To The Way Things Were

~Prolouge~

"We were just two children on a playground, with the power of imagination in which we believed could change any circumstance. The absence of reality was nice then."

                                                                                                ~~~

There was nothing but blue skies that day. Nina wore her shiny new rain boots that afternoon because she was entirely convinced that it was going to rain. She had wished for it all week just so that she could splash around in the puddles. Her mother had tried to get her into her usual favorite light-up sneakers, but she insisted that she was going to need her rain boots instead. The teacher was going over the alphabet with the class but Nina's small green eyes were filled out the window. Only when she was reprimanded for not paying attention, did she shifted her gaze back to the board. Recess was next. The ticking of the clock she could read yet was no helpful indicator. It felt like three hours of numbers and letters before the class was finally dismissed. With hopeful anticipation, she raced to the coat rack and grabbed her jacket. She clicked her little red boots together for good luck. There was still time for the clouds to come.

Her heart sank when she burst through the doors only to see the same old cloudless sky hanging above her. A sigh of disappointment escaped her lips and she lingered by the door, debating trying to go back inside and complain of a sore tummy or something of that sort. A few of her classmates called out to her from the monkey bars.

"Nina, aren't ya gonna come play? We are planning on finishing playing our game from yesterday. You can be the princess this time instead of the dragon if you wanna." It was obvious by the offer in changing of roles that they were aware of the state Nina was finding herself in. Well, it was a generous offer, even the thought of them letting her play the main character didn't seem to lift her out of her funk.

"Thanks, guys, I think I am just gonna swing today," Nina replied, kicking a stone with her boot. She barely cared if it scuffed the shiny new top. They quickly went back to their game, leaving Nina on her own once more. With her eyes fixed on the ground, she made her way past the monkey bars over to the back corner of the playground. The swings were mostly empty today and she was okay with that. She took the one on the very end of the swingset. She kicked her boots off and decided just to swing in her socks. If she couldn't jump in puddles, at least she could feel the breeze on her toes. That somehow improved her mood somewhat. She swung in silence for what seemed like some time. There were only the stupid blue sky and gentle breeze along with the occasional screech of the old metal swing chains.

Part of Nina was disappointed that none of her classmates had cared enough to come out to check on her. First grade is the worst, she thought to herself letting out a sigh which she had lost count of which the number of sighs that had escaped her lips that day. Although to be fair, she could only count to twenty and she was pretty sure this day required more than twenty sad sighs. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, Nina heard footsteps coming from behind her. She didn't turn around because she didn't want to make the first move of conversation.

"Nina, that is my swing," A boy with dark hair stated. She knew who it was without even turning around. He was one of her classmates, but she never really spoke to him because he never had anything but insults to say to her. She was told that meant he liked her but she felt she was more mature than that sort of thing. It seemed in her best interest to stay clear of him. Although, today she was not in the mood for fighting off his antics. Even still, she felt there was no such thing as ownership of a certain swing. It was, after all, public property. With that in mind, she figured it was okay to make her point in his direction.

"Well, I don't see your name anywhere on it." She made a point of looking around on the swing as if to find a name tag

"Well, I use it every day for recess so therefore I have dibs."

"Last time I checked there was no rule of dibs on the swings. Because dibs are always outlawed by first come first serve. Besides it's not like all the other swings are taken either." They both knew this was a valid point. Instead of arguing, Charlie decided to take the swing directly next to her. It was with no intention of being close to her, rather he hoped that this would deter her from swinging altogether. Boys and girls never swang together at recess and they both knew it. Nina would usually comply with this rule but found herself yet again feeling like today was different. She would stay simply to hold her ground. They said nothing and it went back to only being the same blue sky, gentle breeze, and now the double occasional screech of the swings rusty metal.

This time it felt like only moments before the sound of the first bell could be heard. Children started rushing from every end of the playground as being first in line was a high form of status in the first grade. That was another thing that Nina always felt that she was above. There was nothing wrong, in her eyes, with being at the middle to the end of the line. Usually, Charlie would be rushing with all his other friends to the front of the line, but today he lingered a little bit longer. He treated his feet against the ground to stop the swing from going and Nina followed suit. Charlie jumped off his swing and was about to take off but stopped in his path. He turned to Nina who was still sitting on her swing shifting her foot in the dirt. Her white socks were now lightly dusted with wood chips and it was very apparent that she simply didn't care today.

"Nice socks. Same time tomorrow?" Charlie said kind of matter-a-factly. It caught her off guard so she just nodded timidly in response. Before she could say anything he was off running. She knew that she should most likely hurry up the process of getting back to the lineup spot along the fence as well. Still, she gathered her rain boots and put them on her feet at a regular pace, and began the trek from the swings to the fence that separated the playground from the parking lot. She only began to run when she heard the sound of the second warning bell. The last thing she needed today was a citation for being late. It was as they walked in that Nina decided, maybe it wasn't a waste of a recess after all.