The Girl on the Swing
Orion PoV - 11 years old
I liked hide-and-seek because it meant I didn’t have to talk.
Evan counted too loud on purpose, yelling numbers like he wanted us to hear him, and Tori kept arguing about where the boundaries were, even though she always hid in the same place anyway. Mom sat on the bench near the swings, sunglasses pushed up into her hair, waving me off when I looked back at her like she always did.
Go play, she mouthed.
So I did.
I waited until Evan hit twenty and then ran, cutting past the slide and the monkey bars, sneakers kicking up dust. I didn’t want the usual spots. I wanted somewhere quiet. Somewhere no one would think to look.
There was a forgotten stretch near the back of the playground where the chain-link fence bent crooked from some long-ago accident, creating a pocket where the bushes grew thick and scratchy, half-wild with thorns that snagged at your clothes. Nobody ever went back there. It smelled like dirt and old leaves and something metallic from the rusted fence posts, and the noise from the playground—all those shouts and squeals and arguments—faded to a distant hum the closer you got, like you were walking underwater, away from everyone else.
I ducked behind the bushes and crouched, pulling my knees in and holding my breath even though I didn’t need to. I could already hear Evan shouting, dramatic and wrong, accusing Tori of cheating before he even started looking.
I smiled to myself.
That’s when I saw her.
She was on one of the swings at the far end, moving slow, barely swinging at all. Just enough to rock back and forth, her worn white sneakers—the kind with the little stars along the side—dragging half-moon arcs in the reddish dirt. Her hair was tied up in a messy ponytail, dark brown strands escaping around her ears, and it swished through the air like a pendulum keeping perfect time with the rusty creak of the swing’s chains. She was by herself on the swing, her legs too short to reach the ground properly. No mom checking her watch nearby. No dad on a phone. No kids arguing with her over whose turn it was next. Just a girl in a t-shirt with a cartoon character I couldn’t make out from here, kicking her legs back and forth like she was trying to get higher but didn’t quite know how. A branch snapped under my shoe. Her head lifted, ponytail swinging. She looked right at me, squinting a little against the sun. For a second, we just stared at each other, two kids who didn’t know what to say. Then she smiled. Small. A little crooked.
I stood up, brushing leaves off my shorts. My heart thumped a little faster than normal. “How come you’re all the way over here by yourself?”She shrugged, hopped off the swing with a small jump, and walked closer, studying my face. “I dunno. Just am.” She tilted her head. “Are you hiding from someone or something?”
I opened my mouth to answer when Evan’s voice boomed from somewhere too close. My hand shot out, grabbing hers, and I yanked her down beside me so fast she tumbled against my shoulder with a soft “oof.” We crouched there, knees bumping, her ponytail tickling my arm.
“Shh!” I whispered, finger to my lips, eyes wide with exaggerated panic. “Hide-and-seek. Matter of life and death.”
She bit her lip to trap a laugh, then whispered back, “Your secret’s safe,” and made a show of zipping her lips closed, locking them with an invisible key she flicked dramatically over her shoulder.
“This spot,” I said, tapping my temple like a genius, “is totally undefeated.”
She peeked through the leaves, then ducked back down, hazel eyes sparkling. “So who’s the enemy?” she whispered, wiggling her eyebrows like we were planning a heist.
My brother, Evan.” I peeked over the hedge and saw Evan checking behind the slide, hands on his hips like a grumpy detective. When I looked back at her, I realized I had no idea what her name was. “I’m Orion, by the way.”
“Like the constellation?” She grinned, pointing upward with both index fingers. “Beep beep, stars detected.”
“Yep. Mom’s obsessed with space.” I tapped my chest. “And you are...?”
“Jackie,” she whispered, giving a tiny salute.
I scrunched my nose. “Isn’t Jackie a boy’s name? Like Jackie Chan?”
She rolled her eyes dramatically but smiled like she’d rehearsed this conversation a hundred times. “It’s short for Jacqueline, space boy.”
Evan’s footsteps got closer, then slowed. I pressed my finger to my lips and we both froze like statues in a game of red light, green light. Gravel crunched just on the other side of the tire swing. I could see the shadow of his legs, hear him huffing like a cartoon bull.
“I swear you’re cheating,” he muttered, kicking at a rock. “Probably in Canada by now.”
Jackie pressed a finger against her lips, eyes bright, barely containing her laughter. She made a ridiculous face, cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk storing nuts for winter.
Evan kicked at the dirt, then sighed loudly. “Whatever. I’m gonna find Tori.”
His footsteps faded, his voice drifting toward the slide again.
Jackie waited a full second before exhaling dramatically, collapsing backward like she’d been holding her breath underwater for hours. “We survived,” she whispered, throwing her arms up in victory.
“Barely,” I said, mimicking her pose.
She grinned, then grabbed my wrist. “Come on.”
“Where?”
