I was running and panting. I couldn't stop. I had lost all my friends I was playing with and I was alone. I was panting while running from him. He was gaining on me so I had to run harder. If he caught me, it would all be over. He was coming even closer so I sprinted for my life, and maybe all of my friends’ lives as well. Then I saw what could be a whole game changer for my predicament.
I woke up thinking it was going to be a great day. I was playing with my friends. I felt like the weather was too perfect to play in. It got me thinking about what could ruin this perfect day. We were playing a friendly game of tag on the large grass area near my apartment, and I became tired because of the entire running that was involved.
We decided to continue playing then. When we were playing in a corner I could see a shadow. I thought I knew who made that silhouette, but the shadow disappeared. Then we stopped our tag game, and sat on the soft grass full of dew, talking about school and the recent test we had. I felt a tingly feeling, the one you feel when you sit in a weird position and your legs start buzzing. When I looked at the corner between the building and the sidewalk, I realized the silhouette. The buzzing wasn't coming from the position I was sitting in. It was because of the sight.
I was scared but I had to tell them. I told all my friends that I thought Arnold was watching us. Arnold was my middle school arch nemesis who hated all my friends and family, about whom I vowed never to talk. My friends were all feeling what I was feeling. We split up and went our own ways, making sure Arnold didn't have a chance to pounce on all of us, and we hid, making sure we weren't found. We went to every corner so we couldn’t be seen from any angle for a long time.
I heard a sneer behind me. I was inexplicably scared. By the time I was able to think again, Arnold had more than enough time to spot me. I saw him. He looked extra ferocious. It became darker, colder, and worst of all, lonely. I had never felt true loneliness before, confronted by someone who hated me so much to emphatically pummel me to the ground. And I had no one around, no one to depend on, and no one to help.
If he caught me, it would all be over. The autumn leaves brushed my shoulders and landed on my toes. But then I saw her. She pushed Arnold out of the way from behind and approached me. I felt like a graceful eagle soaring through the sky while I was running away from my arch nemesis. I had finally found a friend. “Run!” I shouted as I grabbed her arm. We ran side by side, but I didn’t notice how close Arnold was until I turned around. There was no stopping now. I gradually increased speed and found all my friends along the run but I was couldn’t waste energy on imagining where they had been and how managed to find me. I had to keep running. I was going to faint if I didn’t get to catch my breath or drink some water.
I then thought of the perfect place to hide; there was a park nearby that we reached into and found the bathroom stalls. I think we were there for 10 minutes, waiting to hear diminishing footsteps and finish the race. When we finally did, all of us peeped out the bathroom door to see whether Arnold was in sight. Relieved, my friends and I played on the swings. I pushed Naya after she got on. We thought it was all over but was it really?
I went out to call my friends, and I was excited that we outran Arnold yesterday, but today we were at the opposite side of the apartment ensuring that Arnold wouldn’t find us too soon. We assumed he would search the place we were yesterday first before coming here. “The grass is mushy. Maybe it rained last night,” I suggested. I saw the possible corners that Arnold could come through, assuming Arnold would come here in the first place. We decided to practice some karate moves in case this would happen again because if he got one of us it would all be over, and it would be a shame if he caught us off guard.
We went to a corner of a building hidden under a tree and billboards, hoping to find someone to practice our moves on but no one came. Except for Arnold. I was a bit afraid, but my friends were in disbelief. Looking at Arnold's expression, it didn’t seem like he was targeting us today, but we still prepared to take precaution. It turns out Arnold just wanted to play tag with us but wanted to demonstrate his skills first. He didn’t catch us yesterday, but I realized that was because I was with my friends. When I felt lonely, someone would emerge by my side. He also wanted to prove his prowess. Every Time we told him tag was about a mutual relationship that the tagger respects the stage vice versa. He didn’t care about that; all he cared was about his winning. We told him that we only respected people who were willing to give us that same respect. He fumed off saying we played like wimps and not real men. It was getting dark out but I noticed the full moon today. My friends left home. Naya was last to leave, and said she was proud of my for standing up for everyone yesterday and today.
“Ready or not, here I come,” I shouted the next morning in my front yard. I had some time left before school started
“Yesterday was close. But I don’t think we could have escaped without you,” Naya admitted.
“No, it was all of us,” I smiled. School was as usual that day. But at lunch I could see Arnold running straight toward me. Uh Oh. This time would be too late. Just as I covered my head and Naya’s head as a shield for protection, I saw the hem of Arnold’s beanie strike me as he ran ahead. He was chasing another boy for to give him school money. I couldn’t stand it anymore, so this time I ran after him.