Anthony

The Eighth Grade did not feel different enough for Anthony. He had grown into the boots of his puberty The timid movement of his emerging body became a confident gait. His screaming limbs lengthened, springy like green wood until they found the strength of bone, replacing the aimless new energy with the notion of capability. Anthony recognized the precipice he had arrived at, and was ready to go beyond it. The price of this awareness was the juvenile world that caged him. Like Tantalus, the fruit of maturity hung low, and when he reached out to take it's privilege it was snatched away.

Being in Eighth was like being the seniors of middle school. To Anthony and all of his friends this suggested elder statesmanship, utter familiarity and contempt for the mysteries of this place. But it became swiftly apparent that there was no extra latitude in this world, no hidden place for them to mold to their own purpose. They existed in the dominion of their elders for another year, and even worse none of his friends exhibited the same balmless itching Anthony could not quiet.

Anthony rode his bike in the pumpkin afternoon down deserted Sunday streets. When he came to a hill he'd extend his quickbeam legs and broaden his chest, bombing down the incline at dangerous speeds. The young wind sharpened Anthony's persistently articulating desires for girls, ambition, and travel. The faster he moved the more the impediments burned away, leaving the raw lust for achievement he felt at the core of himself. As his road flattened out he felt the entropy return, eroding his vital powers. Anthony stood on a wooden footbridge over a swollen brook, and commiserated with the restless sound of wet rocks rushing underneath.

The bus arrived in the quiet of early afternoon. His friends talked about the cars they were two years away from owning, and all the places they would go once they got them. They began to drift home but Anthony held them to the spot, the bus stop, the one small patch of land they recognized as their own. They stood with their feet far apart, taking up more space than was necessary, surveying the land they would one day lay claim, and discussing their plans.