Jenny plants her feet on the rug and spreads both arms wide. "This is me. My name's Jenny," she announces to the room.
No one answers right away. The monkey sits perfectly still, its red block clutched tight, the blue crayon rolling slowly across the floor.
Jenny walks over and picks up the block. "I'm Jenny," she says to the monkey, who bounces once and waves a fuzzy paw.
The duck waddles past, then lets out a loud QUACK that rattles the picture frames. Jenny jumps, then giggles and holds up the block.
Jenny reaches toward the shelf where the robot sits. It whirs, rolls forward, and extends a tiny metallic hand toward her.
"Hello, robot," she whispers. It beeps once, happily, and rests its little hand on her finger.
The monkey bounces again. The duck struts in a circle. Even the robot seems to hum a song.
Jenny sits down among them and wraps her arms around her knees. "My name's Jenny," she says again, softly. This time, the whole room seems to listen.
