Battle of the Bunk Bed
By: Kaylee Byers
Brace faced smiles beam
Bouncing in car seats, arriving closer.
Saltwater kissed skin and notes of SPF 50 linger
Furrowed brow grandparents mutter to themselves.
Frankie pictured strawberry ice cream graze her tongue
The crunch of the sugar filled cone between her teeth
Mounds of vibrant multicolored sprinkles raining down
Topping off the cold, yet inviting treat.
She reminisced on the funky voices of the arcade machines
The claustrophobic car opened its doors,
To reveal the tiny people inside.
Frankie’s sneakers struck the asphalt
Jamming new pebbles inside the bottoms.
Collected seashells jiggle in her short pockets
Exhilarated eyes searching in all directions, scanning for opportunity.
The poofy bearded pirate on the sign shot them a wink,
Sporting a twisted smile with disorganized teeth.
Stomping shoes raced towards the promising doors
Sound waves don’t hesitate, sparing no one as it slithers by.
Threatening yet invisible.
Shrieks of crazed children infest the grandparent’s ears
Producing a wince from both.
Colors jump out like boomerangs
Drawing Frankie in with each dazzling pop.
Hours take its toll on the young ones
Eyelids challenged to stay open,
Bodies of miniature humans attempting to move.
Reluctantly walking with tickets clutched tightly.
Frankie goes to the counter
Pushing her hard earned work towards the cashier.
With a heavy sigh,the red polka dot faced boy focuses
He reaches high on shelves, passing plush mythical creatures and knick knacks
He turns around, placing green plastic on the glass.
Frankie gently picks up the cheap object as if it were undersea treasure
Noticing it wore a helmet on it’s pea sized head
A toy solider.
Frankie sprints to her bedroom
Eager to get down to business
Untying the string surrounding the thin paper,
she watched the napkin sized parachute fall onto the carpet
Frankie seized the chance.
Darting to the top of the rickety bunk bed
She dropped the soldier below, entranced as air caught him.
creating sound effects to aid the illusion as she played
Imagination taking full control
In a deep tone, grandfather called her for dinner
The smell of well seasoned burgers wafting in
was enough to convince her
The soldier stayed
Laying still on the carpet
Patiently waiting for the next playtime