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Molly bounced up and down as she waited for her mom and dad to hurry up and finish getting ready. They were taking her to the park today because she did good on her math test. Dad strapped Chris into the stroller as Mom tied the laces on her sneakers. Molly started pulling on her mom’s arms as soon as she got up. She pulled her towards the door, whilst Chris giggled and babbled to their father.
“Okay, okay, we’ll get going,” her mom said as she made sure that everybody walked out the front door so they could walk to the nearby park. Molly skipped a few feet ahead of her family while her dad pushed the stroller and talked to Mom. After what felt like forever they were at the park.
Molly stayed by her parents as they laid out a blanket on the grass and unbuckled Chris. She waited until her mother let her go off to the playground as long as Dad kept an eye on her. She grabbed her dad’s hand and led him to the playground. He sat down on a nearby bench while she ran off towards the slide. She was about to climb up the ladder so she could slide down when some kid pushed her aside. He sneered at her and went down first. She slid after him. He kept on pushing her and going first. She walked off and went to go play in the sand box. She built a small castle when the same boy from earlier came over and stomped on her castle. She started building it again, but he just stepped on it again. Molly’s eyes welled up with tears as this older boy ruined her castle for a third time.
“Aww, are you gonna cry? Did I hurt your feelings?” he mocked as a tear slid down her cheek. He got up in her face and started making fun of her when she saw him keel over. Molly looked up to see another girl about her age with black hair punch the boy in the stomach. The other girl looked at her and grinned mischievously. The boy ran off when she raised her fist again.
“Hey! Are you okay? He looked like he was being mean.” the other girl asked. Molly wiped a tear from her eye and nodded. She smiled back.
“Yeah, thank you! My name is Molly, what yours?”
“I’m Jazzmyn.”
“I like your name. Do you want to play with me?” Molly said, she patted the sand next to her for emphasis. Jazzmyn opened her mouth to answer, but a man with a dark beard interrupted.
“Jazzmyn! What did you think you were doing?” he asked.
“I was defending Molly’s honor Dad,” Jazzmyn responded to her dad, gesturing to Molly who waved shyly. Molly sat there awkwardly as she watched Jazzmyn and her dad argue for a little bit before her dad came jogging over.
“Hey cupcake, are you doing okay?” her dad asked her. She nodded and he smiled before looking over at the arguing father and daughter.
“Dad! He was being mean!” Jazzmyn argued.
“Being mean isn’t a reason to punch someone, remember the golden rule?” her dad responded.
“If I was being a jerk then I probably wouldn’t mind getting punched!” Jazzmyn replied.
“That isn’t what that means,” Jazzmyn’s dad sighed.
“If you don’t mind I’d like to thank your daughter for helping Molly before I could get over here,” Dad asked Jazzmyn’s dad. He looked over at the pair of us.
“Yeah, I guess she had the right idea, even if she didn’t go about it the best way. I’m Ja’far, Jazzmyn’s dad,” Ja’far introduced a smile spreading across his face.
“I’m Jack, this is my daughter Molly. Jazzmy thank you for helping Molly, it was very nice of you,” Dad answered. Jazzmyn gave a self righteous nod and grinned at her dad. Jazzmyn’s dad laughed. Their dads talked for a minute or two while Jazzmyn and Molly built a small palace together. When they finished building it Jazzmyn pulled out a small toy tiger and placed it at the entrance of the palace.
“Why is there a tiger?”
“He’s going to protect our castle from bullies.”
“Wow, that’s really smart!” Molly complimented Jazzmyn who smiled in response to the praise. They played for probably another hour before Mom came over and told her that they had to go. Molly said goodbye to Jazzmyn and walked home with her family. She talked about her new friend the entire walk home.