My heart was pounding so hard I was sure it would come right out of my throat.
I could hear the grass crunching close behind and I prayed for a burst of energy to increase the gap he was quickly closing.
Letting out a scream I bolted forward. I wiggled free of my restrictive spring jacket and tossed it to the ground.
The cool breeze was a relief to my sweaty, exhausted body.
I heard his threats from behind me demanding I stop. His bare arms reaching out with each bark.
Letting out another piercing scream I told him, told the world, I would never stop. I would run forever!
A quick glance back showed that he was slowing.
I had been spared.
I would be free.
Jogging to safety I celebrated my good fortune.
And then?
SPLAT.
His lips landed on me without warning and with the same texture as that of a goldfish.
As I wiped slime from my face shrieks of “run” filled my ears.
And there I stood alone, a defined space cleared between me and my friends.
Now their hearts raced.
“LEIGHANN‘S IT.” Echoed through the playground.
My lips the enemy.
This was GREAT Leighann! I love that you shared a single memory and really let us in to every detail and I love how you did not reveal who you were running from until the end.
You made him seem scary, and he was, in a kindergardeners mind.
Well done!!!
Thank you Jessica!!
thank you for your support always and your loveliness.
sigh.
Love it! I thought you were running from your father as he tried to make you go to school/kiss you goodbye/make you put on a uniform/or something, until the last line. Then it reminded me of the first boy I ever kissed (in kindergarten). I love how you were now the deadly enemy to be run from at the end. Very provocative.
My mom thought the same thing when she read it. (that I was running from my dad).
I am always the deadly enemy.
As I read this, I really thought something bad was happening. Great suspense! Glad to find out it was a game of tag. 😉
of the kissing kind.
mwuahhahahha.
What a perfectly fine tuned single moment in time!
I was right there with you, and will admit to being worried and scared the entire time!
Mental note to really watch kids faces when they play tag!!
I loved this line: “The cool breeze was a relief to my sweaty, exhausted body.” So descriptive, so right there in it.
OH YOU.
I love it when you visit.
Yes.
Watch the children.
Tell them, “hands OFF.”
I was afraid for you! How funny that you played tag with kisses. Love it!
this theme carried through to my highschool years.
lol
This is great!! I went from thinking you were being pursued by a kid snatcher to understanding you were playing tag. Great stuff. I remember the actual fear feelings that arose when you ran “for your life.” You described them perfectly here . I really like this line, “Letting out another piercing scream I told him, told the world, I would never stop. I would run forever!”
Everytime we played hid and seek I would have to pee because I was so scared of being caught.
I’m not a good hider.
His lips were like a goldfish. THAt is hilarious and such a perfect description. Too funny. Loved it.
Boys are gross.
They so are.
Oh gosh I remember those moments. Your brought me right back there! Great job!!
Thank you Elaine!
I miss the carefree days of childhood.
Ah, to run forever….
Love this!
I can’t even get up the stairs without being out of breath.
I think that you were way ahead of your time with kissing tag! I thought at first you were being pursued by a dog that you out ran, kindergarden you may have prefered that!
I loved this line, ‘As I wiped slime from my face shrieks of “run” filled my ears.’ I thought the transition from victim to pursuer was seamless here.
A kindergarten kissing dog!
Gross.
Oh this was so FUN! I remember playing weird tag games in elementary school. Wonderful!
I’m STILL running from kisses.
This is hilarious! You played kiss tag!?! So funny. You told this wonderfully! Great writing!
We called it “kissing tag”
I guess boys didn’t have gooties in my town.
This was great! You focused on one memory and it showed how scared a kindergartner would react to things.
Thank you!
This is what I attempted.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
Love this Leighann! I totally felt like I was running along side you, listening to your panting and the whoosh of the breeze. Very well done! What a fun memory.
You weren’t beside me?
huh.
I LOVED that game. And I LOVED being it.
I also loved how you had me going there for a while…who was the pursuer? An adult? A dog? Was it a raspberry? An attack? OHhhhhh…it’s The Kissing Game!
I remember a little boy named Andrew who had a mole on one cheek who loved to be chased in 2nd grade, and would shout: I’m on the menu!”
I didn’t think about making a RASPBERRY be the pursuer!
Great idea!
Kissing tag game in Kindergarten? I hope my kids never play that game.
Oh… they will!
AND?
They will have crushes.
My child?
Will not.
Oh, the days of exhilarating/terrifying kiss tag….
The last line?
Perfect!
Thank you Jayne!
I’m all blushy!
Run Catch Kiss!!! I love it! I didn’t play it until lots of years AFTER Kindergarten, but it made me chuckle to remember it. 😉 And you breaking out of your jacket, I could see a mini-version of you doing just that. Adorable. And emotionally high, your lips the enemy! What a traitor! 🙂 Great job!
I’m so glad you linked up!
Read yours today..
Great post.
The first thing that I thought of was you were being chased by a mean dog!!
Whew…. a much better ending than I thought!!
you’re not the only one who thought that.
I guess I did my job!!
Totally fun. Love the detail, especially your revulsion. I think keeping it short worked too–more might have felt like fluff.
That means so much.
Thank you
This was a great post…pulled me in. I thought, “gosh, who is behind her??” What a cute ending!
Thank you so much.
I’m glad you enjoyed it.
I remember that game! We always used to call it “Boys catch girls” or vice versa depending on who was doing the chasing. This year my boy got a note home from the principal letting us know that he kissed one of the girls out on the playground. I just had to roll my eyes. What ever happened to the good old days? 😉
Great job!
It makes me sad that kids can’t be kids anymore.
I hope my daughter plays kissing tag.
I hope she starts it.
LOL
i mentioned kiss tag in my memoir post too!!! LOL how fun is that?
I read it.
I loved it.
FANTASTIC! I had hoped it would be a game and not something awful, but you really built the suspense! great job! also? we never played tag with lips. but maybe that’s because I went to Christian school? hah!
PLEASE!
A Christian School! And you didn’t play tag with lips?
I don’t believe you.
HA! This was great. We never played Kissing Tag when I was a kid. Although, there was a boy we called “the Kissing Bandit” who would run around trying to kiss all the girls at recess. Kids are funny creatures.
I’m calling my husband “the kissing bandit” from now on.
I have to say that I knew he was after you for a kiss from the start because of the title. But that made it more thrilling for me I think, I wasn’t scared for you, thinking it might have been a dog or something. Although the word “bark” did make me wonder if it was a dog, but I was right there with you. I remember these kind of games in grade 3, so much fun.
Not much to concrit, your writing was tight and exciting. Maybe just on the last line. Does it need a comma for more emphasis? “My lips, the enemy.” or “My lips were now the enemy.”? I don’t know, but the last sentence just didn’t feel quite right to me.
My favorite line was, “Letting out a scream I bolted forward. I wiggled free of my restrictive spring jacket and tossed it to the ground.”
A fantastic moment in time.
Thank you for your concrit.
And…thank you for your sweet compliments, they mean a lot.
Love how you captured a small moment from a small girl’s perspective.
Nicely done.