My Understanding Brother

When I stepped from the classroom into the hallway, somehow, it seemed more crowded with kids even shorter and smaller than last year. Was it because I was feeling self-conscious about being a head taller than most of them?

As two girls passed, I heard their giggles.

“Did you see her? She’s so tall!”

“She’s almost a giant,” the other girl snickered.

I fought back embarrassed tears. Why did I grow so tall over the summer?

In the lunch area, my friends from last year, Rita and April, looked up at me as we met in a flurry of quick greetings. When Rita shaded her eyes to look up, I moved aside, pu...