Trampoline Hearts

The clouds were spinning. Niko groaned as he lay sprawled on the grass behind his house. His head reeled, recovering from the fall off his new trampoline, the best Christmas gift he'd ever gotten. He rubbed arms and legs on the grass to distract from the pain ringing from his forehead.

“Are you okay?” his neighbor asked, her voice laced with concern.

Niko bolted upright and turned her way, desperate to hide his embarrassment. “Oh I’m fine…" he sputtered, "just looking at the sky, is all,” he smiled, though he wondered if she could see his head wobbling. She studied him curiously from behind his yard’s chain link fence.

“Really? Cuz it looks like you tried doing a backflip and ended up hitting your head on the side of the trampoline,” she quipped.

“Oh, that?” Niko shrugged, “That’s just a new trick I’ve been practicing. You know, to scare my parents for fun.” A crooked grin spread across his face. “I guess it works if you thought that was accidental.”

Her lips twitched as though she was about to laugh. “I think you need more practice,” she said, her eyes sparkling. “I’m Tina,” she said with a small smile. “I moved in a week ago.”

Niko’s heart did a little flip. “Hi Tina,” Niko said, his grin still lingering. “I’m Niko. It’s short for Nikola.”

“Hi Niko,” Tina said.

A beat of silence passed between them, and Niko felt a strange urge to say something. “So, uh… you… like trampolines?” Tina’s brown hair shone in the sunlight.

Tina shook her head, as she looked past him at the trampoline. “I’ve never tried one before." She looked back at Niko, sprawled out on his backyard. "They seem kinda dangerous.”

“No, they’re a lot of fun!” Niko reassured her. “You can just do small bounces, like this!” Niko sprang to his feet, bounced back onto the trampoline, and hopped a few times. “See!” he exclaimed proudly.

“Okay,” Tina replied. “Maybe later. But only if you promise not to do anymore backflips.”

“Okay, deal,” he said between absent-minded jumps. “Where you going to?”

“The park,” Tina replied. “I’m meeting a friend there.”

“Cool.” Niko said. Not wanting their time to end, he asked: “Need someone to walk you there?”

Tina paused for a moment, then smiled. “Okay, that would be fun.”

Niko bounced off the trampoline onto the grass, safely this time. He went through his fence's gate to meet her. “Let’s go.”

They walked side by side down the alley, passing rows of well-maintained lawns and hedges before turning right onto the main road’s sidewalk.

“So, where did you move here from?” Niko asked, giving her a quick glance.

“Kansas,” Tina replied.

“Kansas?” Niko blinked, “that’s far from here isn’t it?”

“Yeah. It took ten hours to get here!” Tina exclaimed. “The drive here was so boring!”

“Ten hours?” Niko chuckled, “you coulda watched a hundred movies in that time!”

“Yeah I guess, huh?” Tina laughed, her eyes glimmering as they met Niko’s.

Niko blushed and looked ahead. “Which house do you live in?” he asked.

“It’s the light blue one, with the big garage. It’s not far from yours.”

“I know which one you’re talking about,” Niko replied. “Cool.”

The park came into view. A couple of kids were jumping up and down the playground and a man played frisbee with his dog in the field. Niko glanced at Tina’s hand. His heart beat a little faster. He brushed the back of his palm against Tina’s, watching her reaction. She didn’t seem to mind. Heart racing, he went for it. Surprised, she turned to look at him, then glanced down at their fingers intertwined. She blushed, looked back up at him, and smiled. Niko’s heart fluttered, and he felt like he could melt away, like a popsicle on a hot day.

When they reached the edge of the park, Niko said, “Welp, looks like we’re here.”

Tina giggled softly, still holding his hand. “Guess we are,” she said, her voice light and teasing. “Thank you for walking with me.”

“Of course,” Niko replied, his voice shy but warm. He paused, then said, “I’d walk anywhere with you.”

Tina spotted her friend playing on a swing and waved at her. She turned to Niko, and said, “Bye Niko, it was nice meeting you.”

“It was nice meeting you too,” he replied.

They stood and gazed awkwardly at each other for a moment, before finally Niko said, “I’ll see you later!”

He turned and ran back home, so excited he could jump a million times on his trampoline and not get tired.