She didn’t answer. She just ran, arms flailing like a cartoon character, making quiet “zoom zoom” noises under her breath. I took off after her, laughing under my breath, my sneakers slipping a little on the sand. She zigzagged through the playground like she’d memorized it—around the swings, past the benches, straight toward the jungle gym—occasionally glancing back to stick her tongue out at me.
I almost didn’t catch her.
When she finally stopped, we ducked behind the climbing wall, both of us bent over, hands on our knees, trying to catch our breath. Her cheeks were flushed pink, ponytail half-undone.
“You’re really fast,” I said, still breathing hard.
She shrugged, a dimple appearing in her left cheek. “Yeah.”
“No, I mean it. Like... unfairly fast.”
She smiled, pushing hair out of her face with tiny fingers. “I’m fast like the Flash.”
My mouth fell open. “Wait. You know who the Flash is?”
She raised an eyebrow, then pulled up her t-shirt sleeve to reveal a lightning bolt temporary tattoo. “Obviously. Barry Allen. Fastest man alive.”
I stared at her for a second.
I stared at the lightning bolt on her arm, my brain trying to catch up. The girls in my class were all into TikTok dances and scrunchie collections. Last week, Mia had spent recess teaching everyone how to do French braids while Zoe showed off her color-changing nail polish. But here was Jackie with her messy ponytail and frayed purple t-shirt with Pusheen the cat riding a skateboard, talking about The Flash like she’d read every comic.
“That’s cool,” I said, the words tumbling out before I could stop them. She smiled wider at that, catching me by surprise. “You like him too?”
“He’s my favorite,” I admitted, suddenly shy.
“I like Batman better,” she said, bouncing slightly on her toes.
My jaw dropped. “What? Why? He doesn’t even have superpowers!”
“So?” She grinned, tapping her temple. “He’s super smart. Best detective.”
“Yeah but he’s literally nothing without his gadgets.”
“That’s what’s great!” She said pumping her arm. “He doesn’t need superpowers to kick butt!”
I crossed my arms. “More like he gets his butt kicked.”
Jackie’s eyes widened like I’d just insulted her grandmother. “Hey! Flash gets his butt kicked too! And he HAS superpowers!” She emphasized this with jazz hands around the word “has.”
“Hardly ever!”
Jackie snorted, then mimicked someone tripping with her fingers walking through the air and tumbling. “He trips over his own feet all the time.”
“That’s different,” I said, drawing a lightning bolt in the air. “He’s running, like, a million miles an hour.”
“Exactly,” she said, tapping her temple like a tiny professor. “Too fast. Batman actually thinks.”
I scoffed. “Flash thinks too.”
She leaned forward, nose scrunched. “Name one time.”
“I—” My brain suddenly emptied. “He... saves people?”
Her triumphant smile could’ve lit up the playground. “That’s not thinking. That’s running.”
“Well Batman broods,” I shot back, pulling my t-shirt over my nose and mouth like a mask, making my voice gravelly. “I’m Batman. I’m sooo scary.”
Jackie’s eyes widened as she leaned in like sharing a secret. “Batman has gadgets in places you wouldn’t even think to look.” She tapped her wrist dramatically. “Bat-watch, bat-socks, bat-underpants.”
I snorted water through my nose, making us both jump. “Bat-underpants?”
“Tactical bat-underpants,” she whispered, wiggling her eyebrows. “With little pockets for smoke bombs.”
“Flash doesn’t need pockets,” I said, wiping my face. “He’s so fast he could tie Batman’s shoelaces together while he’s still reaching for his bat-whatever.”
Jackie opened her mouth to argue again when a shadow fell over us.
“Found you.”
We both jumped.
Evan stood there, hands on his knees, breathing hard, looking triumphant like he’d just won the Olympics. I blinked up at him, my brain still stuck on bat-underpants.“What?” I said.
“You’re hiding,” Evan said slowly, his victory smile fading into confusion. “I found you? The game we’ve been playing for the last twenty minutes?”
Jackie’s eyes went wide with realization. “Oh. Right.”
Evan squatted down beside us instead of tagging us, his knees popping like bubble wrap. He peered between us with his detective face on.“What are you guys arguing about?” he asked, already grinning.
“Batman versus Flash,” Jackie said, making little lightning bolts with her fingers.
Evan’s eyes lit up like Christmas. “Oh! Batman would totally win.”
I clutched my chest like I’d been stabbed. “What? My own brother! Traitor!”
“He has prep time,” Evan said, tapping his temple wisely.
“Batman always has prep time.”Jackie high-fived him without even looking. “See? The boy gets it.”
“That’s such baloney,” I said, flopping dramatically onto my back. “If Flash had prep time, he could run circles around Batman until he got dizzy and fell over.”
Evan made a pfft sound. “Flash would probably stop to help an old lady cross the street mid-fight.”
Jackie giggled, nodding so hard her ponytail bounced. “Exactly! Batman would know all his weaknesses AND have, like, seventeen backup plans.”
“It’s called strategy,” Evan said, making his fingers into a little steeple.
I threw my hands up. “You guys are impossible.”
