Never Grow Up

Elliot flung his cape. “I have to cheer on my friends. Good luck!”
“You’re very brave.” Ashley patted his shoulder. “Good luck to you.” She shook his hand. “Watch out for flying grass, especially while I’m running.” She did some high knees. “At my speed, grass flies everywhere.”
“Thanks.” He saluted her and then he ran off, his cape blowing in the wind.
Ashley raised her eyebrows at Natalie. “I like that Elliot. He’s a good one.”
Natalie pouted. “I wish I had a grass allergy. Then I could avoid this whole thing.”
“Are you kidding me?” Ashley linked arms with Natalie. “I need my partner today!”
“I guess.” Natalie exhaled. “Not like I really have a choice.”
Just then Landon waved at her from the other side of the starting area. “Hey, Ashley.” He was sitting by Chris. “I hope we can still be friends. You know… after I win.”
Ashley squinted her eyes at him. “After I win, you mean.”
Their PE teacher, Mr. Stone, raised a megaphone. “Attention, fifth-grade students. Please get to the starting line.” Mr. Stone was bald. He had a mustache that covered a good part of his face and today he wore giant red sunglasses. He was funny that way.
Ashley spotted her mom on the other side of the field. “Hi!” Ashley waved big.
Her mom waved back and did a thumbs-up, as if she was saying, You got this, Ashley! It felt good to have a fan!
Ashley and Natalie walked to the starting line, along with the other students. Mr. Stone paced in front of them. “First, the Jump Rope Jubilee! Two students at a time. We’ll count how many jumps you can do in a minute.” He raised his hand. “Everyone line up.”
A sick feeling began to grow in Ashley. She liked jumping. But jumping rope was a very different activity. Especially with everyone watching.
She and Natalie found a spot.
Mr. Stone blew the whistle and the first kids began to jump. Ashley twisted a little. Maybe Mr. Stone could give her a private location. Without so many eyeballs on her.
Before she could ask, it was her turn. She took her spot. You can do it, Ashley, she cheered for herself. You can do it!
“Don’t mess up, Ashley Baxter!” The words came from mean Chris right before the whistle.
“Go!” Mr. Stone shouted.
Ashley began to turn the rope over her head. But on her third jump, the rope tangled up around her feet. She stopped and stepped free and then she started jumping again. Thirty-three jumps in a minute.
Terrible, she told herself. She handed the rope to the next person.
“Good job, Ash.” Natalie patted Ashley on the back. When the Jump Rope Jubilee was over, Chris had won with seventy-three jumps. He flexed his arm muscles and gave everyone high fives.
Ashley was too busy drinking water to clap for him. Especially because of his rude words.
“Next up is the Water Bucket Relay,” Mr. Stone shouted through the megaphone. “Boys versus girls.” He explained that one teammate would grab a sopping wet sponge from the bucket at their feet, and then run it to an empty bucket. “You will then squeeze all the water out into the bucket and run it back to your teammate. First bucket to be filled, wins.”
Ashley understood. “We can do this!” she yelled to the girls around her.
“On your mark, get set, go!” Mr. Stone blew his whistle and the teams set off.
Ashley cheered on each girl until it was her turn. She reached into the bucket and pulled out the dripping wet sponge.
“You got this!” Natalie shouted over the noise.
Across the field, Ashley could hear her mom cheering, too. Ashley took the wet sponge and ran it to the other end of the field. She squeezed the sponge into the bucket and ran it back. Amy was next. She ran off, her long braids swishing behind her.
Ashley leaned over on her knees, catching her breath.
“How do you feel?” Natalie hurried over to Ashley.
“Good.” Ashley nodded. “Our bucket was way fuller.”
“Yes!” Natalie ran off to share the good news. There were just a few students left to go.
Suddenly Mr. Stone raised his hand and blew his whistle. He was standing between the two buckets. “Girls win!” The girls huddled together and cheered, high-fiving and congratulating each other.
“Next up is the Marble Toe Grab!” Mr. Stone clapped his hands. “My personal favorite!”
Ashley froze. What in the world? She looked at Natalie. “Marble Toe Grab?”
Natalie frowned. “I really don’t like this one.” She stared at her shoes and then at Ashley. “We have to sit barefoot on a chair in a kiddie swimming pool filled with marbles.”
Ashley felt her eyes get bigger. She glanced down the field, and sure enough, there were two small blue and yellow plastic swimming pools with chairs at their centers. She turned to Natalie again. “Then what?”
“You have to use your toes.” Natalie sounded disgusted.
Mr. Stone was saying how one person from each team would grab the marbles with their toes, and the other would catch them in a bucket.
Ashley raised her hand. “I’ll do it.” She took off one shoe and sock. “Natalie, you hold our bucket.”
“Definitely.” Natalie wrinkled her nose. “Too many germs in there.”
Ashley didn’t care. Their team was first up against Landon and Chris. Ashley sat on the plastic chair in the middle of the pool and pressed her feet into the sea of marbles.
“Wow!” Ashley yelled to her classmates. “This feels like a marbley foot massage.” She looked at Natalie. “You’re really missing out here, friend.”
Natalie rolled her eyes. She took hold of the bucket just as the whistle blew. From their separate kiddie pools, Ashley and Landon began grabbing marbles with their toes.
“Come on!” Chris held their bucket. “All the marbles you can get!”
Hurry, Ashley told herself. She picked up one shiny marble with her toes and moved it to the bucket. “One down!” She glanced at Landon and her heart dropped.
Landon was a professional marble toe-grabber, apparently. He had snagged four marbles, first try. One between each pair of