Rodeo Drive by Meg Burrows

Rodeo Drive. A place where we went as kids. It was never that big at the time, we seemed to complain about it a lot. But still, we’d go. They’d be Jim, always in his polo shirt and jeans, always sitting at the base of the tree. Boy, would you move if you sat in his place too long. Penny, Jim’s girlfriend had a tendency to stick her chin out when she laughed. I think it was to get Jim’s attention. She would always sit to his left, her well toned legs leaning into him. Josh, who Jim would always tease, would be sitting in his pa’s fold out, drinking from a thermos. Sammy would be closely by, sprawled out on the ground, completely at ease with everything, watching the world go by behind his glasses.. Tom would be first in the river, or up the tree. One year he made a rope swing, how us girls screamed on that thing. Sandra was the worst, she’d dilly dally for so long, deciding whether to swing or not. Jim would get annoyed at her but I don’t think the other boys minded her squealing, in fact, I think Tom liked it. And then there was me, Bumble.