I wish I knew how to tie my shoelaces. I’m almost seven now. All the rest of the kids in my class know. They all make fun of me every time I have to ask the teacher for help. I’m not sure why my knots always turn out wrong. I always try to get the bunny ears around the tree, but they never want to stay there. Mother wouldn’t buy me Velcro shoes. They weren’t on sale. So I had to come up with my own solution. At the beginning of the school year, I decided that I would only take my shoes off at home. That way no one can see me ask for help.

Up until now, my plan was working great. I wasn’t the only one who kept their shoes on during circle time, so it was easy to not draw suspicion. I probably could have pulled of the ruse for the whole year if it wasn’t for the carnival.

We went together as a class, and it was supposed to be the happiest day of the year. An unlimited ride bracelet, some spending cash just begging to buy me a funnel cake, and a day away from the prying eyes flog the teachers. We were assigned groups that were overseen by parents, and not only did my group have all my closest friends, but our group leader was Tommy’s dad. He owns the local movie theater, so he’s the coolest parent in the whole class because he sneaks us in to see movies for free sometimes.

At first, the day was everything we could have ver wanted. Enough spinny rides to make us sick, a roller coaster that went so fast I couldn’t see, even the clowns wandering around were the fun type that told jokes and made baloon animals rather than the scary ones that wore all the face paint and made fun of people. Then, Frankie suggested we go to the bounce house. We all immediately were on board with the idea, and as we rushed over, we saw there wasn’t even a line for it! Little did I know, things were about to turn south.

The older kid that was watching the ride was clearly bored at his job. He barely looked up from his phone as we ran up. He lazily pointed to the rules, mumbling something about behaving ourselves. Most of the rules were normal: no roughhousing, no fighting, no weapons… normal boring stuff. The last one is the one that made me nervous… ‘Please remove your shoes before entering’. I paused. No one was around that could help me get my shoes back on without my classmates seeing me.

In a snap decision, I decided that it would probably be ok. I waited till the attendant wasn’t looking, and then dove inside before anyone noticed. Jimmy was the only one who noticed, but when he asked me, I lied and said the attendant said it was ok. The bounce house was a blast. We took turns double bouncing each other, seeing who could do a flip. Most of us couldn’t make it all the way around, and would ungratefully fall flat on our faces. Because we were all laughing and yelling, no one else heard the tearing sound.

I’d just done a particularly high bounce, almost touching the rainbow colored ceiling. When I landed, the unmistakable sound of tearing fabric met me. I didn’t want to believe it. I refused to look down, to see if I really had damaged the structure. I cautiously bounced over to the other side of the castle, hoping no one would notice my crime. For a while, it looked like I had gotten away with it. No one was going to that corner, so I just had to hope it stayed that way till we all got bored.

As we kept bouncing, we started finding it easier and easier to touch the ceiling. At first, we all attributed it to us getting better, and high-fives went all around. It wasn’t till we noticed the walls sagging that we realized something had gone wrong. By that point, the front of the bounce house had folded over on itself, blocking the exit. Our cries for help finally caused the ride attendant to take notice. Through the quickly collapsing mesh windows, we saw him run over to the air pump, as if that was the culprit.

Tommy’s dad also took notice. He rushed over and lifted up the heavy vinyl covering the entrance, urging us to exit. Escaping was easier said than done, because the floor was folding over on itself. Frankie and Jimmy were the first ones to escape. Tommy was next, his dad reaching in and pulling him out as his leg got caught in the floor. I was furthest from the exit, and had found myself trapped under the back wall.

“This is it” I thought to myself. This colorful castle would be my grave. All because I was too afraid to take my shoes off. Just as I was about to give up hope, I feel a strong hand grabbing my wrist, pulling me free. My legs were stuck, but whoever this was was much stronger, and slowly I slid free. It was Tommy’s dad. The coolest dad. As I catch my breath, finally outside that rainbow prison, I look down. I’m missing my shoes…