"Mine!" shouts Pippa. She pulls on the shiny silver robot toy with all her might. Her best friend Leo pulls back just as hard.
Pippa yanks very, very hard. The squeaky robot slips right out of Leo's hands and clatters loudly against the wooden floorboards.
She snatches up the shiny toy without another word. She stomps all the way over to the fuzzy blue rug in the far corner of the playroom.
Pippa pushes the blinking red buttons. The robot beeps and whirs as it zooms across the carpet. But there is nobody beside her to watch it go.
She drops her hands into her empty lap. She looks at her robot, and then she looks across the room at Leo's quiet back. He is building something very tall.
Beep, beep, whir. The playroom is otherwise perfectly silent. The little electronic song bounces off the bare walls, making the space feel entirely too empty.
Pippa leaves the blue rug behind and takes three slow, quiet steps backward across the wide floor. She holds the little silver robot tightly in front of her.
She gently taps her friend on the shoulder. "I'm sorry," she whispers softly, offering him the blinking toy.
Wiggle, wobble, CRASH! Just as Leo turns to look, his tall wooden tower completely loses its balance. It smashes to the ground, scattering pieces everywhere.
Pippa blinks nervously at the messy wooden pieces rolling around her toes. She looks up at Leo's face, and suddenly, they both start to giggle.
"Let's build a robot city!" Pippa declares proudly. She places the silver toy in his hands and scoops up a massive handful of blue and yellow blocks.
Leo carefully sets the little robot on top of a bright red square. They sit shoulder to shoulder on the cozy rug, chattering away as they stack their brand new city higher and higher.
