The Playground

This was actually my assignment for my AP class, but actually came out well, so I decided to post it. So here goes...

There was a time when the Lakeview Playground was terrorized by one boy.  That boy was Brian Romanovsky, a lanky boy with fiery ginger hair and masses of freckles and a multitude of scars from sandbox skirmishes. He also had a biting personality. Brian’s reign on the playground had started the previous summer, when Teddy the former bully had started kindergarten.

Life as the supreme ruler of Lakeview Playground would change for Brian one September afternoon. His actions, like the merry-go-round, would soon come back to him full circle. It was a day like most others; the weather was one of a typical September day. It was bright and sunny, but with a chilly breeze hinting at the oncoming arrival of fall. The children were in their regular routine of playing. Marnee Wilkinson and Janet Eberhat were skipping rope by the oak tree. Will, Josh, Jacob were on the jungle gym. The younger children and the Weiss twins were blissfully playing in the sandbox. Brian however was on a mission to upset the peaceful balance of playground life.

 Brian felt a rush of adrenaline as he destroyed the Weiss twin’s sandcastles. He snickered as he watched the two identical pigtailed girls form their mouths into round pouty “O’s”and let out shrieking wails.  Brian strutted away; he gazed around at the other children contently giggling as they played. In his own five year old mind he was the big man on campus, or in his case the playground.

Brian contemplated whether he should take control of the merry-go-round or the see-saws, but a shiny red speck in his peripheral vision diverted his attention. It was David zooming along on the new tricycle he had gotten for his fourth birthday. Brian sauntered over to David pedaling away on the tricycle, Brian then menacingly shoved David to the blacktop. He ignored David’s protests and greedily took the tricycle. Brian hopped on to the tricycle and started pedaling at full speed.

He saw the empty path ahead of him. The new view was all his. Brian was racing along until the front wheel of the tricycle sunk into a lone pothole. He went airborne for what seemed to be an eternity, but time seized when he collided with the pavement. Brian’s chin started to quiver and his started well with tears. Brian from this new vantage point took in what was around him. He heard the wheel of tricycle ticking as it spun uselessly. He heard the worrisome cries from his mother rushing over to aid him. He saw the smug smirks of satisfaction from the Weiss twins and David. The once vivid blue sky turned somber gray with a specter of a thunderstorm. Brian was rushed to the hospital and received six stitches to his chin. He never returned to the playground again.