My Mother, The Counselor

Prologue

I sat on the edge of the climbing frame, waiting to leap off any minute as soon as the little girl in the ginger pigtails was finished hogging the tyre swing. My eyes narrowed as I stared at the tiny five-year-old and her mother, laughing away while playing on my swing.

"Excuse me." I heard an unfamiliar boy's voice from behind me. I turned around to face a giant of a child, his brown curly hair going wild on his scalp, and his raging blue eyes peering into my soul. "You're in the way of the climbing frame." He folded his arms and tapped his foot on the wooden playground furniture.

"Oh, sorry." I jumped up out of the way as the giant began climbing down the frame. "I'm Mia." I called down the small wall. "What's your name?"

"Blake." The boy shouted up to me as he finished climbing down. He stayed at the bottom of the frame and kept talking to me as I sat back down on the edge. "Why are you sitting there?"

"I'm waiting for the tyre swing to be free." I pointed over at the round rubber swing and Blake followed my finger to the direction of the swing.

"You're a little small for that, don't you think?" He squinted up at my face, blocking the piercing sun from his eyes.

"No. Dad brings me on it all the time." I said, narrowing my eyes in his direction.

"Oh? And where is his today?" Blake said, throwing his freakishly long arms in the air.

I paused for a moment. "He's sick today."

"Oh." Blake awkwardly started playing with the dirt on the ground. "What age are you?"

"Five." I said. I began to climb down the frame to Blake's level. "What about you?"

"I was six last week." Blake shrugged. His head jolted up and he pointed towards the tyre swing. "The swing is free!"

I got up as fast as I could but not faster than Blake as he dashed over to the swing and hopped onto it and began pushing and pulling himself.

"Thanks for saving it for me!" I panted as I ran over to the swing. "I'll take over."

"No you won't." Blake laughed. "I'm playing on it now."

"But.. but.." my bottom lip started to quiver. "That's not fair! I've been waiting for ages! Get off Blake!"

"Nope." Blake said with a grin on his face bigger than Texas.

I grabbed hold of the chain attaching the swing to the wood holding it up, and stopped Blake's momentum suddenly. "Give me my swing."

"No. Get outta here weirdo." Blake snapped, pushing me roughly to the ground and into the pile of mud next to the swing.

I got up slowly. As soon as I saw my white dress and pink pumps covered in mud, I let out an ear piercing cry, and ran out of the playground and over to my mother, who was lying on the grass outside the torture area, eating ice cream next to my golden retriever, Sandy.

I hated Blake Wood, and I swore from that day onwards, I would never be his friend, ever ever ever.