Later that morning we went out for recess and played a game of kickball. Bones' first time up at the plate was the worst I'd ever seen for a new kid. Mazz was the fastest kid in class and he was pitching, mostly because the fastest kid in class got to pick whatever position he wanted to play.

As the ball rolled toward Bones, I remember looking around and seeing that everybody on the playground was watching him, even the teachers. He lined himself up and then made a hard charge at the ball. This was a great idea if you made contact . . . a bad idea if you missed the ball completely.

     I'm not sure what was worse, seeing him launch straight up in the air and landing flat on his butt or watching his shoe go flying over everyone's head and straight onto the roof of the school. Everyone went crazy laughing, except for Bones because he got the wind knocked out of him.

Miss Thompson ended the game because of the injury; a kid named Jack Hayes called for races. Races meant everyone had to line up and sprint against each other until a champion was crowned. It also meant I was done with recess for the day. I hated races because, well, I was slow.

     I sat down next to the slide while Bones watched the races on the hill by himself. He was still wearing only one shoe. All I could think was that it must've really sucked to be him, so I got up and went over to talk to him.

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