Kenchanting || Ken

Kenverting

When her third day in Barbieland had come to its end, she followed Barbie into her car for girls' night, which was once again held at Barbie's dreamhouse. Before Penny left the beach, she said a quick goodnight to Allan and Ken, telling them that she'd see them tomorrow. 

She noticed the way Ken's smile became tighter at the news, so she hastily told him that tomorrow they could have another Ken and Pen's night. With her reassurance and the mini rhyme, his smile turned genuine once more. He found himself counting the seconds until tomorrow night arrived. He told her he couldn't wait and went off to say goodnight to Barbie.

As Barbie drove down Barbie Way, Penny couldn't help but wonder why the Barbies never had the Kens over. Yesterday night, Ken let it slip that he'd never even set foot inside Barbie's house. She was stunned by the news, but before she could ask why that was the case, the conversation had suddenly changed to pelicans.

She still wasn't sure how their two-hour conversation, and debate, about what could fit into a pelican's beak began, but it did cause some very strong emotions from the two. Even though neither doll had ever thought about this subject before, they seemed very opinionated on the matter. 

Penny was taken out of her thoughts when Barbie stopped the car in front of her dreamhouse.

This girls' night was game night. Barbie brought out all the games she had, and they all took a vote for which game they would start with. The resounding result was in favor of Uno. They all split into three groups to make playing less complicated; they shuffled groups now and then so everyone would interact with each other.

Currently, Penny was in a group with Barbie, Lawyer Barbie, Doctor Barbie, Physicist Barbie, and Author Barbie.

"So, Penny, how's your time in Barbieland been so far?" Doctor Barbie asked.

"It's been great! Everyone has been so nice and friendly," Penny responded. 

"We missed you at girls' night yesterday," Physicist Barbie said. 

"Yeah, sorry about that," Penny apologized. She paused before she brought up what had been on her mind since last night, "Hey, why is it girls' night every night? Why aren't there some nights that Allan and the Kens can come over as well?"

The room filled with laughter at what she said.

"That's one of the reasons you're so great, Penny," Barbie said, still laughing, "You always have a joke at the ready."

Penny glanced around the room. She noticed something about Barbieland that she hadn't processed before. This place wasn't perfect. It might've been close, but whatever was bothering Ken was connected to what she'd just heard. Kens and Allan weren't treated the same as she and the Barbies were. 

She wanted to say something. But she recognized this wasn't something that could be fixed overnight. Instead, she smiled and said, "Yeah, well, some people might think my jokes are a little corny, but personally, I think they're a-maize-ing."

As the sound filled with laughter one more, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more she was missing.

----

Near the end of the night, Penny was able to convince the Barbies that the Kens and Allan should be able to join in on the choreography for the next Big Blowout Party. Though they were hesitant, because Kens never have participated in the choreography before, Penny reassured them. 

She told them it would be more fun with more people. The Barbies argued that they only go over the choreography once during girls' night. When Penny offered to learn the choreography for them and teach it to the Kens, they all finally agreed and seemed excited for the next party. 

After that, the night had come to an end, and all the Barbies, and Penny, made their way back to their homes. Before she left, she grabbed one of Barbie's Uno decks Barbie said she could borrow, promising she'd bring it back soon.

She knocked on the pink door lightly, not wanting to wake Ken up if he was sleeping, but to let him know she was home if he wasn't. 

Inside the not-so-enclosed house, Ken quickly sat up once he heard her knocks. He'd spent the last few hours waiting for her to arrive. Truth be told, he had tried to go to sleep earlier. Unfortunately, he found his mind was too much of a distraction and it refused to allow him to rest.

Penny opened the door slowly, assuming Ken was asleep when she heard no response. She was a little surprised to see him awake.

"Hey, Ken." She said softly. "What are you still doing up?"

"I figured I'd wait for you," Ken responded. 

Penny frowned lightly with ambivalence. On one hand, she was happy Ken waited for her return. It meant he cared. On the other hand, she was a little worried he wasn't caring about himself enough, "You didn't have to do that, but thank you. Still, next time, you shouldn't wait for me. I want you to be able to get your rest."

"I'm okay. I wanted to." Ken noticed Penny was holding something in her left hand, "What's that you got?"

"Oh. It's an Uno deck. I asked Barbie if I could borrow it so we could play sometime."

Ken sat up straight, "How do you play?"

Penny smiled, realizing they wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight. She walked over, sitting at one end of the bed as she dealt out a practice game. She knew Ken was more of a visual learner. She told Ken that the object of the game was to get rid of all your cards. She showed him how to use reverse cards and skips more effectively by using them sequentially 

The Barbies had insisted on playing Uno by the official rules. But Penny told Ken about the wonderful joy that is stacking. She explained to him that if someone played a plus two card, you could avoid it by playing one of your one and that it was the same thing with plus fours. It would go on as long as it took for someone to run out, and they'd have to draw the total of those cards. 

As she explained the game, Ken watched intently— the cards, her, everything. His lips parted slightly as he took in the way her brunette hair turned copper in the light above them. Everything about her was absolutely radiant.

Her smile was unlimited as she continued to explain different aspects of the game. She was gleeful, and he could feel that glee infect him. His heart suddenly ached and he felt slightly nervous. It was different from the way his heart ached, and he felt nervous, around Barbie. It felt magnificent. 

Ken was truly glad she had come to Barbieland. In the short time they'd known each other, she'd already changed his life drastically. 

Once she had finished explaining the game, she shuffled all the cards back in and dealt out seven new ones to each of them.

"Alright then," she said, "shall we start?"