Hopscotch Sprint

A bright chalk hopscotch grid stretched across the sidewalk was practically begging for a time trial. Right at square one sat a smooth, flat slate stone. No way I was walking around it. I dropped into a sprint, flicked the marker stone forward with the toe of my sneaker, and hit the squares in a blinding rhythm. One foot, two feet, cross-hop, turn. The stone skipped cleanly through boxes four and seven, and I caught it on the bounce right at the top arc before carving a razor-sharp spin on the concrete. Ten squares cleared in under two seconds. That’s a new course record.