“Ready or not…” he peeked through his fingers, his hands covering his face. He smirked dropping his arms back down by his side looking left and right. “Here I come…” he chuckled as he stood up from the staircase.
John was somehow roped into playing Hide and Seek with his little sister. His sister was five-years-old and he was 10. According to John, Hide and Seek was a game for babies. But once his sister started whining when he told her he didn’t want to play with her, his mother told him to play just a couple of rounds. It wasn’t going to kill him.
And it hasn’t.
He was actually getting into the game, but he didn’t want to admit that out loud. He knew his mother would only tell him, “I told you so,” and his sister would make him play this game more often. And if his friends ever found out that he enjoyed playing a baby game… Well, that would just be embarrassing.
“Ellie, I’m coming!” John shouted as he entered the living room.
The room was quiet. He put his hands on his hips listening in confusion. Usually Ellie was so easy to find because she was either snickering in her hiding spot or she jumped out not quite understanding the rules of the game.
John looked underneath the couch. No Ellie. He looked behind the TV. No Ellie. He opened up a cabinet that held their movies and video games. He didn’t know how she would fit in there, but alas, there was no Ellie.
John didn’t know where else to look. The living room wasn’t very big and there weren’t too many spots to hide in. So, he decided to try to kitchen but that had even less spots to hide in.
He looked into the fridge.
“I can assure you that Ellie is no in the refrigerator.” His mother laughed as she peeled potatoes at the sink.
“I don’t know where else to look.” John peered under the kitchen table. It was an open spot, but he wouldn’t put it past Ellie to hide in the open like that.
“I know she’s not in here. In fact,” his mother turned away from the sink to look at him, “I don’t think I’ve seen Ellie in a while. She might be hiding upstairs.” She winked at him, which told John that she was in fact upstairs.
John grunted. He told Ellie to limit her hiding spots to the first floor of the house. She was cheating, but he couldn’t scold her for it because she didn’t even know what cheating meant.
John walked out into the hall and then walked up the stairs. He wasn’t sure how Ellie scooted past him while he was counting. He was going to have to be more careful next time.
Once he made it to the top of the stairs, he was practically face to face with Ellie. Her bedroom was right at the top of the stairs and her door was wide open. She was sitting in the middle of her bedroom floor playing with her dollhouse.
“Uh… I found you.” John stammered wondering if this was considered a triumph or not. He stood in the doorway watching his sister continue to play with her dolls.
“Ellie, I thought we were playing Hide and Seek?” he interrupted her.
Ellie peeled her eyes away from her dolls and smiled at John. “Oh, yeah! I forgot!”
John’s mouth gaped open. He had been looking for her everywhere and she just simple forgot they were playing? How was that even possible? She was the one who wanted to play Hide and Seek in the first place!
“Ellie, you need to tell me if you don’t want to play the game anymore.” John sighed. He wanted to be angry with her, but she was only five.
“Okay, sorry.” Ellie said simply and continued her game with her dolls.
John staggered back down the stairs and into the kitchen. He sat down on the table resting his head, his legs swinging under the table not being able to touch the ground just yet.
“Everything okay?” his mother asked.
Hide and Seek was baby game. It was a stupid game. He was happy that he didn’t have to play it anymore and that Ellie was the one to call off the game and not him. Yet, he felt as though there was something missing.
He sighed. “I’m bored.”
