Battle of the Boxes

Maeve could feel her heart beating. It was the kind of excitement she felt right before desert when she’d indulge in a giant scoop of her favorite: chocolate chip ice cream. She’d get drips of the melted delight all over her face, making its way to her nose in some unexpected way. It was messy. 

But the kind of messy she was getting herself into now - was very different. It was Wednesday. Which meant battle day. Battle of the playground that is. She and Murphy Stevens had been competing since the 1st grade and their dislike for each other had only intensified. Tuesday’s at recess they’d choose a game and Wednesday it was every man for themself. 

Today was her favorite game. It was four square day. Murphy and his weird crowd of gangly 3rd graders were always shouting “line” incessantly whenever Murphy lost control of the ball. Maeve would shrug it off and make some derogatory comment about them needing glasses - of course Murphy already had glasses so she very much enjoyed making fun of his little accessory. 

“I call double-hits,” Murphy said, standing valiantly in the king position of the two square box. 

He cackled, hitting the ball into Maeve’s box. 

They continued hitting the ball back and forth, a few shots were risky, but the determined youngsters persisted. Murphy hit the ball into the top right corner, trying to get Maeve off balance. Her excellent eye-hand coordination fished for the ball, but before she could hit the ball, her palms hit the asphalt, the air knocked out her. 

A high-pitched “oooo” sound bounced off the blacktop as Maeve struggled to stand, wide-eyed, the shock pulsing through her veins. She turned around recognizing the shadow of Donny Mitchell - a 4th grader - standing behind her. Maeve was short for her age and Donny was of course tall for his. Maeve stayed away from him as he was known for unwanted bullying. She’d always managed to stay away as the non-Wednesday days of the week were spent hunting for bugs or walking along the creek, far from the high-profile four-square and two-square boxes on the pavement. It only took her a moment to realize he'd pushed her out of the ball's reach.

“Oh, Maeve missed the ball - aww poor you,” He whined, taking a step closer to her. 

She straightened herself out, wiping the dust off her shorts. Her eyes narrowed as she cleared her throat. 

“What do you want, Donny? We’re in the middle of a game right now,” Maeve said, her hands meeting her hips. 

The two stood rather maturely as the other kids stared wide-eyed, Murphy squinting his eyes in both disgust and impatience. 

“I’m sorry but this two-square box is reserved for boys only” Donny grunted, a couple of his friends standing close behind him. 

“It’s the playground, anyone can play. Especially if you can win,” Maeve said, obviously hitting a nerve as Donny was notorious for talking his way to victory rather than through skill. 

“You’re just a stupid little girl Maeve. Go play with the other girls in the four-square box. We don’t have time to run after the ball every time you miss,” Donny said. 

Maeve could feel the hot sticky sensation meeting the edge of her eyelids. Donny was just a big bully - he had no right to tell her where she could play. Besides, it was her and Murphy’s thing - Wednesday battles. 

“I’m busy playing with Murphy right now,” Maeve shouted, turning her head away from Donny’s and picking up the ball that rolled back towards her. 

“Yeah,” Murphy said, unexpectedly. 

Maeve looked up, absorbing the rather humble tone she wasn't familiar with coming from Murphy’s mouth. 

“Maeve’s actually really good, Donny, and she can stay and play however long she wants,” He said, this time a little louder, his blue eyes piercing through his glasses. 

No one liked Donny Mitchell except for his little minions who were either just as vicious as him or were too scared to be vulnerable to his aggression. Murphy, although often times mean-spirited, despised the boy. 

“Oh, the Murph standing up for his little girlfriend” Donny laughed, walking towards Murphy. 

“She’s not my girlfriend, we’re not even friends. I don’t even like her. She’s just better competition than most of you guys” Murphy said, stepping forward. 

“How about this? We play each other. Two teams. Me and Murphy, you and Daniel” Maeve said, directing her attention towards Donny. 

“Whoever wins can stay and play in this box and whoever loses…” her voice dissolved.

“Whoever loses is banned from playing two-square forever” Donny shouted dramatically, staring at Maeve. 

“C’mon no… how about…” Murphy started.

“Deal,” Maeve exclaimed, putting her hand out for Donny to shake. 

“Ew I’m not shaking your hand,” Donny winced. 

“Why not, huh? You scared?” She said, ignoring the burning sensation she felt from the cuts on her hand.

Donny grabbed her hand and violently shook it, shaking his hair out of his eyes, a few sweat beads rolling down his forehead.

“Let’s go!” Donny shouted. 

He walked over to the edge of the box, whispering to Daniel, his tall sidekick, Maeve trailed over to Murphy, grabbing his wrist. 

“How is this even gonna work Maeve?” Murphy asked. 

“Just relax, we’ll take turns playing” She said.

“Wait, we’re on the same team now?” He said. 

“Well c’mon, if we want to play each other we gotta get rid of Donny McStupid,” she laughed, walking into the box. 

Maeve and Donny were up first. A group of students, a mix of 3rd and 4th graders, gathered nearby. Nobody stood in line to play as they knew Donny Mitchell was no joke. They instead stared intently, eyes glued to the ball, waiting for a fight to break out over whether the ball was out or had hit the line. 

“Why do you get to start in the King box?” Maeve whined, shaking her head. 

“Why not? I’m a King, there’s no Queen box,” He yelled as if yelling across a field. 

Maeve gulped, her hands in a fist. 

“You’ll knock him out Maeve, let’s go! Maeve, let’s go, Maeve!” Murphy shouted, clapping his hands aggressively trying to gain the attention of the on-lookers. 

“Single-hits, XYZ serve,” Donny said, handing Maeve the ball. 

“Wait why?” Maeve winced, unsure why the king would give up his serve to a... dare she say peasant.

“Just go,” Donny whined, impatiently. 

Maeve served the ball into Donny’s box, the ball slicing violently back into her box, her fingers hitting the ball out of bounds. Her cheeks flushed red. 

“And that’s how it’s done,” Donny said, high-fiving Daniel. 

Murphy tried smirking at a distraught Maeve as they switched positions. 

݀ 

The game lasted for 2o minutes, the recess bell only minutes from ringing. The two teams were tied - the score based on how long they’d had possession of the king box. Maeve stood in front of  the King, Donny, holding the ball near his chest, an evil smirk across his face. Both stood sweating, loud cheers echoing across the blacktop. 

“Whoever wins this point wins,” Donny said, his tone sizzling like the sun on the asphalt. 

Maeve took a deep breath, turning her head to see the enthusiastic Murphy shouting “you can do it!” next to her. She felt as if her thoughts had left her body for a millisecond, realizing that she and her archrival were now playing on the same team, cheering for each other. Why hadn’t it been this way before? She wondered. 

Donny served the ball, Maeve hitting it back. And forth. And back. And forth. The recess bell rang, the two still vigorously focused. Maeve could only hear the pounding in her ears, Donny’s annoying voice finally becoming clear, “come on, just give up. You play like a girl…”. 

Bounce bounce bounce. The ball hit Donny’s box, his hands missing the shot entirely, the ball bouncing down the path. Donny stood silently, the sweat trickling down his face. 

“You did it, you did it!” Murphy shouted, wrapping his arms around Maeve. 

The two jumped up and down in celebration, pulling back quickly after realizing who they were embracing. But instead of looking away they smiled, laughing at Donny’s utterly confused expression as Daniel ushered him up the hill to the school. 

“We should play on the same team more often,” Murphy laughed, running aside Maeve as they ran up to the elementary school door. 

“Yeah, we make a good team” Maeve shouted through the crowd.