“Are you sure about this?” I ask. “I mean, look at this thing! Probably a hundred years old, and the cement’s not even stuck in the holes anymore!”
I get the old chicken-out-if-you-wanna-it’s-fine-by-me look.
Let’s do this thing! I tell myself. The worst that could happen is these 5th and 7th graders carrying you to an ambulance with a broken neck. I frown. Not very encouraging or uplifting.
I climb up a chin-up bar (or whatever you call it) one hand after the other with my ankles crossed to keep from slipping.
“Okay! You can do your thing now!” Jadyra tells me.
“Ready?” I ask weakly.
“Yes!” Junior yells.
I hang by my arms and pull my legs through. I push the metal bar with my bare feet and the world turns up-side-down.
I let go and my feet hit the ground.
“See that? Did you see that?” I ask. I am so proud of me, I think. I didn’t even break an arm!
I get two nods and two little smiles. “Uh-huh,”
They do chin-ups and flip over the bar a few more times.
“Okay,” I announce from the top. “I’m doing it again!”
“Go ahead! I’m getting old here!” Junior says.
“One. Two—” I start to let go.
“Oh, wait!” Junior steps in to my path.
I think, We are on a direct collision course.
Then, My face is in the dirt. I am never going to hear the end of this one. I’ve drank hot sauce and eaten glue here, but add a mouthful of dirt to truly enjoy the landscape of Ecuador.
“Madeline! Are you… okay?”
“Is my nose broken?” I ask.
Jadyra examines my nose. “I don’t think so,” she says.
“Is it at least bleeding?” I ask.
“No,” she answers.
“Good. Junior: WHY DID YOU DO THAT?” I yell.
“I, uh, I’m sorry?”
“Uuuuhhh! What am I going to say happened? I can’t just say “Oh, yeah, my face looks like it does because Junior here stuck his head in my way and I busted my nose.””
“Why?” he asks.
“Why what?”
“Why can’t you say that?”
“Too complicated. Can I just say Jady held me down and you punched me in the nose? It’s already bruising.”
“No way.”
“Then what am I supposed to do?” I ask them.
“You have a really dirty face,” Junior comments.
“Thank you,” I say.
I walk home with my hands covering my cheeks and nose, even though Jadyra said I got most of the dirt off.
“What happened to you?” Abigiail asks.
“Complicated,” I say.
“Yeah?”
“I fell off the chin-up bars,” I add.
“Your face is really dirty,” she says.
“Thank you,” I say.
So All May Know,
Madeline Studebaker