Coco and Larson

The playground was nearly empty, and that was just the way Coco liked it. When there weren’t many other kids around, her mom let her climb on top of the monkey bars, but she wasn’t allowed to do that if it was busy. 

Coco kicked off her sandals and clambered up onto the jungle gym. She hoisted herself up above the monkey bars. Her friend, Larson, slipped off his socks and shoes before following behind her.

Coco scooted backwards, making room for Larson to get through. Larson pulled himself up and crawled onto the bars.

From this high perch, Coco could see the entire playground, and everything around it. A few runners, with sweat soaked shirts, were pounding down the sidewalk beyond. A city bus with flashing lights was parked at a stop, blocking one lane of traffic. A woman pushing a baby in a stroller crossed the street in front of the bus. From somewhere in a nearby tree, a scolding bluejay brought Coco’s attention back to the monkey bars.

“Let’s play cat family,” she suggested.

“Okay,” agreed Larson.

“I’m the mom,” he added.

“I want to be the mom!” Coco argued. 

“I said it first!” Larson insisted.

“You’re a boy. Boys can’t be moms!” Coco argued.

“But it’s just pretend. Boys can PRETEND to be the mom,” Larson pointed out.

Coco crossed her arms and pouted.

“We can both be the mom,” Larson offered.

“That won’t work! Then there would be nobody to be the kid!” Coco spat.

Larson put both of his feet on one of the monkey bars. He slowly raised his body until he was standing on the bar.

“How about I’m the mom first, and then later, we can switch,” Larson tried again.

Coco scowled at him, but then softened.

“Fine,” she sighed.

She started to crawl across the top of the monkey bars.

“You can’t stand like that if you’re a cat. Cats walk on four legs,” Coco told her friend.

Larson lowered himself back down to a sitting position.

“My cat name is Bitsy Gumdrop. I’m an all black cat, with blue eyes,” he said.

“My cat name is Fluffy. I’m white with orange stripes, and I have purple eyes. Pretend I’m a baby kitten,” Coco said.

She grasped one of the bars with both hands and lowered herself down off the top.

“Pretend I’m about to fall and you have to save me. Meow! Meow!” Coco cried.

She released one hand, and let out a louder, more urgent meow. Larson dropped down into the sand and stood below Coco with outstretched arms.

“It’s okay, baby kitten. I’ll catch you!” he promised.

Coco let go and Larson sprung into action, wrapping his arms around her waist. Her feet hit the sand and they both lost their balance. Larson toppled over onto Coco.

“Get off of me! Mama cats don’t squish their kittens!” she cried.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to,” Larson explained.

Coco crossed her arms and scowled at him. 

“I don’t want to be a cat anymore. You’re a cat and I’m a dog and I chase you,” she said.

Larson got up and brushed himself off. Coco lunged at him, and he took off running. She chased him all over the sand, up the slide, down the climber, and past the bench where their parents were chatting. 

“Be careful,” Larson’s mom said, as the two friends whizzed past.

When Larson broke into a sprint, Coco matched his pace. Larson leaped up onto the grass and Coco tackled him.

“Got ya!” she exclaimed.

“Let’s wrestle,” Larson said.

With a burst of strength, he got to his knees and flipped Coco to the ground. Larson pinned both of her arms, so she kicked at him. Soon, they were both rolling around and laughing.

Coco stood up first. She skipped over to the  merry go round and sat down.

“Larson! Push me!” she called.

Larson rushed to do as she asked. He grabbed onto the hand rail and started to walk in a circle. By the second lap, he was running. Larson ran as fast as he could during the third lap. Then, using all his might, he jumped onto the merry go round. 

As the contraption started to slow, Coco leaped off. 

“Let’s climb the tree!” she said.

Coco ran to the big pine tree at the back edge of the park. She grabbed onto a branch that was just above her head. Once she had a good grip, she placed her foot on a lower branch. Coco pulled herself up into the tree. She climbed higher, and higher. The sticky, sappy tree bark didn’t slow her down one bit. Coco breathed in the scent of pine needles. She thought they smelled just like Scotch tape, and they reminded her of Christmas.

“Coco, that’s high enough!” her mom shouted. 

Instead of climbing higher, Coco concentrated on climbing around the tree. Larson watched her from below.

“Why aren’t you coming up?” Coco asked.

“I don’t like the sap on my skin,” Larson shrugged.

Coco slowly made her way back down. 

“What do you want to do?” she said.

“Swing competition?” Larson suggested.

They each hopped onto a swing and started to pump their legs. When they were swinging as high as they could go, Larson gave the count, and they both flew off.

“I won! I jumped further!” Coco cheered.

“But, I jumped higher!” Larson insisted.

“Time to go home for lunch!” Larson’s mom called.

Coco and Larson ran back to the jungle gym to find their shoes. After hugging goodbye,  they decided to race to the parking lot.

“Don’t run into the parking lot!” Coco’s mom instructed.

Coco took two steps, then tripped on a section of uneven pavement. She fell to the ground, smacking her chin on the hard surface. When she stood up, she had a fresh scrape on her face . 

“It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt,” Coco’s mom sighed, as she inspected her injury.

Coco winced when her mom dabbed it with a tissue.

“It doesn’t look too deep. We’ll get you cleaned up at home,” she told her.