Emma dribbled a basketball across the sunny playground. Thump, thump! She spiked a volleyball over the net, then hurled a handball toward the court. Between games, she knelt in the sand and sketched a wolf beside a seal.
Emma traced the seal’s whiskers with one sandy finger. Then she whispered, “Can I ever be the best at everything?” The basketball waited by the court, the volleyball sagged against the net, and sunlight glittered across the empty playground.
Emma practiced each sport perfectly—or tried to. Bounce! Bump! Throw! The basketball rolled straight into the volleyball net, and the handball landed on the wolf with a sandy splat. Emma brushed the picture clean while balls bounced and clattered all around her.
Emma watched the balls ricochet, wobble, and roll. She could keep practicing the same old way—or invent something entirely new. She scooped up the basketball, volleyball, and handball. A winding trail toward the beach suddenly looked like the beginning of a game.
Emma carried the balls from the court to the sandy beach. She drew a winding path toward the forest clearing near the water. “Dribble to the shore, bump across the sand, throw through the branch hoop, then draw a wolf and a seal!” she declared.
Emma began. The basketball skipped into the waves. The volleyball bounced off a tree, and the handball rolled straight through the wolf sketch. She chased all three, laughing as a splash flipped the basketball into the air like a shiny orange moon.
Emma caught the basketball as it dropped from its sparkling arc. Without stopping, she bumped the volleyball with one hand and sent the handball flying through the branch hoop. Plop, bump, swoosh! All three balls landed together beside the drawing.
Emma pointed at the three balls, the branch hoop, and her perfect picture. “I made my own game!” she shouted. Water sparkled behind her, while the wolf and seal stayed perfectly dry in the sand.