Week 7 Story: A Game of Tag

Picnic Table by Sarah Hina. Web source: Creative Commons. 

Piper woke up before sunrise to practice her sprinting. She got to school hours early and ran from wall to wall in the courtyard until it hurt to breathe. Today was the start of a week-long school-wide game of tag. She always tried to catch Rose, who had been the champion for the last three years, but she was never able to. This year, things were going to be different, even if she had to trick Rose into getting tagged. 

In first period, Piper walked up to Rose and said,

"I hate that we have let this game of tag keep us from being friends. Want to sit together at recess and have our lunch?"

Rose found this somewhat suspicious. She knew that Piper hated her for being the fastest girl in the 7th grade, but she didn't want to cause any problems. 

"Sure," Rose said. "We can meet at the picnic table by the big climbing tree." 

"Sounds great!" Piper said with a mischievous smile. 

When recess rolled around, Rose carefully made her way to the picnic table. She waited and waited but there was no sign of Piper. As Rose was getting to head back inside, she saw Piper hiding behind a tree, ready to catch her. Rose pretended not to notice, but ran back to the safety of the classroom as fast as she could. 

The next day Piper apologized to Rose for missing their lunch meeting. 

"I'm so sorry about that. Today let's meet up for sure," Piper said. 

"Hmmm it's okay. I'll see you at recess," Rose replied. 

When Rose went out to recess, she kept an eye out for anyone chasing her. She had heard a rumor that Piper had been tagged, so she assumed that she would be the next target. 

Rose looked out at the picnic table and saw Piper sitting there, crying. 

"I think I hurt my ankle," Piper cried. "Can you come help me?" 

Rose knew better than to get tricked by Piper. She took a few steps closer, then turned around and ran as fast as she could. 

"I'll tell a teacher to bring a first aid kit!" Rose yelled as she sprinted away. 

Piper's face became red with anger. She may not have caught Rose this time, but the week was not over. 

Author's note: 

This is a retelling of The Calamus Root, a Brer Rabbit story. The original story features Brer Fox and Brer Rabbit. The Fox is always chasing Rabbit, but he is never able to catch him. In the story, Fox tries a couple different tricks to catch Rabbit, but he continues to fail. I kept the same idea of this story but instead of Fox and Rabbit, my main characters are two girls, Piper and Rose, who are in an intense game of tag. Rose is modeled after the Rabbit because she never gets tagged. Piper is like the Fox because she tries to trick Rose so that she can catch her. The ending is similar to the original because despite her tricks, Piper is not able to get Rose. 

Bibliography:

Brer Rabbit: The Calamus Root  from Uncle Remus, His Songs and His Sayings: The Folk-Lore of the Old Plantation, by Joel Chandler Harris. Web source: the UN-Textbook.