Evan scratched his head. “So are you it now, Orion?” His eyes landed on Jackie like he’d just noticed an alien had joined us. “Who’s this?”
“This is Jackie,” I said as she gave a little finger-wiggle wave.
Evan’s eyes narrowed to suspicious slits. “Wait wait wait. You guys were hiding TOGETHER?” He crossed his arms like a tiny disappointed dad. “That’s cheating!”
“It is not!” I protested.
“It absolutely is,” he said.
Before our argument could reach nuclear proportions, Tori appeared from behind the slide, hands on hips, looking like a miniature mom who’d caught us stealing cookies. “You guys! What are you DOING? You’re supposed to be finding ME!”
“Yeah, whatever, sorry,” I mumbled. “Game’s over.”
“Oh good.” Tori’s frown flipped instantly to a sunshine smile. “Can we go eat some snacks? I’m starving to DEATH.” She turned to Jackie, blinking twice like she was buffering. “Who are you?”
“Jackie,” she said with a smile, tugging at her sleeve. “Sorry I crashed your game of hide-and-don’t-really-seek.”
“It’s fine.” Tori shrugged dramatically, her whole body involved in the motion. “I was getting bored anyway. Evan always tries to find Orion first. Sometimes they forget I’m even playing!”
“That is not true!” I protested, my ears burning. Then I caught Jackie watching me and mumbled, “Okay, maybe once. Or twice. Or that time we found you asleep under the slide.”
“Whatever.” Tori rolled her eyes so hard I worried they might get stuck that way, then pivoted toward Mom like a tiny ballerina. “So... SNACKS? My tummy thinks my throat’s been cut.”
“I could definitely destroy some snacks.” Evan hopped up, slapping dust from his pants with such enthusiasm a little cloud poofed around him. “Last one there is a rotten banana!”
I followed Evan and Tori toward Mom, then realized Jackie wasn’t with us. She stood frozen in place, twisting the hem of her Pusheen t-shirt between her fingers.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
Jackie’s eyes darted between us. “You guys are going to get snacks,” she said, like that explained everything.
“Duh.” Tori rolled her eyes. “Come on.”
“Oh... me too?” Jackie’s voice went small, her shoulders hunching slightly.
“Of course,” I said. “Come on.”
She bit her lower lip. “Are you guys... sure?”
“Yeah, why not?” Evan shrugged. “Mom always has tons of snacks.”
I waited until Jackie started walking before turning back toward Mom. She followed a few steps behind us, her sneakers barely making a sound, like she was trying to be invisible just in case we changed our minds.
Mom was already digging around in the big canvas tote at her feet when we got there. She glanced up, smiling when she saw us coming, then frowned playfully at Evan.“Did you finally find them?” she asked.
“Sort of,” Evan said. “They were cheating.”
“We were not,” I said at the same time.
Mom laughed, pulling out a pack of napkins. “Sounds about right.”
I glanced back to see Jackie hanging a few steps behind us, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, eyes darting between Mom and the ground. She’d crossed her arms over her Pusheen shirt like she was trying to make herself smaller.Mom reached into the bag and started handing things out. Granola bars. Fruit snacks. Little bottles of water.
“Here,” she said, pressing one into my hand. “Drink some water. You’re sweating.”
I took it, twisting the cap off. Her eyes shifted to Jackie then. Not in a weird way. Just… noticing.
“Oh,” Mom said warmly. “Hi there.”
Jackie froze, her fingers twisting the bottom of her Pusheen shirt into a tight spiral. “Hi.” The word came out barely above a whisper.
“I’m Lydia,” Mom said. “You must be one of Orion’s friends.”
Jackie’s eyes darted to me, wide and uncertain, like she was waiting for permission to claim the title. “I’m Jackie.”
“Well, Jackie,” Mom said, smiling wider, “I’m glad you found us. Would you like a snack?”
Jackie shifted her weight from one foot to the other, eyes on her sneakers. “Um… I don’t want to take your—”
Mom didn’t make a big deal out of it. She just held out a granola bar and water bottle like Jackie belonged here all along.“Chocolate chip or peanut butter?” she asked.
“Chocolate chip,” Jackie said, then immediately ducked her head. “I mean—sorry, whatever you have is fine.”
Mom laughed softly. “No need to apologize. Chocolate chip’s the right answer anyway.”
Jackie smiled at that.
We all sat down on the edge of the bench or the curb nearby, tearing wrappers open. Evan downed half his water in one go. Tori leaned against Mom’s knee, already asking what else was in the bag.
Mom took a sip from her own bottle, then leaned back, closing her eyes for just a second before opening them again.
“So,” she said, looking at Jackie, “do you live around here?”
Jackie nodded. “A couple blocks away.”
“That’s perfect,” Mom said. “Then you’ll have to come play with us again sometime.”
Jackie blinked. “Yeah?”
“Of course,” Mom said easily.
I watched Jackie’s shoulders relax, just a little.
And for some reason, that made my chest feel warm.
