“Thank you,” she said. As she sat, a warm rubbery surface nudged her leg. “Not now, Tire. We'll play later.” She grabbed a chicken leg and bit into it. She drew a massive chunk of meat and skin into her mouth and chewed slowly. She frowned, and then quickly plucked the mangled piece of leg from her mouth with her finger. “Yuck! The chicken tastes funny again.” e set the fleshy bone down on the plate. She finished a side of cooked vegetables and ate the chocolate pudding. “Thank you. The chicken tasted bad again, but everything else was okay.” The cart took the remains of the meal away. “Thanks for the seat, Jungle Jim.” She got up and patted its cold, hard surface. “Want to play tag with me and Tire?” The jungle gym shuddered. “I know, I know. You’re too slow. That’s okay. I'll play with you later.” To the tire, she shouted, “You’re it!” She slapped it and sprinted across the grass. The tire sprung after her, but she made it to the building and shut the door. “Don’t let Tire in until you count to twenty,” she ordered. The door remained closed as the tire bounced into it, slamming against its hollow steel. A metallic ring echoed through the halls of the building. Irma ran up several flights of stairs and into a hallway. She crawled under a desk at the far end of a room. Minutes later she heard the tire rolling down the hall, checking each room. Finally, it entered and moved past several rows of desks. When she heard it fall on its side to check for her feet, she knew she was discovered. She leaped out of her hiding spot in a blind run. The tire bounded after her, jumping over desks in its way. A final jump struck her, sending her flying head first into the wall. n