THE PLAYGROUND PROBLEM
The most exciting thing about going to grade three was that Pathum would finally get a chance to use the bigger playground, with the fantastic twirly slide, the taller than tall Monkey Bars and an actual see-saw that also spun around.
The school was very proud of this playground that was gifted by the Old Boys’ Association a few years ago, and it was every grade one and two’s dream to get to grade three to start using it.
When the interval bell rang, Pathum and most of his other friends wolfed down their snacks and ran to the ground, hoping to catch their first try on the Monkey Bars. But much to their dismay they found a whole line of boys standing and jostling by it. When Pathum looked around he found that there was a similar line in front of the swings, the slide and the seesaws.
“What’s going on?” Pathum asked the boy next to him who was from an older class.
“Oh that’s Kumara and his friends getting everyone to follow their rules if they want to play on any of these things. They think they own the playground,” the boy scoffed.
Pathum, quietly moved away from the crowd and watched what went on over the next 30 minutes. He saw several big-made boys demanding sweets, and little things which a boy would hand over and get a turn on whatever they wanted. If you gave more things you sometimes got more turns, but it depended on Kumara’s mood. Pathum soon found out that Kumarawas the thin, tall, wiry 10 year old who was on top of the Monkey Bars.
Always preferring to keep away from trouble, over the next few days Pathum soon found a corner of the playground where another five or six boys were sitting patiently until the bell rang for class again. “Why doesn’t anyone tell the teachers what Kumara is doing here?” he asked one of them.
“His parents have built an entire building in this school. Apparently, no one wants to mess with that, not even the older kids.” one of them replied with a sigh. “So it’s best we just sit here and wait till he moves onto grade seven; then we will have the playground to ourselves.”
“But that’s TWO YEARS from now!” came a voice from the corner. Pathum turned to find a boy he recognized to be in his grade looking at them with a deep frown.
“Well Sagara that’s better than nothing isn’t it?” came the reply.
The boy, Sagara did not say another word but kept staring in the direction of the playground silently.
The next day and the next as well, Pathum found him in that stance, deep in thought.
A few weeks passed like this, and Pathum had resigned himself to the fact that he would never get a chance to play on anything over the next two years. He did not want to give sweets or snacks to have a go on the playthings, it somehow seemed wrong. So he brought along a book or two and sat in the corner reading while a few others chatted or played their own games.
Then one day Sagara came up to him. “Don’t you want to play on the slide?” he asked him.
“Well I really like to play on the Monkey Bars,” Pathum said closing his book.
“Well then, I have a plan,” said Sagara; he sat next to Pathum and whispered into his ear.
“Are you sure it’s going to work?” Pathum asked, scratching his head.
“Yes! It will; you have to spread the word, but make sure the word doesn’t get to grade five ok?” Sagara said, and with that went to talk to the others sitting around the playground.
Pathum shrugged and wondered whether Sagara’s plan would work. He told a few of his classmates and used the very words that Sagara had used with him. “He said alone we won’t be able to do it, but together we can.”
That Thursday afternoon, the day the plan was supposed to be going through, Pathum looked nervously about him. Children were queuing up to the slides and swings as usual and handing out sweets to Kumara and his friends. Nothing seemed different and when he saw Sagara, with his determined look on his face walking towards the Monkey Bars, he suddenly felt very afraid for him. What if nobody went through with the plan?
And then Sagara, looking small against the thin and tall Kumara, went right up to him and said something to him. He saw Kumara pushing him away and laughing. A few other boys were now turning and looking in their direction.
Then Sagara made a dash for the Monkey Bars and climbed it. Like a swarm of bees, Kumara’s friends dashed towards the climbing boy and tried to pull him down by his leg. But Sagara held on, hard and fast. Pathum saw that determined look never leaving his face. Unable to bear it any longer, Pathum ran towards the Monkey Bars and began to climb it, and he saw a few other boys doing the same. Kumara and his friends looked dazedly around them as the whole playground, with loud cries began to descend upon the Monkey Bars.
There was no spot empty as everyone began to climb and did not move clinging on to whatever space they could find. All around the playground, the other children had taken over every last space of swing, see-saw and slide. Kumara and his friends looking surprised and confused began to back away, and ran out of the playground.
Pathum looked up at Sagara, who was smiling. “See I told you together we can do anything!” he said. And there was a loud cheer that rang out from everyone there. From that day onwards there was no one who had to pay with another single sweet or snack to go down the slide or climb the Monkey Bars. Everyone was free to play as they pleased; the playground was for everyone now.