Kiss chase, game over

The bell goes. We all run outside like crazy people in a nuthouse running away from each other. Our playground is a rectangle with tall metal fencing, rusting like the prison yard in my Xbox game, Gears of War.

The girls hook up to hopscotch and skip. The boys run to the back of the playground, near the edge of the fence, so Mr Malloy can’t see us from his window. Griff say’s: It’s April Fool’s, and we all laugh because fools sort of rhymes with boobs.

Some girls jump rope and we watch the ones with the biggest boobs. I used to like Shirley but she’s all different since hers have grown, like she’s all woman now. They look like two tomatoes under her shirt.

We make teams. Griff and me take Herding; Faze and Grime take Chasing.

Faze and Grime aren’t as fast as Griff and me, but that’s OK because we’ll round up the girls faster this way. I have time to take off my tie and wrap it around my head like a warrior in the jungle. The others do the same – except Griff. I growl; Griff laughs.

We watch the girls for a bit, and they watch us back. Griff’s eyeing Shirley. I jump on his back, try to yank him onto the floor. One teacher yells at us to stop. Griff reaches behind himself and jabs my sides. It doesn’t hurt that much. We fall on the floor, laughing.

Faze passes around a can of Coke: get any over the summer?
Last night I read my brother’s Facebook status. He’s gonna get some now he’s at uni, he wrote.
I put an arm around Faze: It’s ‘get some’ I tell him.

Shirley jumps double rope. Her boobs jump double rope, too.

The four of us bump knuckles and get ready.
3, 2, 1 – go!

Shirley is the first to scream and legs it. The rest of the girls follow, spread out like a bottle of water dropped and exploded. Teacher tells us to stop it, calm down. We’re all ants running around grasshoppers.

Some of the girls run outside the fence, through the gate into the street, and hover out there. They’ll get in trouble for leaving the playground, but they’re safer. Shirley’s out there.

Faze has backed some girls towards another part of the playground. A teacher tries to catch them all but everyone runs away – too slow, loser. A few get pinned against the benches. They could run around him and get away easy, but they want to get caught. The game’s funny that way.

Grime is proper sprinting hard after two or three others. They zig-zag around the playground, bumping into anyone who gets in their way. We’re losing our momentum. I can't herd without Griff. Grime and I dash forward, close them down. Grime laughs as he grabs one, bear hugs her, gets his arms under her chest. She ain’t got much, but it’s still nice. I lift up her skirt and she screams.

Mr Malloy appears. He towers like the enemy Locust from Gears. I make a break for it, scream at Faze to dash man, dash, and look for Griff. He’s gone through the gate. Him and Shirley are two dots in the distance.

Two girls hug each other just inside the gate. I swipe at their skirts as I run after Griff and they laugh and scream at the same time. It’s a funny sound. It’s like they’re having fun and are really scared at the same time.

Every other lunchtime, we’re taken to the Green. It’s a small park at the top of the road, a five minute walk from the school. I can run it in under a minute. I see Shirley and Griff by the tree. I'm running and watching.

Shirley runs around it, and back, trying to dodge Griff. Mad props to him for coming all the way out here. We’re gonna be in trouble for sure – I’m gonna beat him down for getting us in trouble.

Shirley tries to climb the tree. She one-twos it, running up the trunk, like she’s Neo from the Matrix, grabs a branch, tries to drag herself up. Her back is to me. Her bum points out like two cherries. Griff is a chaser, not a climber. He jumps up and down to try to catch her feet.

I call for him: Griff!

I feel Mr Malloy on my neck. I turn to look. He’s not there.

Griff grabs her feet and yanks her down. I'm a bit closer now. She lands on her back. I see her head smack the grass. He’s on top of her. His hands are on her tomato boobs. He’s saying Yeah, like from one of my brother’s DVDs he says I’m too small to watch. He takes off his tie and starts hitting her with it.

Griff!

Shirley pushes him off as I call his name, takes the opportunity, like a ninja spy escaping in the distraction. She’s running towards me now. Her lip is bleeding. She doesn’t get far because Griff grabs her ankles and she falls down. He’s laughing, proper hard. I imagine Mr Malloy is behind me and turn again. He’s at the bottom of the road. I’m pleased to see him. I’m a traitor, feeling this way, I know.

I dive and slam into Griff because I’m at full speed and don't have enough time to stop. Shirley’s crying, I can tell, but she’s running again, on the grass, slips, falls, crumpling like paper, smacks her head on the ground and doesn’t get up.

Griff’s got scratches all over his face. He’s looking at me like he’s just woke up.

Mr Malloy’s calling us. He sounds like the Colonel from Gears, the one who watches his troops get killed by the Locust in an ambush. It’s all deep and hurt and out of breath.

Game over, man.