One afternoon, my cousin Emily and I were bored. We weren’t in the mood to do any of the activities that usually amused us. Emily’s mom couldn’t stand to watch us mope around the house, so she banished us to the basement. The basement was large and had a lot of open space. There was plenty of room to play. Emily and I liked to run around and roller skate and play with a bouncy ball down there, but we weren’t in the mood for that, either.

My cousin and I descended the basement stairs.

“What are we going to do?” I asked. “I’m so bored.”

Emily looked around and her face brightened. “I have an idea.” From the corner, she retrieved a big suitcase that had wheels and rolled it over to where I stood. I stared at the piece of luggage questioningly.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“You’ll see.” She pulled the zipper and opened the suitcase. “Get in,” she instructed.

“Huh?”

“Get in. This will be fun.”

Although I had no clue what Emily thought she was planning on doing, I obediently climbed into the suitcase. It was a bit uncomfortable, but I fit since I’m small. Emily zipped it so that the suitcase was half closed. She gripped the handle and began pulling me around the basement.

“This is fun,” I told her. “Can you go faster?”

Emily nodded and started to run. The wheels on the suitcase glided over the cement floor with ease. I flew around the room, having a great time. Emily sped back and forth; trying to avoid old furniture and exercise equipment, until eventually she tired out. I got out of the suitcase and stretched my legs. Emily caught her breath and said, “Now wasn’t that a good idea?”