Toddler Togetherness

The 'Zombies' Game

Shortly after, the first class ended and the kids were dismissed. They came running towards the playground to settle the established trial of Carson's Zombies game. Some of the kids tripped and faceplanted to the ground, then got back up and began running again. Alas, they arrived at the school playground. Hannah held tightly on the hands of her best friend Spirit, as the rest of them gawked at Carson climbing up the monkey bars and standing on it. Bella had climbed on as well and sat on the bars, swinging her thin, fragile legs back and forth. 

"OKAY! I will now say the rules of the game! So... someone will be the zombie, and the zombie has to infect us survivors! Once the zombie touches one of us, they will die and also be a zombie!" Carson explained. 

"So basically... just like tag but it's zombie version and the it is using whom they touched as their recruit forces?" Bella sarcastically asked, then scoffed and smirked. "Did you even have to tell us the rules?"

"Hey! You're a little child! Act like any game is fun for you!" Carson replied, causing Bella to pout and cross her arms. "ANYWAY, maybe it's the zombie version of tag, but you can also stop zombies from getting you with VIOLENCE AND SELF-DEFENSE!" 

"HEY! Just hang on and wait a sec!" That was Dominic's cue to climb up the monkey bars and stood beside the green-haired boy, courageously face to face. "We're not supposed to do violence here in preschool or anywhere in Scarcely Prestigious Academy! We're just kids!"

"Then WE'LL HAVE THE GAME IN THE STREEEET!!!" Carson energetically cried. 

"Stuuupid. We could just shoot the zombies with the toy nerf guns from the play area back in the classroom!" Aiden Quentdelin suggested, sitting on the monkey bars as well. 

"He's right. So the zombies will win the game if they infected all of us." Gabriella agreed, hanging upside down on the monkey bars with her legs wrapped on one. 

"Yeah, and the survivors will win when they shot down all the zombies with the toy nerf guns!" Zyleen added, hanging upside down on the monkey bars as well. 

"So then, whoever's the loser will be called a scaredy cat or a cowardly chicken!" Claire Nahpro cheered enthusiastically, standing on the monkey bars beside Bella. 

Carson exclaimed. "H-HEY! I-It's crowded in here! I thought I'm supposed to be the only one standing here on this divine throne of the monkey bars!"

"U-Umm... i-if w-we're gonna be starting to play..." Hannah shakily spoke up. "Who'll b-be the zombie i-in t-this game?" 

Carson snickered and smiled smugly. "I'm glad you asked... It's Carson Rowdy, MEEE!"

They all gasped and screamed and ran farther from the monkey bars. "I'LL EAT ALL YOUR BRAINS!" Carson shrieked loudly as he jumps off the monkey bars and unluckily lands on his face. The loud thud brought everyone else to the small accident, all of them slowly walking closer to injured Carson and eyeing him observantly. Carson Rowdy was resting on his stomach on the ground in a disoriented state with a delirious smile that had weak giggling of his come out and his eyes were all squiggly and spiraled. Hannah pitifully and slightly cringed a little. 

"Yay! The zombie's dead now!" Samantha giggled. 

"We won the game!" Emily triumphed. 

Mr. Atosh walked towards the playground and approached the preschoolers. "Hey now, I was actually watching the whole thing, little guys! Carson got stubbornly injured, and I'm gonna have to take him to the school clinic." 

"...Don't worry, Mr. Atosh." Gabriella bluntly assured, stepping closer to Carson and looking up at the tall young man. "I will take Carson to the clinic." 

"Hmm... are you sure?" Mr. Atosh tilted his head in uncertainty. 

"She's gonna get infected by the zombie...!" Zyleen whispered. 

But the pale little girl just nodded. "I promise I will bring him to the clinic."

Spirit held onto Hannah's hand and motioned her to run. Spirit also motioned Dominic, and the trio scurried to behind a tree after each of them grabbed some toy nerf guns. Hannah's back collapsed and leaned on the tree as she continues to fiddle with her scarf more. She stared down at her toy nerf gun and felt a little dumbfounded. 

"Maybe we should go out there and shoot all the infected zombies! Then we'll win this faster!" Dominic suggested cheerfully. 

Spirit shakes her head. "Nwo, thwat's twoo rweckless and dwangewrous. We jwust have twoo shwoot thwose nwearer twoo us!" 

"Ah, you guys are here, too?" 

The trio gasped and spun around, preparing their toy nerf guns. It was Bella and friends, a rival trio it seems for them, and they also had similar toy weapons. Bella placed her hands on her waist and smirked ever so smugly and maliciously. "Pfft, you're hiding in here? This isn't hide and seek, my dudes." 

"W-Well, t-thwis isn't thwe twime to bwe mwean and stwupid either, unlike you!" Spirit huffed. 

"It's just a gaaame..." Emily sighed, rolling her eyes in annoyance. 

"W-Why a-are you girls h-here anyway?" Hannah countered. 

Lauren snickered proudly. "We're playing this Zombies game, riiight? Sooo... we're here to tell you we're gonna win fair and square! Just a game after all, so we'll try to win, even if it means sabotaging you guys and anyone else! It's fine if we do that since it's just a game, right?" 

"Hey, hold it! That's not playing fair and square!" Dominic confronted. 

"But it's just a game, right?" Bella teased. 

"E-Even i-if it's just a-a g-game, i-it doesn't mean you should do that!" Hannah protested. 

And so, Hannah and Spirit began arguing with Bella and Emily. Of course, Dominic tried warning them about not fighting over simple things and getting on with the game to have fun. Oddly enough, Lauren just watched the small kindergarten drama and listened to their overlapping shouting small voices as if it was to her satisfaction or enjoyment. Or perhaps maybe she planned this all out and has plotted something very suspicious. Such clever thinking for such a little girl. 

Meanwhile Carson was still on the ground, but his senses were coming back to him. He sits up kneeling while softly groaning and gently rubbing his forehead with one hand. He winced a little as he stared at the ground, and small tears from the pain appeared in the corner of his eyes. His world was still whirling around and around, but at the same time he was slowly able to pull himself together. 

"Oh yay. Carson is okay now." said a soft monotone voice. 

Carson felt a light surprise in him and instantly turned to look. It was Gabriella, kneeling beside him with a blank, nonchalant gaze on her face. Everyone else seemed nowhere to be found to the green-haired little boy. 

"G-Gabriella! W-What... happened?" Carson uttered. 

"...Infect me."

"E-Eh?!"

"Did you hit your head too hard that you don't remember the Zombies game anymore? Infect me, Carson! I would love to be a zombie, too!" Gabriella insisted. 

"T-That easily?!"

"Yes! This is not a trap because I have no weapons on me. You know, I always wanted to experience being a zombie. To experience the fear I will spread to others who saw me, and experience the hate and neglect from those whom I betrayed and eaten their brains. Please do this for me, Carson. Please infect me so I can be like a zombie!"

Carson just blinked and stared awkwardly at her devoted speech. "I-It's... just a game-"

"I SAID INFECT ME ALREADY!" 

"O-OKAY, O-OKAY, I-I WILL!" Carson responded. "Sheesh... Well then, Gabriella..." After saying that, Carson Rowdy smiled brightly and energetically. "LET'S GO EAT BRAINS!!!"

[To be Continued]