Celeste+Simmons　李笑

Jake was an awkward child. When he was born， he was small， pale， and thin. As he grew， his physical make-up1） became part of his identity.

He was okay with the school work. He was an average student. He did his homework and tried to do his best. But there was one part of the school day that he hated more than anything： P. E. class.

Every day， there was a new sport that they had to play， and every day it was the same result. He would find another sport he couldn't play every single day. One of the most embarrassing moments of P. E. class was when they picked teams. One by one， the team captains would select who they wanted to be on their team. Jake was the last kid， every time. He never got picked. The students snickered at it. Jake almost became numb2） to the whole experience.

The next day， he went to school like usual. This day seemed to be like every other day. When it came to be the hour of the P. E. class， he took the long walk as he always did. He noticed that the normal P. E. teacher wasn't there that day. They had a substitute teacher.

"Hi， kids. I'm Mr. Johnson. I'm going to be filling in3） for Mr. Glass while he is out. If someone wants to suggest something that we should play for the hour， I'm open to suggestions，" he said.

All of the boys started yelling out answers. You heard the typical answers of baseball， soccer， football， etc. Nothing was new. Since Jake was standing at the end of the line and wasn't talking to anyone， he raised his hand. No one else was even paying attention to Jake.

Mr. Johnson saw his hand. "Do you have an idea？" He asked Jake.

"Yes， I do. I want to do something different. Let's play King of the Playground，" Jake suggested.

"Tell us how to play. That could be a fun game，" Mr. Johnson replied.

Jake explained the rules to everyone. "It's similar to hide and seek and freeze tag4）. The challenge of the game is to keep the flag while everyone is trying to steal it. You can't be tagged out， unless the flag is in your hand. There are no teams， since everyone is playing to be king." He kept them interested as he went into more details.

He told them that you have to get to the top of the playground playset with the flag， before getting tagged out， then wave it and say， "I'm King of the Playground！"

Everyone's face lit up. Everyone wanted to be king！

Mr. Johnson nodded his head in agreement. "That sounds great. Let's play！" Mr. Johnson went to get the flag from the supply closet. Then， everyone followed him outside to the playground.endprint

On the way out， several kids were patting Jake on the back for his great idea. Other kids were trying to form an alliance with Jake so that they could get the upper hand. Jake felt like a celebrity. Everyone was talking to him now. It felt great！

At the playground， Jake devised5） a strategy as he watched the jocks6） tag the slower kids. Jake crept around to the playset， slowly， taking his time. His strategy was to be unseen， to be ignored， as they always had done. He stayed low， like a wild cat stalking7） its prey.

One by one， the kids were tagged， leaving only two kids left to play， and Jake. They were running as fast as they could toward the playset， while Jake reached the platform on the back side. No one noticed that he was now inside the tube slide. They were too busy running around！

The last two kids were racing for the top on the steps that went up into the playset. Just then， the holder of the flag threw it， so that the other boy wouldn't tag him out. He threw it to the top of the steps of the playset！ Jake quickly came out of the tube slide， lunged8） for the flag， and grabbed it. The boy closest to the flag reached out for it， but it was too late. The second boy just stopped and stared. Jake took three steps onto the platform and yelled， "Jake Flynn is King of the Playground！"

It had finally happened！ Jake won a game！ He was good at something！ No one had noticed him as he crept over to the playset. No one had paid attention！ The one thing he hated allowed him to win in the end.

As all the kids went inside， everyone was laughing and talking about how much fun it was. They were all smiles9）. Even Jake， King of the Playground.

