Playground Island
A girl's adventures on the school playground
The bell rings for recess. I bust open the door and there is an island full of treehouses. It’s Playground Island, my favorite place to be at school. There is sand surrounded by big, a blue ocean. In order to get to the island, I have to get into my canoe and paddle to the shore. There are other people who are simply walking across the ocean. I am the only one in my canoe.
When I finally reach Playground Island, I have to get past the monkeys. They’re blocking the stairs to my treehouse. The only way to make it to my treehouse now is to climb the wall. None of the monkeys are using the wall. I climb up and make it to my treehouse and look over the edge. Today is a good day for an adventure. Still looking over the edge, I pull out my map of Playground Island.
“I have to find the treasure,” I tell myself. “It’s somewhere on Playground Island. I just know it.”
According to my map, the treasure is in the heart of the lava-filled volcano. There’s only one problem: the dragon. There is a dragon that dwells in the volcano. It protects the treasure and blows fire on anyone who dares to retrieve it.
Before I set off on my quest, I make sure to bring a sword, a shield, and a cape. I wrap my hoodie around my neck and point my sword to the sun. I am ready to fight the dragon. To get to the volcano, the highest part of Playground Island, I swing myself across the jungle. I land safely near the bottom of the volcano. There are stairs that lead to the top. It won’t be too much of a climb.
“Your time has come, lava dragon,” I huff, making it up the steps of the smoky volcano. There is a square-shaped ladder that leads to the heart of the volcano. I bravely climb down the center of the ladder and squeeze my way out when I reach the ground.
I am now inside the volcano. Magma bubbles and boils. My face gets sweaty. I draw my sword and call out to the dragon. “Here, lava dragon! I know you’re hiding!”
“How dare you enter my home!” the dragon hisses. “Have you come to steal my treasure?”
“Yes,” I answer. “I’m not afraid of you.”
The lava dragon breathes out fire and inches closer to me. I back away and point my sword at her heart. “Just give me the treasure and I’ll be on my way.”
“Not so fast,” the dragon says with a devious smile. “In order to have this treasure, you must answer a math question.”
“No!” I cry. “Not a math question! Anything but that! At least make it an easy one!”
The dragon gets close to my face. Smoke from her nose blows into my eyes. “Tell me how many degrees a circle is.” She laughs. “You won’t be able to answer this question. You haven’t been paying attention in class.”
But I hold my head high and smirk. “You’re wrong. I have been paying attention. The answer is 360 degrees!”
“You win!” cries the dragon, upset that I got the answer right. She leads me down the tunnel of the volcano where the treasure lies. “Here is your treasure. Take it. You deserve it.”
I open the treasure chest. Inside is a bunch of chocolate coins. I finally found the treasure! I raise my arms in victory and begin to eat the chocolate.
The bell rings again. Recess ends and the playground goes back to normal. The sand turns to woodchips. The ocean turns to concrete. The monkeys turn back to children, who are now on their way back to class.
I follow behind and throw away my chocolate coin wrappers. When I get back to class, I sit down and look out the window. I wished to be back outside.
Miss Gilbert stands in front of the room. “Welcome back, everyone. Did you have a good recess?”
I nod a little. Though I wish recess was longer, I don’t say anything.
“I’m going to pass out your writing assignments now because we didn’t have time to do that earlier. Jared, can you help pass them out, please?”
A tight knot forms in my stomach and I sink down into my seat. I’m terrified to see my grade. I can feel my face getting red when my teacher hands me back my paper. As I lower my eyes to my desk, I hesitantly take the paper from her. I didn’t want to look at my score. I don’t want to look at anything. All I want to do is go back outside and play.
“You have a pretty wild an imagination,” Miss Gilbert says. “I can tell by your story. Good job.”
“Thank you,” I mumble, trying not to blush from embarrassment. I just want to go back to sleep. I want the day to be over already. Send me home. Take me to the principal’s office. I don’t care. Just take me away from class.
Miss Gilbert smiles and looks into my eyes. “Your story was really good. Can I share it with the class?”
My eyes go wide. I nod slowly. Before I hand in my paper, I take a glance at the front page that has red ink on the top corner. I got a perfect score. Near the score is a note that reads, “You’re such a talented writer! Keep it up!” As my teacher takes my paper, I can’t help but smile.
“This is Lexi’s story,” Miss Gilbert explains, walking to the front of the room. “With her permission, I’m going to share it with you.” She clears her throat. “’The bell rings for recess. I bust open the door and there is an island full of treehouses.’” She looks out the window and then back at the paper.
As I watch my teacher pace around the classroom while reading my story, I smile. I think I’ll have to make her a jungle queen next time instead of a dragon.
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