In addition to the parapet of Beanie Babies bordering his desk, I envied Andrew his hitchhiker’s thumb. When he pressed his pencil into multiplication tables, I watched that thing bend like a greased hinge into a right angle, the swoop of his finger pad lending it an extra flair of personality. If Andrew’s hands were Garamond, mine were Arial, all straight lines and tedium. I began to sit on my thumbs during silent reading, one minute on the left side, one minute on the right, until my joints extended five degrees further and, for a sweet moment, I became interesting.
Susannah Borysthen-Tkacz is a librarian based in Massachusetts. Her work has appeared in Creative Nonfiction and New Limestone Review. She is working on a novel. Find Susannah at www.susannahbt.com.