My heart was racing, I could feel it pounding in my chest as my arms moved back and forth at my sides. The rush of wind in my face was thrilling.
“You can’t catch me!!” I screamed, mid laugh at my friends who were far behind. My words echoing in the distance as I jetted around the swingset. I felt like a man on a mission, like an eagle soaring through the sky. I turned my head over my shoulder to peak a glance at Jeff almost falling over his untied shoelaces. The laughter escaped me before I could stop myself.
The 11:00 a.m beaming sun warmed my face as we all walked back to my house from the park, one by one they picked up the bikes and skateboards left on the lawn.
“You better not forget to bring the frisbee this time”
“See you guys at 1:30!” I called out, waving goodbye for the morning adventures. Opening the front door, I caught the smell of toasted cheese.
“Tanner you better take those shoes off! you are not setting foot in my house with those dirty shoes” mom said from the kitchen doorway, wagging her finger at me, her brown eyes staring at the already dark muddy footprint on the hardwood floor.
After kicking my shoes off, I tossed them into the closet and followed the aroma of lunch.
I grabbed the pizza from the dining room table, a quick peek into the kitchen and I could see mom was too preoccupied on the phone to notice me sneaking into the living room. Charlie followed right behind me, nose up staring at the pizza with hungry eyes and a fast wagging tail.
Ripping off the crust of my pizza I grabbed the remote and sat down in front of the TV, flipping through the channels till I got to the one I want.
“Charlie come here. Good boy!” I said patting the floor next to me. He settled his head on my thighs.
“As you can see a mother cheetah risks everything for the sake of her cubs food” The TV reporter zoomed into the cheetah’s face, sharp teeth on display as the mother ponced on the prey. Charlie has slowly inched his away towards the crusts of pizza, innocently nibbling at it.
I swiftly reach under the TV stand, grabbing the video recorder so I can zoom into Charlie’s face, grinning as he drops the crust of pizza immediately and faces me.
“As you can see a sneaky Charlie is risking his life for the sake of this pizza crust. We see here a golden retriever in its natural habitat.”
The doorbell rings echoes throughout the house and Charlie barks in response, jumping to his feet towards the door.
“And he’s off! The golden retriever is fast on his feet”, my laughter mixes with the doorbell as I chase after him, mimicking what could be.