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They both stood motionless, facing each other and silently staring. Neither really knew what to expect by this meeting, but they both could say with confidence that neither expected this reaction.
She was looking at the doll for the first time with human eyes, and there was something strange she didn’t expect, something she wished Gloria would have warned her about. No matter how much the sentient doll looked human, there was still something about his appearance that made her know he wasn’t human. He didn’t look plastic, like she had seen of the dolls in the stores, still in their boxes - a sight that made her feel peculiar in a way she couldn’t explain - but there was still something off. She couldn’t place her finger on it though; she would have to discuss it with Gloria when this was all over.
He was looking at a human with a face he hadn’t seen in quite some time. But the last time he saw that face, it was smoothed out by plastic’s perfection. This face had smile lines that were forming and was surrounded by blonde hairs that were sticking out of place. He didn’t think he’d ever seen her hair out of place before. Her forehead, cheeks, and nose were a little red, which he later learned was due to sunburn, a thing known but unseen in Barbie Land, and her hair wasn’t quite the same shade of blonde. It was close, but he could tell the difference. The Real World changed a lot about her, even her fashion sense. Sure, it still worked for her, but it wasn’t quite as…well, it just wasn’t what he was used to.
Nevertheless, she was still just as beautiful, and he was the first to smile at her. “Hi, Barbie,” he greeted softly, warmly with a bit of a shy wave.
She returned the smile and the wave, the words seeming to bring her back to the present. “Hi, Ken.”
The rain had stopped by this point though thunder rolled lazily and lightly in the distance. Ken had made sure to soak up as much time as he could playing in the rain, not letting a single moment go to waste, for he had a feeling this was a precious experience he wouldn’t get again any time soon. And besides, he’d never have a first time in the rain again.
Much to his dismay, the rain did eventually pass, and he returned to the little pavilion where Sasha was waiting for him. Gloria and Barbie were making their way over, and that’s when the former doll and current doll met and stared at each other.
Once they finally said hi to each other, Ken said, “I didn’t know you were here until I saw you. I was expecting to see a pink car over there with the others.”
Barbie giggled in reply; she should have expected a comment like that. “No, I don’t have a pink car. They don’t really make those here, and painting it pink costs a lot. I’m not ready to spend that on a pink car yet. But still, I didn’t drive here anyway, so you can’t see my car from here.”
“Oh! Oh,” he frowned at that. Barbie without a pink car was an odd thought. It didn’t really sound right to him. And something as simple as painting a car costs a lot? That didn’t really make sense either. But that also meant, if he was correctly understanding how things were playing out, Barbie was currently at Gloria’s mercy for getting home. Which meant she and Sasha wouldn’t go without Barbie. “Ummmm, you didn’t drive yourself?” He didn’t feel comfortable with the other two around, but he still didn’t want to be rude. They were Barbie’s friends after all.
She raised an eyebrow at his question as she glanced over at Gloria and Sasha to read their reactions. Sasha simply watched Ken like he was some experiment to study, and Gloria looked confused by the tone of question too. “Uh, no, I didn’t. That’s why I was running late, Ken. Car trouble.”
Ken looked surprised. “ You ? Car trouble?”
Barbie chuckled softly and nodded. “The Real World doesn’t really care if I’m Barbie or not. Car trouble can happen to anybody.” Ken’s frown only deepened at that, as if he was insulted by the Real World on her behalf, and she quickly commented, “But it’s okay! It really is okay, Ken. It’s just part of the Real World adventure I get to be a part of now. I am sorry that I was late, but I got here as fast as I could. I didn’t want to miss your first time with rain.”
That made Ken soften, and the frown gave way to a little grin. “That’s okay, Barbie. You’re here; that’s what matters.”
It was strange to see Ken completely soaked with his hair matted down and askew and not be completely bothered by the damp or cold sensations that would be settling over any human right now. He appeared as if nothing about his current condition bothered him. “Did you bring the extra clothes I suggested?”
