Play with me

"How was it again?"

"Exciting!"

The two friends sat out in their favourite spot, under a willow tree, a willow tree that had probably seen thousands of wondrous events. The two boys,Todd and Leif, had decided long ago that this would be their special meeting place. The branches hid them perfectly from the outside world, not that they ever feared being seen. They knew that they were different from everyone else, but being together made them feel normal.

Leif lay on his belly on a lower branch, his arm hanging down above Todd's head. Todd stared up at him, eager to hear more, but Leif was not ready to share the story quite in its entirety, he was far too excited by the thought of it, too excited to really speak. Instead he inhaled slowly, breathing through his nose.

"What time..." Todd started to mumble.

"Shh! Don't say it if we're not playing!"

Todd giggled sheepishly and took giant steps around the base of the tree with his arms outstretched and his hands raised, as he growled lowly. Back where he started, he growled and grabbed Leif by the hand, pulling him off his branch. He fell onto his friend and they both laughed loudly as they stood and wiped the dirt off their bodies.

 "Tell me about the game!" insisted Todd. "When will you let me play with you guys?"

"Soon Todd! I promise!"

"Todd!" a voice yelled from beyond the droopy branches.

"Supper time!" exclaimed Todd. "See ya tomorrow Leif!"

"Ok! Bring some friends with you! It's more fun with more people."

Todd nodded happily and ran out to greet his mother. She took his hand as they walked back toward the house.

"Was that Leif with you?" she asked.

"Of course mom! No one else ever wants to hang out with me there."

"Well, it's nice that he was able to make a new friend so soon. I'm so proud of you for being so nice and welcoming, son."

"Tomorrow I'm going to try to convince the others to come with us to play a new game that Leif knows. The game needs piggies, mom! Piggies, piggies, piggies!"

"Piggies?" she asked. When her son didn't answer, she shrugged and smiled at how funny kids could be.

-

The next day, during lunch, Todd excitedly told his friends about the game he and Leif wanted to play with them. At first, they seemed uncertain, but Todd quickly turned it into a challenge. He knew his friends and how most of them were pretty competitive. They agreed, eager to prove themselves.

"I'm the foxy piggy," stated Marlene, the only girl in the group of friends. She twirled around in her new red dress (Todd knew it was new because she had gone on about it all morning), flipped her hair, and gave each boy a look, one after the other. Todd didn't quite understand. He thought she was weird, and every day she got to be more and more weird. Last week she had asked if he had noticed anything different about her and had stuck out her chest at him. When he had said no, she got mad and didn't talk to him for the rest of the day. When he asked his mother about it, she just laughed and said that he would understand eventually.

"Your dress looks really pretty, Marlene," said Leif. He had told Todd recently that he had a huge crush on her. Todd had pretended to gag.

"Thanks..." replied Marlene.

"Hmm... I think I want to be the athletic piggy," decided Trevor. He was tall for his age, and big-boned as he would call it. He once told Todd that he had played 7 minutes in heaven with Marlene, and said that their game had last twenty minutes. When Todd asked what the game was and what that meant, Trevor gave him a weird look and told him that if he needed to ask, he didn't deserve to know.

"Sounds like an oxymoron," teased Todd.

"Definitely genius piggy for you Todd," grumbled Trevor, upset that he didn't know what that word meant.

"What about me?" asked Noah shyly. Although some thought it strange that he was dark-skinned and had red hair and green eyes, Todd, Marlene, and Trevor realized instantly how special he was and were not in the least put off by his appearance.

"You can be the beautiful piggy," said Marlene as she walked over to him and played with his hair. He sat there and glowed. Had one of the boys said it, he wouldn't have liked it, Todd knew. But for some reason, because it had been Marlene, for some reason, it was fine. Eventually.

"What about Leif?" asked Trevor.

"Leif isn't a piggy," replied Todd.

The bell rang, signaling the end of their lunch break.

-

That evening, after they had all gone home, done their homework, and eaten supper, the friends met up in Todd and Leif's favourite spot under the giant willow.

"Alright!" yelled Leif excitedly. "You can all stand back over there, with your backs to me. No cheating!"

They all lined up by the edge of the tree's drooping branches, eagerly awaiting the start of the game.

"Don't forget to cover your eyes!"

Todd took a deep breath and covered his eyes. He had been waiting such a long time for Leif to let him play the game.

"Go!" shouted Leif.

In unison, all the kids spoke. "What time is it Mr. Wolf?"

"Three o'clock," said Leif.

Todd, with eyes covered so that he could not see the others, took three small steps backward. Similarly, Noah also took three cautious steps back. Marlene and Trevor, on the other hand, took three giant steps back. They couldn't see each other, but both wanted to get as close to the wolf as they possibly could. The one to have been the closest and to have survived would gain instant bragging rights.

They said again, "What time is it Mr. Wolf?"

"Seven o'clock."

Feeling a little more daring, Noah took seven sizable steps back. Todd kept to his moderate pace. He felt no need to get too close; he simply wanted to be the first one to make it back to the line and say that he had survived to play another round as a piggy. The other two were nearly leaping for their steps.

It continued this way for several minutes.

"What time is it Mr. Wolf?"

"LUNCH TIME!"

Todd uncovered his eyes to see that he was a lot further than he had imagined from the starting line. Everyone else was behind, so he had a better chance of being the first one back. He broke into a sprint, smiling widely from ear to ear. When he heard Marlene scream, he knew that Leif had caught her.

"This piggy's gonna make it!" he yelled.

Just then, Trevor appeared at his side, racing towards the starting line.

"Why is he screaming? Is he that happy that Marlene lost?" Suddenly, a dark shape ran up behind Trevor. He fell to the ground.

He was about to stop and check but heard Noah running behind him.

"Run faster Todd!" he yelled frantically.

They were only inches away from the line when Noah tripped; or at least that's what Todd thought had happened. He turned to help his friend but what he saw terrified him. A giant white wolf was covered in blood, it dripped from the leg that it had in its mouth. Todd watched as it swallowed the leg. Noah, petrified, lay there as his blood pooled. The wolf walked up beside him and grabbed him by the head, tearing it off with one swift move.

"Get behind the line Todd!" he hard Trevor scream.

Somehow, he managed, and took those last steps to cross the starting line. The wolf looked at him and howled. Todd, legs shaking, collapsed. Head in his hands, he sobbed. He heard Trevor's scream and then heard them stop. He shook back and forth.

"You did well Todd."

At the sound of Leif's voice, Todd slowly raised his head. There was his friend, drenched in blood, breathing heavily with the same look on his face as when he would talk about the game.

"Red tasted as sweet as she looked. And oh those piggies. Nice piggies. But one piggy always survives Todd."

Todd could see the mangled bodies of his friends all over the grass. He cried.

"One piggy always survives. Smart piggy."