The Great Ice Cream Chase

Mia heard it before she saw it — that jingly tune floating over the rooftops like a song from a dream. The ice cream truck! She dropped her jump rope right on the sidewalk and ran.

But the truck was sneaky. Every time Mia got close, it rumbled forward just a little more. She ran past Mr. Penny’s dog. She jumped over a puddle left over from Tuesday’s rain. Finally, with a happy little toot, the truck stopped at the corner by the oak tree.

Mia reached the window, breathing hard, and pointed to the picture of the chocolate-dipped cone — her favorite. She reached into her pocket and felt only one coin. Her stomach did a small, unhappy flip. She did not have enough coins to buy the cone.

She retraced her steps to the playground, scanning the woodchips beside the slide, checking the rungs of the monkey bars. She must’ve dropped the coins here, but she could not find them. Mia stood very still as her eyes filled with tears.

“Hey — are you getting a cone?” It was Theo from next door, red-cheeked and out of breath from his own long run across the park. Mia explained about the missing coins. Theo dug into his shorts pocket and pulled out exactly enough. “I can share with you,” he said, as he handed a few coins to Mia.

The chocolate-dipped cones were perfect — crunchy shell, with soft ice cream inside, melting just fast enough to make it exciting. They carried them carefully to the swings and took turns pushing each other, laughing and giggling.

When the last bite was gone, Mia dragged her sneakers along the dirt to slow herself down. The jingly tune of the ice cream truck was long gone. She looked over at Theo, who was already pumping his legs to go higher. Next summer, she decided quietly, I’ll bring extra coins to share with Theo.