“Yup!” From seemingly out of nowhere, he held up his light blue seabag with the pink K on it, and Barbie couldn’t help but laugh at the flabbergasted looks on Gloria and Sasha’s faces. Ken, not understanding the looks, asked them, “What? Never seen a bag before?”
“Yeah,” Sasha commented quickly as she intensely studied him, trying to wrap her brain around what she saw, “but where did you pull that out of??”
“What do you mean? It’s always been here.”
“Where? Where was it? I never saw you have it ‘til literally just now.”
Gloria patted Sasha’s shoulder a few times, though she was still trying to work through her surprise as well. “Must be a Barbie Land thing, Sasha.”
The look Ken gave to Barbie was loud and clear for her. Your friends are Weird . And not in a Weird Barbie way either. She cleared her throat and suggested, “Ken, why don’t you go change in there,” and she pointed to a nearby restroom he could disappear into for a moment, “and you can see how your hair looks after being rained on.”
That last part made Ken reconsider the refusal that was on the tip of his tongue, and after a moment, he relented. No sooner did he disappear did Gloria and Sasha both explode from pent-up surprise. Gloria asked, “Where the hell did that bag come from?”
“It’s Barbie Land magic, Gloria,” Barbie answered with a shrug. “Sometimes we can make things appear when needed. His bag is a Barbie Land item that he packed and carried with him over here, so the magic of it can work here. It comes in handy, and it’s honestly one of the things I miss about Barbie Land.”
“That’s so rad,” Sasha said as she nodded her approval. “Imagine being able to pull something you need out of thin air just like that.”
“And now you understand why I carry a big purse. I’m still not used to not being able to do that.”
“Also,” Gloria gave Barbie a perplexed yet amazed look. “You’ve never experienced car trouble until now?”
“Right. For decades, I had a car that worked perfectly. No tire changes, no oil changes, nothing broke, and it barely needed washing. The fact that a car could break down is known information in Barbie Land but never really relevant to us.”
“Another thing I can’t imagine living with but wanting,” Gloria said with quiet awe.
It didn’t take long at all for Ken to return, with his bag out of sight again, and Barbie smiled when she noticed the sweatshirt he wore. I’m Kenough . What a fitting sentiment for her Ken, and she hoped he really did believe that. She believed it. They had both just forgotten.
He came up to them constantly running his hand slowly through his hair. It was the first time he felt wet hair, and it was a wild sensation. “It’s soooooo cool,” Ken told Barbie, amusement and pleasure in his tone. “Like…like, dude, this really feels crazy .”
“I’m sure it does,” Barbie nodded. “I remember being amazed when my hair was wet for the first time too.”
“How do you even style wet hair?”
She waved for him to move closer. “Come here, I’ll help with that.” He obeyed, and once he got close enough, he bent a bit at the waist so his head would be more at her level for ease of work. A couple of seemingly careless but actually meticulous comb-throughs with her fingers later, she produced a perfect messy hair look that she always thought would fit Ken more than the hairstyle she remembered.
Meanwhile, Ken was just appreciating the gesture and the touch.
But he was a bit disappointed when it was over as quickly as it started. “There,” Barbie said with a satisfied nod as she retracted her hand. “That’s better.” She pulled out her phone, opened the camera app, and flipped the camera so he could see his reflection on the screen. “See? It works for you.”
“Hey!” Ken’s grin grew with excitement as he saw the style. Absentmindedly, he reached up to touch it but stopped himself in time. “It looks great, Barbie! I mean, I knew it would because you styled it, but you’re right. I like how it looks. I gotta remember that for when I’m back home.
Barbie asked hesitantly, “You don’t have to go back right now, do you?”
A flicker of surprise crossed his face before he shook his head and shrugged. “No, I don’t have to go back right now.”
“Good.” Barbie took a breath and smiled at him. “Would you like to come to my house for a little while? I could give you a tour of it, and we could just hang out for a little while.”
The flicker of surprise from before came back in full force as her request settled in his head. “Really? You want to?”
