Blue Chalk Squares

I followed the sidewalk around the bend where the concrete lay flat and clean. Bright blue and yellow chalk lines crossed the stone, drawn into neat numbered squares. I stopped right before the first box. After a quiet pause to measure the distance, I gave a gentle hop with both feet, landing squarely in the middle of number one. A faint puff of blue dust rose around my soles. I wobbled once, caught my balance against the cool air, and took another careful leap into square two. Neither heel touched the boundary.