Writing Prompt
Which Friend was the Bigger Fool?
Tell a story about playing with a childhood friend
My hands squeezed the aluminum bat, palms sweaty with two strikes on the count. Jorge laughed and prepared the strike-out pitch in our neighborhood pick-up game.
“Let’s make this interesting,” Jorge said with a cynical taunt. “If you get a hit, I’ll break up with Sarah, and you can date her.”
Lonely-Middle-School-Aged-Mark was furious at the flippancy Jorge treated his girlfriend with, though, at the time, the word was not in my vocabulary. My eyes narrowed at Jorge. Was it so apparent that I had a crush on Sarah?
“You’re on!” popped from my mouth in challenge before I could recover the words.
Jorge threw a fastball down the center of the plate, and I swung with all the might my puny pre-pubescent muscles could muster.
“Crack!” is the sound of a baseball bat in all the stories. We had cheap aluminum bats, so the connection was more like “Twang” mixed with “Thud.”
“TWAUD,” my bat sounded, launching the ball a few feet over the head of the second baseman into shallow center field. Sprinting towards first base, I rejoiced in the quirk of neighborhood baseball games in a small town. There are never enough kids to play defense for every position on the field.
The left fielder/third baseman/shortstop boy, woefully out of position, jogged towards the open maw of the defense. My toothpick legs churned around second base. He caught up to the ball after it dribbled to a stop and fired an errant throw to the boy playing second base. On the throwing error, I raced in glee towards third.
Seeing no catcher, because who needs a catcher with only five kids playing baseball, my out-of-breath body trotted to home plate — an inside-the-park homerun!
Hands on my knees and sucking wind like a Hoover vacuum, I celebrated with an awkward combination of dancing and wild fist pumping. Jorge looked at my excessive celebration in confusion, having forgotten about the wager.
“What are you so happy about?” He asked.
“I got a homerun. You have to break up with Sarah now. She’s mine.” I said in confident defiance.
“Are you serious? I’m not doing that.” Jorge responded.
“But the bet,” I trailed off.
“You thought I would seriously break up with my girlfriend because I lost a stupid bet in a baseball game?”
“Uhhh.”
“Not gonna happen,” Jorge said with finality.
My young heart went from triumph to sorrow before my turn in the outfield. After the game, I searched and found the bike helmet stashed in the bushes before getting to the park. My parents required me to wear a helmet when no one else in my circle used one. My fragile ego could not handle Jorge catching me wearing the nerdy head protection.
Deflated and peddling the four-mile uphill journey home on my bike, my brain pondered whether Jorge or I was more immature. Was it Jorge for risking his dating status on the outcome of an egotistical wager at a pick-up game? Or me for thinking Sarah’s affections were a commodity that could be bought and sold without her input?
I concluded that I was the bigger fool. Jorge may have been a jerk, but I was the silly boy who believed he spoke the truth.
Playtown Writing Prompt: February 2024
“Write a story about playing with a friend from your childhood.”
It can be funny, silly, goofy, nostalgic, or whatever style is your jam. Did you make up games with your siblings before a parent came home from work? Did you invent a game with a friend because you were bored or forced to “go play outside”?
Maybe you had a group of friends and spent the summers together. What is a memory that cemented you as a clique?
Tell us about a childhood experience playing with friends.
If your friend is still alive, consider sending them the story. Send me a private note if you need a story friend link to share with your childhood buddy.
Submission Reminders
Please follow all Playtown Submission Guidelines. A few reminders:
- No AI Cut/Paste
- Proofread your story before submitting
- Playtown is family-friendly. All stories should be clean enough for a 10-year-old girl who still believes in unicorns to read. Please avoid sexual innuendo and drug references
Remember that I’m the only editor, and please allow 2–3 business days for me to respond.
Publication Updates
We’re growing! We had our best month in December in stories, views, claps, and appearances by Santa Claus. A huge shoutout to Santa and our Deluded Custodian friend Ann James for partnering on the December writing prompt and cash prize.
Congratulations to Daniel, aka THE CREATIVITY DOCTOR, for his contest-winning story.
You can see all the letters to Santa — including the NSFW entries too after dark for Playtown here:
Playtown Friends
Adam Robinson Alex Praytor A.J. Cralle (she, her) BichoDoMato Christine D Richardson Kumar Devesh Patrick Eades THE CREATIVITY DOCTOR Victor Cardenas Ajgoodrich Ann James Ben Ulansey Tejaswini Katreddy B.R. Shenoy Carlo Zeno Cristina Cattai The Fifth Pillar Deb Palmer Douglas Lim PC Hubbard Eric Filipkowski Fatima Zahra Zuberi Ginger Cook Grandma Smillew Gulsun Uluer Jonathan Weaver Hollie Petit, Ph.D. Iosé Cocuzza 🪷 Jay C Wells Jay Wala Jim Karwisch John Losey Kandis Lake Kendra Sparkles kit_carmelite Ivy Gooden Kristen Stark Kua Lina Linda Ann Fryer Lu Skerdoo Malky McEwan Maria Rattray Mary Chang Story Writer Matthew Clapham Michelle Spencer Natalie Santa Claus Patrick Metzger Philip Mann-Montreal Philip Ogley Murphy's Law Rachel A Fefer Raine Lore Sally Prag Sam Letterwood Shereen Bingham Shirley Laffa Smillew Rahcuef Selina Miyasia Srini Susan Christiana Susan Wheelock Tai Le Grice Taylor-Grace Nathan Chen Toni The Talker Toya Qualls-Barnette Eko BP Uvebruce Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles Ed Caplan Yana Bostongirl
[Tag storms are annoying. Let me know if you want to be removed or know a less intrusive way for editors to share an update with their publication writers.]