“Yes of course,” she answered encouragingly. “I think you’ll like what I’ve done with the place, and you can get warm and dry there before going back and we all can just hang out and visit.”
Something in his expression shifted. “All?”
She hoped he wouldn’t catch that. Truthfully, it would be easier if Gloria and Sasha were there too, acting as a buffer, as encouragement, and as potential icebreakers for two people who haven’t spent more than ten minutes alone together in a long time. “Well,” she faltered a bit, “I mean, Gloria and Sasha have to take me home anyway, so I thought it would be fun for you to get to know some of my friends from the Real World too.”
Ken tried - and failed - to not look disappointed. He didn’t like that idea for two reasons. One, he did not want to be dependent on people he didn’t know to go anywhere, especially if they’re the same ones who somehow convinced Barbie to want to leave home. He had his rollerblades; he would head to Barbie’s house on his own if that were the case. Two, he didn’t come to the Real World to get to know Sassy Barbie and Lil Sassy Barbie, but of course, Barbie couldn’t handle just his company, not anymore.
“Oh, but I don’t want you here. And this is my Dreamhouse; it’s Barbie’s Dreamhouse. And it’s girls’ night.”
Every night is girls’ night…
One thing Ken wasn’t expecting about the Real World, though he should have expected it from his experience in the rain, everything here feels sharper and bigger here than in Barbie Land. The sting of the memories and the thought that maybe even now Barbie didn’t want to spend time with just him was bigger than he expected, making the icky feeling in his chest turn sharp and heavy all at the same time. “I don’t want…” to get to know them was on the tip of his tongue, soooooo ready to be said.
But when has he ever been able to say no to her?
“I don’t…want to…impose or anything, Barbie. I mean like, I know I already have with the whole Real rain request, and like, me interrupting your day and stuff, which like I’m super thankful that you helped me out with this, but I know I’ve messed up enough of your day as it is. Even getting car trouble on the day I show up.”
Barbie shook her head, quick to reassure and make amends, “Oh, Ken, no, that wasn’t because of you. That was just–”
Something made her stop mid-sentence. That place in her chest where Barbie Land magic still resided shifted. It was the same way she knew where the portal was on Venice Beach. It was the same way she knew how to send letters back to Ken. It was the same way she knew this time that a bunch of Kens were standing at the border of Barbie Land all calling for her Ken.
Ken sensed it too because his gaze shifted to the beach as soon as she stopped speaking. “That’s…new.”
She looked up at him and asked, “What do you think that’s all about?”
He shrugged and shook his head. “I’m actually not sure. I have no idea what that’s about.”
Gloria asked, “What? What’s what about?”
“A lot of the Kens are calling out for Ken to come back home. Something really exciting must have happened that they want him to see.”
Sasha muttered something under her breath and snickered, but Gloria heard it and gave her daughter a look. Whatever it was, the current and former dolls didn’t hear it, and Gloria asked Ken, “You’re leaving already?”
Ken looked at her for a moment, the look on his face more like he was trying to determine if she was friend or foe than if he was going to leave now or not. Eventually, he answered, “Guess I better. I don’t think they’re gonna stop ‘til I go back, and honestly, they’ve got me curious. Besides, there’s like no way I’ll be able to focus on anything else if they keep this up,” he added as he gestured over in the direction of the beach, like the Kens were on the shore instead of out of sight.
“That’s a strange superpower,” Sasha observed.
“You have no idea,” Barbie told her before looking back at Ken. “Will you write and tell me what all the excitement is about?”
Ken gave her a small smile, and a little sad one at that, as he nodded. “Totally. I’ll let you know. Which reminds me,” he pulled an envelope out of his sweatshirt pocket and handed it to Barbie, “I get to actually deliver this to you in person for a change.”
Barbie accepted the letter and asked, “You wrote me a letter even though we were going to meet?”
