June 21st, 2003
A rude young boy scratches his waist, staring idly at the camera on a sunny day in his backyard. In the background is a mystical red door, one that he’ll later learn leads to the basement. Right now, he believes it’s a secret portal to his daycare, and will become very upset when told otherwise. Tomorrow, he’ll stare at it for a long time, willing it to reveal a more comfortable truth. Something is deeply wrong with him.
December 31st, 2004
A rude young boy is sitting in a stark-white kitchen, neat in a row next to his two siblings. He is trying salsa for the first time - a slight dip of the tortilla chip into the thinnest part of his bowl. His eyes, for the moment, are alight with joy. Once he’s exhausted his share, he will reach over to dip his remaining chips in his little brother’s untouched portion; the rude young boy will be hollered at for his gluttonous crime against someone so helpless. Something is deeply wrong with him.
February 6th, 2005
A rude young boy’s face dominates the camera, features tightly contorted in towards the bridge of his nose. He smiles richly and crudely, baring all jagged baby teeth. His hands tuck together against his cheek, imitating a cutesy pose with great inelegance; his pupils barely reveal themselves through white-clenched eyelids to reflect a glimmer of life. In a few years, he’ll be taught how embarrassing this was. Something is deeply wrong with him.
May 8th, 2006
A rude young boy stands in front of his own art piece - Me and my Mom - against a corkboard of other children’s illustrations. His hands are clasped behind his back, and he stands tall with pride. In the work, the rude young boy places himself at the center of the page, with his mother - depicted as quite shorter than him - tucked off to the side. Something is deeply wrong with him.
September 22, 2007
A rude young boy stands at attention for the camera, displaying a crude cardboard-and-tin-foil helmet in the vague shape of a robot. He beams brightly, happy to show his father something he’d made himself. When he looks at it in the upper shelf of the toy closet in the weeks to follow, he’ll feel nothing nostalgic for it. Something is deeply wrong with him.
December 19th, 2007
A rude young boy sits at the head of the dining room table, opening a belated enveloped birthday card. Two of his classmates watch him rip it apart with sticky, indelicate fingers. Inside is a card with a message, something thoughtful and kindhearted; the rude young boy will pretend to read it, pretend to understand its meaning, and smile at the nearest boy appreciatively. He will selfishly daydream about opening the present with Spider-Man wrapping paper. Something is deeply wrong with him.
February 19th, 2008
A rude young boy stands with his index and middle fingers propped behind his brother, imitating a pair of bunny ears. The LED flash reflects harshly in empty eyes as the rude young boy smiles - front teeth missing - at the camera. This is his favorite prank, something he’s seen countless times in the TV shows and movies his parents watch. The victim remains ever-oblivious. Shortly after, the rude young boy’s father will pull him aside and give him a stern talking-to about being appropriate towards people like his brother. When he does, the rude young boy will ponder the Zoo Pals plates on the table - he hopes to get his cake served on the cat. Something is deeply wrong with him.
June 14th, 2008
A rude young boy stands at the dead center of a line of children, peers from his grade, on a dimly-lit auditorium stage. He stands stiffly, knees locked, with his hands in the depths of his pockets - the two at each side are uncomfortably close. Eyes blown red by the digital camera remain laser-focused on the back wall as he stands ready to feel the vibrations in the girl’s shoulder, signaling his turn. When it comes, he’ll recite a sentence he’d spent the last week practicing in class. He doesn’t know what it means. Something is deeply wrong with him.
December 19th, 2009
A rude young boy opens a present on his birthday - two siblings are in attendance, one is present. Upon drawing out the knockoff dart blaster, he’ll exclaim that he’s never had anything like it in his life. His parents will urge him to be genuine; it is the only genuine thing the rude young boy knows how to say. Something is deeply wrong with him.
January 18th, 2009
A rude young boy crouches down next to a pathetic lump of snow, embedded with a carrot and seven small raisins. Surrounding them is the shadow of underlying red bricks, scraped clean by gloved hands to collect into a pile at the center of the patio. The rude young boy’s hair is matted with frozen sweat - hours of labor collected into an ungrateful payoff. He doesn’t understand why his snowman turned out so different from the ones he’s seen in so many pictures. Something is deeply wrong with him.
December 30th, 2011
A rude young boy walks down a brick path at the park, straddled by his mother and the caretaker for his brother. He stands equidistant from both, nearly a foot of clearance between the sides of each. His hands are ready to jump into the pockets of his trusty hoodie - for now, he flashes a mundane thumbs up to the camera. Later, his mother will try to hold his hand three times; the rude young boy will shrug her off ungratefully, bothered by the feeling of skin-on-skin. Something is deeply wrong with him.
December 19th, 2016
A rude young boy’s face is captured cleanly against a pale blue background - a portrait for his driver’s license. He is expressionless and strictly professional for the only photo he’s allowed to be taken of him in years. Something is deeply wrong with him.
July 19th, 2019
A rude young boy is laid out neatly across the opening page of a thick packet of paper, lying on a veneered tabletop; minor details of his life and experiences are reiterated by someone licensed and accredited. Near the top, just after the letterhead, is a grade for a quiz: 9/10. The rude young boy is not recommended for further assessment. Something is deeply wrong with him.
June 26th, 2021
A rude young boy takes a crude portrait of himself for a university ID card. When he studies it on the digital mockup after submission, he’ll see his brother staring back at him and sob. Something is deeply wrong with him.
January 23rd, 2023
A rude young boy takes a selfie in the bathroom mirror in the psychiatrist’s office. He told someone about his brother, and they told him about himself. When he looks down at this picture, he’ll chuckle when he can still see the resemblance. It won’t hit him for another fifty minutes.