The Sandbox CHAPTER 2

She smiled at me. I thought there was not a greater sight to see than the twinkle in her eyes. And then she smiled. I felt as if I was zoomed 25 years ahead. At that moment, I felt all grown up.

Say something, Jacob. Brain freeze! For me it means when your brain can’t think of anything to say. Your brain freezes!

“I thought you wanted to say hello,” she tells me.

“Umm…hello,” I utter. “My name is Jacob. What’s yours?”

“My mom tells me not to talk to strangers. Especially give out my name,” she replies.

I give her a puzzled look. She thinks she’s smart and she probably is. But maybe I can be smarter.

“But I’m not a stranger. I’m a child,” I tell her with a smirk. Take that smart Alec!

“Alexi!” She blurts out.

I get startled. I jump a bit backwards. Holy Cow! This girl can read minds!

“My name is Alexi,” she reiterates

My blood pressure goes back to normal. 180/120. It’s the normal blood pressure of a boy talking to a pretty girl.

“Nice to meet you, Alexi. But why are you playing here all alone?”

“Well,” She starts. “You obviously hog the swing. And merry-go-rounds make me sick. The kids there on the slide, they tease me. They don’t want me to go near them.”

I never wanted to punch so many kids in my entire life. “Why,” I ask. “It’s not like you’re sick with the cooties or anything are you?”

Alexi looks down. She notices that the sand seems darker now. She looks up to the sky. The twinkle in her eye reappears.

“Uh oh…” she says.



END of Chapter 2.

Photo by Sheila Asuncion