He shrugged and dropped his gaze. “I haven’t had the best of luck out here in the Real World, so while I was like totally hoping I would get to see you this time, I wasn’t going to hold my breath. Especially since–” he stopped short and changed tactics mid-sentence, deciding not to say what he was going to say, “but anyway, I’m really glad that I did get to see you, Barbie, even if it was for a little bit. And thanks for letting me know when it was gonna rain.”
“You’re welcome, Ken.” Barbie held up the letter and smirked gently. “Isn’t that basically what’s in here?”
He offered his crooked grin in reply. “Guess you’ll have to find out, won’t ya?”
And find out she did, for later in the comfort of her home, warm and dry, she read the letter with a cup of tea.
Dear Barbie,
First of all, thank you for replying so fast! I wasn’t expecting to hear from you so quickly on when it was gonna rain in the Real World. Does it rain that much in the Real World? And how do you know it’s gonna rain that far ahead? Like do rain clouds stick around for that long? I hope you still get enough sun even with all the rain clouds being around all the time. Sunshine and Beach, you gotta have plenty of those, so I hope you get that.
You’re probably wondering why I’m writing this letter, and if we do actually meet up, then the probably will turn into really . So like you’re really wondering why I’m writing this letter. The reason is because I might forget what I have to say, and I don’t wanna forget it when everything is going on. You know me, that’s like a super big possibility.
So anyway here it goes. You have like no idea how excited I am to see you. Like none. You really don’t. Do you remember the last time we just hung out and did something? Just us? It’s been a while, so I’m really excited to just hang out as friends again. I’ll take it. You may not be as excited to see me as I am to see you, but hey, to be fair, I get more excited about stuff than pretty much anybody else, so that’s okay! I just hope you will have a good time with me.
And I hope you remember that you’re remembered here. And that you’re still very special here and to all of us.
And I hope that we can be friends again.
I mean like, I know we’re friends, but I don’t think we’ve been friends for a long time, ya know? Does that make sense? Like we’re not on the same level as we once were, and I miss that. And yeah, I’m still trying to figure out how you fit into everything, especially my feelings, but no matter how that all turns out, I really want us to be friends again. Like way back when we first started out, remember what that was like? Let’s do that, can we do that? Do you want to?
Barbie couldn’t help but notice those last few sentences were scribbled out messier than the rest of the letter. As if written by a shaky hand. “Oh Ken,” she mumbled softly before continuing to read the letter.
Anyway…think about it at least. Please? I don’t know how we can make that work, but I wanna try to make it work. If you wanna try anyway. I think maybe we both deserve that much. Right? I mean you do for sure, that’s a given.
OH! And remind me to give you that apology in person when I see you! You know, the one that started the whole Kenpal thing, See what I did there? Penpal, Kenpal, yeah I think it’s funny too. But anyway, yeah, I know what you’re thinking. I already told you, and you said you forgave me, yeah, okay you’re right. You’re totally right.
But I still think you deserve to hear the words and watch me say them. So remind me next time, and I will.
Thanks again for your help with Real rain. I soooooo cannot wait to experience it! I think it’s gonna be a blast!
Can’t wait to see you, whether it’s this time or sometime down the road…everytime really.
Your friend,
Ken
Barbie’s eyes glanced back up a few paragraphs and reread the nervous plea three more times. And I hope that we can be friends again. Let’s do that, can we do that? Do you want to do?
Do you want to?
The answer was immediate and simple. Yes. Yes, she most certainly wanted to be friends with Ken again, to relearn that relationship that was lost some time ago in Barbie Land. While the answer was simple, Barbie didn’t see how the process to achieve that would be just as simple, considering they didn’t live in the same worlds anymore. How was it going to work?
Letters, obviously. That was one way to do it. But how many times could he come over to the Real World without Mattel getting wise to what he was doing? Sure, he was a Ken, and Mattel didn’t think twice about Kens, but still… His luck surely couldn’t last much longer, right?
Nevertheless, this was something she wanted to try, something she was pleased to realize she was excited to try.
They could do it. They could rebuild their friendship. Not all was lost.
Barbie pulled out some paper and a pen and got to work on a reply.