The Kid Next Door by Vesuveus of Recursion
The playground is my favorite place to play. Sometimes I would swing on the swings, but I really like to play games with the other kids there.
None of these kids go to my school. I don't even think they are from around here. But they are always nice to me and let me join in the games.
So right after school I ask mom if I can go out and play. Sometimes she comes outside and talks to the babysitter and watches me play with the other kids.
My favorite game to play is 4-square. The other kids taught me how to play. One time I made it all the way to the 4th square! I was really happy, but I kind of think the other kids let me win. Some of them are really good at playground games. I wonder where they learned these games, sometimes.
This one boy is really good at playing 4-square. He is kind of weird, though. He talks funny and wears a dress and is bald. Once I asked him why he doesn't just grow his hair but I didn't understand his answer.
The babysitter is a nice lady. She sometimes gives me candy when I am good. She always smiles at us kids and sometimes she plays with us even though she doesn't actually play the games. She just talks to us while we play and helps us do better.
Her friend seems like a nice man, too. My mom says he is the babysitter's caretaker and that he takes care of her because she is old. He doesn't smile at us like she does, but sometimes he holds the other kids' hands and walks them to the market and back. He wears glasses even when it is not sunny out like at night and when it is cloudy. It is cloudy a lot when we play, except for Sundays. The babysitter has us stop and watch the sun set and tells us that the sunset is very special. Sometimes she tells us stories about superheroes. The sun sets because of them!
After we play games the babysitter brings all the kids inside for chores. I asked if I could help a few times, but she said that the other kids have special jobs. When they leave my mom and I just go next door to our apartment and I do my homework or play video games.
One day I was playing 4-square but they weren't letting me win. The babysitter wasn't watching us but her caretaker was.
The babysitter came outside just as I lost my spot in the first square. She called me over and asked me to do her a favor. She said there was a broken vase in her kitchen and asked me if I could clean it up. She said she just finished baking fresh cookies and that I could have a batch if I cleaned it up for her.
She walked me to the elevator and we went up to her apartment. The elevator looked very old and kind of smelled. We went into her apartment and the bald boy was sitting on the floor playing with spoons. He was wearing a dress again today. I waved to him as we went into the kitchen.
The babysitter opened the cabinet under the sink and pointed to the dust pan and broom. I picked them up and started brushing the broken vase into the pan. She told me I could bring the flowers to my mother and that she would love them because she hasn't gotten flowers in a really long time.
I was very careful not to leave any little pieces of the broken vase on the floor. I threw away all the pieces and put the dust-pan and broom back where I got them.
The babysitter crushed out her cigarette and offered me a bag full of her cookies. They smelled really good so I opened up the bag and picked out the biggest one I could see. It was really good and I ate it really fast. I think I dropped a lot of crumbs on the floor. The babysitter just smiled at me. I think she was proud of how good her cookies were. She told me that in a little while I should go back and play 4-square again.
I hurried downstairs and across the playground to my apartment. I showed the flowers to my mom and she loved them. I ate another cookie and went back to the playground to play some more 4-square.
When it was my turn I really wanted to make it to the fourth square again. A girl served the ball to the boy in the third square. He hit the ball really hard and tried to get me out but I hit it back to him even harder and got him out! I took my spot in the second square and got ready for the serve.
She served it to the girl in the third square and the ball came at me really fast again. I was really surprised when I returned it. The girl in the third square reached but couldn't get it. That's two in a row! I went to the third square. Are they letting me win again?
The girl in the fourth square served it again, but this time to the boy in the second square. I think they were setting up a hard shot to get me out. He passed it back to her. Then she passed it back to him again. He and she passed it back and forth a lot of times. They were trying to get me to not expect it, but I stayed ready.
He passed it back to her one more time and I knew this was it; she was going to spike it to me. The ball bounced in her square and she stepped back and turned to my direction. I could see it all happen so slowly. I knew she was going to spike it hard so I stepped back. I knew she was going to aim for the corner like she got me out a hundred times before. My right hand was ready. I stayed in the middle of my square with each side in one step's reach. She wound up and time seemed to slow even more. My collar was so hot and I was sweating. The ball was rising to her waste level. I felt a drop of sweat roll off my chin. I was ready for any shot she could do.
She swung her arm and the sound of the rubber playground ball echoed loud and slowly in my ears. She was hitting to my right. I pushed off my left foot and stepped big. The cold sweat from my chin dropped onto my arm as I leapt to my right reaching for the ball. It was moving so slowly in my direction and I was already in position for a hard return. The ball bounced just inside the corner of my square. I stepped forward with my left foot and leaned into it. There was no way she was going to be able to stop this shot. The ball rose up and my right hand met the ball with all my weight behind it.
The echo of rubber was so real. A sting began to spread in my right hand. The sound hit my ears with such force that I thought I could see the sound waves ripple through the air.
The girl in the fourth square stepped back to try and get in position for a return. The ball bounced just inside the line and whipped right past her hip. Time sped up faster than normal as I realized I just won the position in square four!
I was so happy that I jumped up into the air and threw my hands up, punching the sky. I didn't feel the sting in my hand anymore. All I felt was the joy of winning and knowing that no one let me win.
I had played this game a hundred times before with the same kids and never won, never really won before. I think the difference this time is that I believed I could.
