Stefanie Freele | 7
When they get to the end by the swing-set, they can roll no more. It is a fifth grader who kicks the giant tube, which causes wide-spread kicking-the-turf havoc and a return of the horrible roaring.
The bell rings just as the kids ease the frenzy, looking toward the building in varying degrees of puzzlement. A few splinter from the group, trudging their way toward the building and then running, running and running of everyone to their relevant rooms.
At lunch recess, the intruding roll is gone. As the children play a mixture of soccer, kickball and chase, producing dirty pants and stained knees, the custodian drives away in his withered pickup. The garden teacher reties her turquoise bandana with the focus of a warrior. Mrs. Rutkowski evenly rerolls up her sweater sleeves.
Younger kids solemnly collect inchworms by the fence. They are allowed to save one inchworm per bug-catcher for the purpose of studying, but they’ll need to be released during afternoon break when the children, having tolerantly done their time, burst from the building. ♦