First Draft

There once was room. The most glorious room a little girl such as Poppy could have. With pink velvet curtains and rose satin bed sheets, pretty dolls and puffy princess dresses the room was a dream. Across the hall there was a room with toy trucks and soccer trophies, baseball bats and plays cards. This room belonged to Poppy's older brother, Hugo.

Poppy and Hugo like most brother and sisters had many fights and even if they didn't show it still loved each other very much.

With Hugo's soccer matches and Poppy's ballet classes ( which her mother signed her up for) the two rarely got time to spend time with one another but when they would Hugo would make it very clear that he was going to spend time in his room. His room was a mystery to Poppy since the words her brother said stuck in her head “NO GIRLS ALLOWED IN MY ROOM!” As time went on Poppy got bored with her pretty dolls and princess dresses, pink velvet curtains and rose satin bed sheets. One day her growing curiosity about her brothers room got the best of her and before she knew it she was turning the doorknob directly under the sign reading “ NO GIRLS ALLOWED”.

As she entered the blue room filled with toy trucks and paper planes, baseball bats and playing cards her eyes gleamed with sudden satisfaction. Picking up an airplane from the floor she flew it around having more fun than she had had in a while. And so there she was on the floor of a boys palace being a girl.

So that's how she began sneeking into Hugo's room while he went out with friends or to a baseball game with dad. She would spend hours and hours amidst collectable cars and motorized trains. And it soon became clear that Poppy's princess palace was not as much fun as Hugo's boy land.

That got Poppy to thinking why she liked all of Hugo's things and why she was never given any of those things. So like most little girls she asked her Mom for advice.

“ Why are my things different from Hugo's things?”

Her Mom would reply with a slight laugh and a “ Boys and Girls like different things, that's the way it is”

This confused Poppy because she didn't like her things as much as she liked Hugo's. If you asked her if she would rather go and play cars or play dress up she would without hesitation reply with wanting to play cars. But according to her Mom she was a girl so she had to like the dresses.

Time went by and as much as Poppy wanted to play with her dolls she kept thinking about all of the toys that hid behind the door of Hugo's forbidden room. So that's when she decided to go to her father.

“ Why are my things different than Hugo's things?” Asked Poppy.

Her father responded with a light chuckle and a quick “ Because some things are made for boys and some are made for girls. That's just the way it is.”

This was not what Poppy wanted to hear. But yet again she was told that this is what she is supposed to like so that's how it's supposed to be.

And so Poppy continued brushing the hair of her doll and twirling around in sparkly dresses.And yet again she kept craving the feeling of her brothers basketball in her hands. And so she went to the last person she could think of . Her teacher Mrs.Smith.

“ Why do me and my brother have different things?”

“ What do you mean?”

“ Well me and my brother we have different toys but I want to play with his toys but my parents and my brother say that those aren't toys for girls.”

“ Well I'll tell you a secret there is no such thing as girls toys and boys toys. They are all the same just people have labelled them to be boys and girls toys.”

To this Poppy smiled. She didn't feel weird and for the first time she went home to play with toy trucks and paper planes without feeling ashamed because after all toys are just toys.