From the day
Perspective: The Teenager · Tactile
The scratchy wool of my thrift-store flannel rubs against my neck as I lean against the brick wall, nursing a lukewarm soda. I’m frantically mashing the plastic buttons on my Tamagotchi to keep the pixelated little guy alive, but it’s hard to focus with that "Mo Money Mo Problems" beat thumping from a passing car. Some poser in baggy jeans just tried to act deep by talking about the news in Paris, but I just tuned him out. I’m too busy feeling the slick, synthetic webbing of my backpack straps and wishing this humid summer night would never end.