end.’’

Phew, I think it’s over, I thought.

“Can you pass her around?” a girl asked.

“Sure,” said Jenna.

Sooner or later, they were playing a game of hot potato with me, throwing me around as if I were a ball. The teacher didn’t seem to care. She was just sipping her coffee. I knew no one would hear me if I screamed out loud, so I did it in my head. Ahhhhhhhhh! I couldn’t stand it; this was torture. I hoped that Alisha would regret giving me away and that she would do it fast. As Alex threw me in the air, I felt like I was about to lose my limbs. The bell rang, and Jenna tossed me into her bag. This time, my hair didn’t get stuck.

I took a deep breath and thought about my escape plan. The problem with escaping was that Jenna would be crushed. I just had to face it. I would have to hurt her feelings.

I started to think of my plan. Tonight, I would fall asleep next to her alarm clock so I’d be able to hear it. Once Jenna went to get ready, I’d climb out of the window with a rope around me or some dental floss that I’d put around my waist tonight. Finally, I’d run across the street to Alisha’s house.

I thought I might change my mind, so that Jenna could be happy. On the other hand, would Alisha miss me? I didn’t know yet, but maybe not. But Jenna surely would.

I could hear the clock ticking, and I wondered when the bell would ring. I felt like both girls would not like my decision to leave, but I had to choose what’s best for me. I needed to do something to get my mind off of it. All that I could see was a pink folder and a Hello Kitty pencil that needed to be sharpened. I started to wish that this was a dream. I needed to get home. The bell finally rang, and I buried myself in her backpack. I felt like my life was going to end.

When Jenna got out the pencil for class, she saw me so she knew I was there. Her bag zipped closed, and I decided to rest up before I took action that night.

When I woke up, my heart was beating faster than it ever had before. I didn’t know where I was until I unzipped the bag and saw that I was in the car after school. I couldn’t believe that I had slept that long. Jenna was wearing a blush-pink leotard, and her hair was in a bun. I didn’t think that this could get worse, but it could. What if I got stepped on by sixteen little girls?

When she got out of the car, she didn’t bring me into the studio. It was a miracle. I didn’t have any worries. I could just relax in the back seat of the car.

I had always wondered what it was like in the driver’s seat. I climbed up to see all the controls. It was nice and sunny there so I stayed and closed my eyes for a minute. That minute turned into five minutes then ten then fifteen and eventually an hour. I felt so relaxed and calm. I thought nothing could bother me now.

Suddenly, I heard a car door open. A huge lady sat down, right on me, and she didn’t even feel me. I had no idea what was going to happen next.

“Mommy!’’ Jenna yelled from the backseat.

“Yes, sweetie,” her mom said in a voice not seeming to care.

‘“Where’s my doll?’’ she replied, desperate for an answer.

“Please, don’t tell me you left her at preschool,” her mom sighed.

“Nope, I remember putting her in my bag like it happened a second ago,” Jenna said with a positive attitude.

“Well, check the back seat. You might be sitting on her?’’

How about you check under yourself, lady! I thought.

“She’s not there. I lost my doll. Sissy gave her to me. I need my doll!” Jenna said sobbing.

I hope she finds me. This reminds me of Alisha. She couldn’t stand being separated from me. Now that I think about it, everything that happened to me with Jenna so far has happened to me with Alisha. Tears stung my eyes when I thought about missing Alisha, but this was all to keep Jenna happy.

The car pulled to a stop, and I tried to forget all of my sad thoughts. As her mom got up, I quickly got out of that seat. Out the window, I could see that we had stopped at a gas station. I crept to the back seat right beside Jenna, hoping that she would notice me. After minutes of waiting, she didn’t even look down.

“Why did I think this would work? She already thinks I’m lost. I’ll never get to Alisha ever again,” I said, sobbing.

I thought about giving up and just having to deal with being a lost doll. I calmed myself down. I wondered what would happen to me. Maybe I will find a new owner or even better, Alisha. The car door slammed and the engine roared. Jenna popped up and yawned as the car cut through the grass.

“What’s going on, Mom?’’ Jenna asked, waiting for an answer.

“A guy in there asked me for some money, and I said no, which I regret now.”

“Why?’’

“Because now he’s chasing us, and he won’t stop!”

“Give me your phone,” Jenna yelled.

“Why?’’ her mom asked, panting.

“I need to call 911!”

Her mom tossed the phone back to Jenna, trying to keep her eyes on the road and not on the rearview mirror. The police rushed down the road. Jenna’s mom smashed the gas pedal, trying to get away from the guy at the gas station.

The police pulled us over, thinking we were the criminals. I watched Jenna try to stay calm while she was thinking that her mom might go to jail. The police knocked on the window and asked for her to roll it down. Once the window was rolled down, he explained for what seemed like hours the rules of the road. The guy that was originally chasing us was getting away as he spoke.

I looked up to see Jenna with her head propped against the window of the car and a worried frown on her face. I thought of a way to comfort her. Suddenly, I remembered that she hadn’t found me yet. I quietly crept into her hands. Jenna squeezed me and gave me a big hug. I felt like I had just found the perfect owner. The only problem with that was, Alisha was my owner. She did give me away though. Why was I worrying? I needed to enjoy this moment.

Her little palms warmed me. I forgot about all the things that she had done to me and instead thought about how nice it would be to have someone younger who would play with me more. Then, I thought about all the times that Alisha had played with me and all the laughs we had. I had to figure out who I was going to stay with. I looked up at Jenna and felt like I had just found the perfect owner. I was sure of it.