The living room was quiet. A yellow blanket covered the floor, soft as sunshine.
Amara gripped her red car and zoomed it across the blanket. Vroom, vroom!
The door buzzed. Amara hid the car behind her back and stood very still.
Her friend dropped a bag of blocks by the door and smiled. "Hi!"
Amara pointed to the edge of the blanket. "Stay over there."
The friend sat on the far cushion and tapped her knees. The car rested between Amara's knees like a tiny boat.
Amara zoomed the car alone — over pillow mountains, around chair legs — but it rolled too fast and splatted under the table.
Her fingers were too short. The friend climbed onto the table and peeked underneath. "Like this?" she asked, pointing to a wooden block.
Amara watched carefully and slowly pushed the block into place. The car rolled down the ramp with a happy click.
Then her friend zoomed it through a tunnel made of cushions. They took turns. "Your turn." "My turn."
The car did loops and spins and bumps, and everyone laughed out loud.
The red car sat in the middle of the blanket, engines off. Amara handed it to her friend. "One more round?"
They zoomed together until the living room felt bigger than it ever did alone.
The red car sat still in the middle of the blanket. Tomorrow, they would build something new together.
