October 30, 2011

Quiet Saturday

“I’ve got to grade papers all day,” I told my family. I stacked the piles on my desk, made myself a cup of hot tea, and pulled my chair up.

Then my phone rang. It was Biker Boy, the little boy who used to live down the street from me. He needed a Halloween costume. “Before Monday,” he said. “That’s when we have the party at school.” 

When I picked him up, I put his bike in the car and we came back to the house. “We’ll go get a costume in awhile,” I told him. “But first, you go out and ride your bike while I grade some papers.” He’d been looking forward to bike riding, so he was content to ride around the neighborhood while I worked.

By the time he came back into the house, his face was red with cold and my household had begun to stire. I made him a cup of hot cocoa, which kept him still long enough for me to grade one more paper. Then he ran over to With-a-Why’s chess set. “Can we play chess?” he asked. “I know how!”

I gave Shaggy Hair Boy a pleading look, and he walked over to the chess set. “Come on,” he said. “I’ll play.” I slipped back into my office and graded a few more papers, hoping that the game would keep Little Biker Boy occupied for a while. I could hear the clink of dishes in the kitchen as Smiley Girl took over the chore that Shaggy Hair Boy had been just about to start.

When I checked on Little Biker Boy again, he seemed to be playing chess quite happily. The pieces were in an odd arrangement, unlike any chess game I’ve ever seen. “It’s more like checkers with some extra rules,” Shaggy Hair Boy said to me. He flipped his ponytail back and shrugged.

“I’m winning,” said Little Biker Boy smugly. The game kept him quiet long enough for me to grade two more papers. Smiley Girl finished cleaning the kitchen.

Then I figured I’d better take Biker Boy out before his good behavior got used up. I deserted the stack of papers, and we went out into the cold October wind to find him a Halloween costume.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

you are an angel, this halloween

kathy a. said...

yes. i'm a little surprised that the crew in your house didn't come up with something from what's around -- but probably the costume stash is low, and maybe everyone's just a bit tired...

what's his costume?

i swear, my password is dammit.

Val said...

No red lingerie Pirate sash? :)

jo(e) said...

Nope, he wanted a store-bought costume -- mostly, because he really likes going to the store, since he knows that means wandering through the toy section and picking out a toy.

Liz Miller said...

What did he pick out?

jo(e) said...

For his costume, he picked out a long black robe with a hood that had a glow-in-the-dark skeleton painted on the front. I made sure it was big enough to fit over his sweatshirt since it's always cold here on Halloween.

For his toy, he wanted a plastic wrestling figure. (Yeah, I know. But it's his choice, not mine.)