We were just little boys. We played games, we teased each other, and we didn't have any worries. At school we were all the best of friends. We played football together on the playground every day, the seven of us. Then out of the blue, it changed.

We were heading out to play football, just like any other day. As we reached the field at the back of our school's sprawling playground we noticed something different. There was a wooden kitchen chair sitting in the middle of the field. Mark was the first to investigate. He wiggled it, tried to lift it, but no luck. It had been bolted to the ground. We all looked at each other with a look of confusion. That's when Aidan piped up.

"As the smart kid of this group, I hear-by declare myself king. Everyday we will come out here, and play a new game. I will begin the game by sitting in the chair, with the dress up box's crown on, and you will be peasants. The first one to make me cry will win the title of king for the next part of the game, until he cries. No givesies backsies." We all nodded. At the age of seven, who cares who gets to sit in the chair? We all wanted to tease each other. So as planned, the next day Aidan sat on the chair with the crown on his head, and we began to taunt him.

"Aidan sleeps with his blanky! Aidan is really a girl!" We were screaming. He sat there with a smirk on his face. This lasted all of recess. Aidan seemed really tough, and we all wondered if he would ever break. I wanted to be on the chair next, to prove I was strong, to prove I could handle the teasing, but I didn't say anything to the others, afraid to make them upset. We continued to tease him for the next two days until he finally broke. He began to sob loudly and collapsed to the ground. Rob took the crown from him. Just as he sat down, the bell rang. We all abandoned the chair, and the crown, along with Aidan. We didn't notice until he was late for class. Rob apologized, but that was the first strike.

We played the game every day for the next eight weeks of school. Everyday Aidan would start, and everyday Aidan would lose. Rob would take his place, or Josh, or Mark. But never me. Even though I tried to get the words out of my mouth, something inside of me never let me say anything too mean. The others laughed at me sometimes for being that way. By the end of the school year, everyone had a turn on the chair except for me. At home I would cry because I looked weak. Not only had I not been able to say anything to make anyone cry, but now no one would get to see how well I hold up against such pressure.

As time went on, I had noticed that we all hung out after school less and less. We didn't talk in the lunch room anymore. The only time our group spent together was on the playground, teasing each other until we cried. Who was the real winner in this horrible game? Over the summer we didn't see each other, which made me wonder if we would continue the wretched game. And sure enough, as soon as school started we were back on the old field, giving our lives to the chair.

By the time the end of the third grade rolled around more boys had joined in. They became slaves to the chair too. Aidan started, and someone else finished. His face was always stained with tears and he never talked to anyone. Some days he was missing from class, others from school all together. But he always came back because as we all were, he was a slave to the chair. I still had never been the one on that chair. My heart would never let me say anything. Instead I cried every night, praying that the hurt would stop. Maybe the next day the chair just wouldn't be there or a kindergartener would have taken the crown. Fourth grade was fast approaching, and I knew I wouldn't get my chance. A new school meant a new class. It also meant no chair. It would be our chance to start over. But as our class continued into May, and then into June, more and more people cried faster and faster, I never managed to be the one to do it. Finally, the summer came with chirping birds and long green grass, but the pain kept us all apart.