Marlo grabs the biggest cushion and hurls it onto the coffee table. FORT! he yells. His little sister dives in with two more behind her.
Outside, fat rain drums the window—tap, tap, tap. The blanket-roof wobbles, leans, then CRASH—folds flat. Crumbs and tiny buttons scatter across the patterned rug.
His little sister pops up from the crumpled pile, crumb-streaked and grinning. Again! she says. They stack twice as high, tucking corners under the table legs.
A big wet, cold nose presses through the blanket gap. The dog squeezes inside, wedged tight between two puffed cushions, making them bulge. Goldfish crackers scatter everywhere.
The dog nudges a juice box off the coffee table. Squelch—purple juice soaks right through Marlo's sock. Marlo snorts a loud, bubbling, helpless giggle.
Marlo pours juice into the dog's bowl and hands his sister a cracker. They clink juice boxes together, toasting. The rain patters softer now, like a thumb tracing the glass.
Marlo tilts his head toward the rainy window, a goldfish cracker still poking from his mouth. The biggest adventure, he says softly, is right here.
The dog sneezes. A cracker launches across the floor. They all lose it—cushions tumble, goldfish crackers ping the walls, and laughter spills out the window.
