A Baseball Game With a Strange Ending

 "I'm not the best one to ask," Jolena told Billy as they were walking home from school. "I think you should ask Veronika."

"That's a good idea," Billy replied. "I'll ask her as soon as we get home."
"I'll come, too," Jolena said. It's something I really want to understand. It's very puzzling."

When the dolls arrived home, they saw Veronika on the couch in the living room. 

She was sewing a button on one of Emil's shirts.
"Welcome home," Veronika said with when she saw them. "Did you have a good day?"

"Well," Jolena said. "Like most days, there was some good and some not so good."

"Did you have a problem today,?" Veronika asked, putting down her sewing, as the other two dolls climbed up onto the sofa to sit with her.

Jolena looked at Billy. That's my cue, he thought. It means Jolena wants me to explain.

"Lauren hit me!" he blurted out. "I don't know why. I didn't get into trouble this time, because I didn't hit her back, but I don't understand why she hit me. I thought we were friends."

"Why don't you start at the beginning," Veronika suggested. "Most dolls don't just go up to someone and hit them."
Billy thought for a moment. Then he said, "Well, we were playing baseball, because it didn't rain, and the field is dry.

"I was on first," Jolena said. "The game was almost over. The other team was ahead by one run, and our team had two outs. I would have been biting my fingernails if I'd had any. Billy was on second."

"It all depended on Lauren," Billy added. "She was at bat. She swung at the ball twice and missed. Then she hit the next pitch." 
"The ball went way over my head and then over the fence!" Jolena exclaimed. "We were so excited!"

"It was a home run," Billy said. "I got to run home and score!"
"Then I scored," Jolena added.
"Then Lauren scored," Billy said. "I was so happy with her I gave her a hug!"

"That's when Lauren hit Billy," Jolena said. "She bopped him right on the nose!"

The dolls were quiet for a moment to let Veronika think. Billy thought he could almost hear wheels turning in Veronika's head. He often wondered if Veronika had a little machine inside her head that helped her figure out why dolls act the way they do, and what's the right or the wrong thing to do. While he was still thinking about that, Billy thought he heard the wheels stop.

"I don't think it's your fault, Billy," Veronika said. "I think Lauren was upset by the hug, but you didn't mean to upset her."
"Why would a hug upset her?" Billy asked. "I was excited to win the game. She looked happy and excited, too, until I hugged her."

"Well," Veronika began, "we do a lot of hugging in our family," she explained. "It's perfectly natural for you to give someone a hug if they have just done something you like, or if they are unhappy, and you want to comfort them. Not everyone likes hugs, though, or they only like hugs from dolls who are close to them, like family members."

"So Lauren doesn't want Billy to hug her?" Jolena asked.
"That's my guess," Veronika agreed. "Not every doll would hit you, though. Some might say not to touch them again, or they might not say anything but just look unhappy, or laugh and pretend it was OK."

"What should I have done?" Billy asked. "I can see I did something she didn't like."
"If you want to give someone a hug, Billy," Veronika said, "it's best if you ask if it's OK. We shouldn't touch anyone without asking first," she explained. "It's sort of like borrowing their things without asking."

"Well, now I have question," Jolena said. "There's a boy doll in my class, Johnny, who keeps coming up behind me and touching me or grabbing me before I know he's there. I don't like it. I don't know what to do about it. It makes me feel very uncomfortable, but I know I shouldn't hit him."

"You have a right, Jolena," Veronika said, "not to be touched if you don't want to be. You can tell Johnny to stop it or push him away, and if he doesn't stop doing it, tell one of the teachers."
Jolena looked down at her hands. "I have been worrying about it," she said. "I thought I was doing something wrong to let him touch me at all, but I didn't know what to do."

Veronika gave Jolena a hug. She knew Jolena would like a hug, because Jolena often gives her hugs. "I think I understand how you feel," Veronika said, "but you did nothing wrong. It isn't your fault."

"Some dolls just haven't learned how to behave with other dolls. They think it's OK, or they want to do it even if it isn't OK," Veronika explained.
Billy had been thinking. "Did I make Lauren feel bad the way Johnny made Jolena feel bad?" he asked.

Now it was Billy's turn to have a hug. "You didn't know, Billy," Veronika told him, "and giving someone a hug isn't the same as sneaking up on them and touching them or grabbing them." 

"If you feel bad about what happened," Veronika went on, "is there something you can think to do to feel better about it?"

Billy thought some more. "How about," he said finally, "how about I tell Lauren I'm sorry I hugged her, and I won't do it again? I'll tell her I didn't mean to upset her. I'll tell her she has the right not to be touched if she doesn't like it."

Veronika laughed. "She may not need the whole explanation," she said, "but when you talk to her you can figure out how much you need to tell her."
"Lauren hit a home run," Jolena said. "That's pretty cool!"
"With two dolls on base!" Veronika added.

"We can ask if it's OK to give her high fives," Billy suggested.
Billy and Jolena got down from the couch. They had homework to do.

Billy went into the kitchen to get a cookie to pretend to eat. Jolena stopped at the door to the living room. "Thanks, Veronika," she said.

Then she was gone.


Cast--
Veronika: Götz Classic Kidz Vroni
Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen
Billy: Götz Happy Kidz Lily at London

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