For her birthday, Mia received a set of pavement chalks from her grandparents. She eagerly opened the enormous box. It was filled with a rainbow of colours – green, red, blue, yellow, purple... There were so many colours that her eyes were spinning.
“Mummy, Daddy, can we ple-ee-ease go outside? I want to try-out the chalks right away,” she begged. Luckily, the weather was perfect for a walk, and everyone was happy to step out. Without delay, they set off to the park.
Mia ran ahead, as she could hardly wait to get started. Her grandma and grandpa sat down on a bench while her mum and dad strolled across the park to a nearby café. Feeling excited, Mia took the first thick stick of chalk out of the box.
“What are you going to draw?” Her grandpa was super curious to know.
Mia paused for a moment to think. “Ah!” She knew at once what she wanted to draw: “Everything — spring, summer, autumn, winter, and all that comes with each season!” Her grandpa smiled and nodded. She began with pink blossoms, followed by red cherries, purple plums, and a yellow sun above a blue swimming pool.
She was at the stage of drawing colourful autumn leaves when a boy strolled up to her.
“Hi, I’m Steve. Do you mind if I draw with you?” he asked shyly.
“Well… why not?” Mia agreed, giggling. “Do you have as many colours as I do? Look how huge my box of chalk is!”
“Colours?” the boy asked in surprise, his eyes widening. “I... I only have white chalk.” He awkwardly kicked at the tiny pebbles on the pavement. “But I have several sticks of it! I can lend you one,” he quickly added.
“Pfft, white chalk,” Mia…