杰克是个笨拙的小孩。他出生时身形瘦小，肤色苍白。随着他慢慢长大，这种体格成了他的一部分特征。

他在学业方面表现还可以，属于成绩中等的学生。他做家庭作业，并尽最大的努力做好。但是，每天的上学时间里，总有一段最让他讨厌，那就是体育课。

他们每天都必须玩一种新的运动，每天的结果也都一样——他又会发现一种他不会玩的运动，天天如此。体育课上最令他尴尬的时刻之一就是他们挑人组队的时候。队长们会一个接一个地挑选自己想要的队员。每次杰克都是被挑剩下的那个。他从来都没有被选中过。同学们对此暗中讥笑，而杰克对这种经历几乎都变得麻木了。

第二天，他像往常一样去上学。这一天似乎要跟以往的每一天一样度过。到了上体育课的时间，杰克像以往一样走着这段让他觉得十分漫长的路。他发现原来的体育老师这天没在，有另一个老师代替他上课。

“嗨，孩子们，我是约翰逊先生。我会在格拉斯先生外出的这段时间替他上课。如果有同学想对这节体育课我们该玩什么提建议，那我非常愿意接受。”他说。

所有的男生都开始大声回应。你能听到那些常见的回答，如棒球、足球、橄榄球等，没一个有新意的。杰克由于站在队尾，也没有跟任何人说话，于是举起了手。其他同学甚至都没有注意到他。

约翰逊先生看到了他举起的手。“你有想法吗？”他问杰克。

“是的。我想玩一些不同的东西。我们来玩‘操场之王吧。”杰克建议。

“给我们讲讲怎么玩，这估计是个有趣的游戏。”约翰逊先生回答。

杰克给所有人解释了规则。“这个游戏类似于捉迷藏和冰冻追人游戏。它的难点就在于，要在所有人都努力偷走旗子的时候保住旗子。就算被别人拍到也不会出局，除非旗子在你的手里。这个游戏不分队，因为每个人玩游戏都是为了成为操场之王。”杰克继续讲了更多的细节，他的话令大家兴趣盎然。

杰克告诉他们，必须要在被拍到而出局之前拿着旗子到达操场游乐设施的最高处，然后挥舞旗子大喊：“我是操场之王！”

所有人都精神为之一振，人人都想成为操场之王！

约翰逊先生点点头表示赞成。“听起来很不错，我们来玩吧！”约翰逊先生去用具贮藏室里取来了旗子。然后，所有人都跟着他到了外面的操场。

在去操场的路上，好几个孩子都因杰克的这个好主意拍拍他的后背。其他的孩子也设法跟杰克结伴，以便能占得上风。杰克觉得自己像个名人，现在所有的人都在和他说话。感觉太棒了！

在操场上，杰克看着体育好的同学拍到那些比他们跑得慢的孩子，想出了一招。他慢悠悠地悄悄绕到游乐设施区，并不着急。他的策略就是不让自己被看到，让自己被他人忽略，就像以往同学们经常做的那样。他放低身体，就像野猫在走近它的猎物一样。

一个接一个地，孩子们都被拍到而出局了，除了杰克，只剩下另外两个孩子在玩。他们以最快的速度跑向游乐设施区，而杰克此时已经到达了后方的平台。没有人注意到他现在正藏在管状滑梯里。他们都忙着跑来跑去！

最后剩下的两个孩子都在通往游乐设施的台阶上快速地冲向最高处。就在那时，拿着旗子的孩子把旗子扔了出去，这样另一个男孩就没法让他出局了。他把旗子扔到了游乐设施台阶的最高处！杰克迅速从管状滑梯里出来，猛地冲向旗子，抓住了它。最靠近旗子的男孩伸手想要去抢，但为时已晚。另一个男孩就只是停下来看着。杰克跨过三个台阶爬上了平台，大喊：“杰克·弗林是操场之王！”

终于如愿以偿了！杰克赢了一场比赛！他还是有所擅长的！当他蹑手蹑脚地到达游乐设施上时，没有人看见他。所有人都没去注意他！这件曾令他讨厌的事情让他最终赢得了胜利。

当所有的孩子走进教室时，每个人都边笑边谈论着这个游戏有多么好玩，他们都笑容满面。就连杰克这个操场之王也是如此。endprint