Articulating Intellectual Adolescence(Cam Rascoe) “Well aren’t you just hubris and haughty?” Sue said with her hands planted firmly on her narrow twelve year-old hips while leaning to one side.

“Houboorus? Hoppy? Girl whatcha’ talkin’ ‘bout? I can’t understand nothing you saying.” The intellectually over matched Marcus stated curiously while scratching the top of his head covered with “peesey” or rarely combed hair. That became the boy’s nick name early in life, Peesey; he took to the name and never did comb his hair even as he approached adolescence and eventually into adulthood.

“I’ve got to get away from here, this town in filled with fools. I will starve intellectually if I stay in this community of dullards after my high school years.”

“Sue, why you always talikn’ like that?”

“Do you not care for the way in which I converse with you?”

“If you sayin’ what I think you sayin’ sometimes, yeah it’s cool, but I don’t like when you use those big words on me. Sometimes it’s like you tryin’ ta hurt me wit those words.”

“I would never do you harm with my speech but sometimes frustration does lead me to become somewhat antagonistic with my intellect but, I also want to educate. I hope that when I use a word when speaking to you, you retain that word and are able to utilize it later in the proper context.”

“Sue you must be the smartest girl in tha whole world. You twelve and you already in the 10th grade. Shoot I’m fourteen and I’m only in the 8th grade.”

“Don’t worry Peesey you need not show concern for the grade level in which you are placed; just aspire to excel mightily no matter what your level or challenge. You are in your correct grade anyway; you just have an early birthday. I on the other hand have been deprived my rightful junior year of high school and have had it postponed until next year. Their reasoning behind this was that socially, I would experience great challenges because everyone would be so much older than I. I explained to our obtuse administration that I wasn’t your average nerdy wiz kid twelve year-old. I am not only gifted intellectually but socially as well. I conduct myself very well in the presence of adults, more less a team of thick teens. My eloquent argument fell on death ears.”

“C’mon Peesey, bring the ball back, stop talking to nerd girl and finish the game.” One of the other boys playing basketball with Peesey yelled over.

“Well Sue it’s been nice talking to you but I’ve got to get back to the game. I’ll talk to you, or should I say listen to you, later, bye.”

Sue waved bye to one of her few acquaintances and watched him score the game winning basket. Difficult was the young girl’s existence due to the gift she was blessed with taking on the form of a curse during this brief time in her life. In the very near future, Sue’s sharp wit and superior intelligence would pay off handsomely but on this bright afternoon at a local Pine Hills park she felt all alone in the world. Her mother forced her to go to the park so that she might interact with children her own age for awhile but therein lay the problem; Sue was nothing like any of the children her age or older. It was as if the girl was born an adult. She held no interest in children’s games or those who played them. Sue stuck her nose back in the book she was reading before the interruption of Peesey and the game winning basket. Sue once again lost herself in the words and the cerebral cultivation and comfort they provided her.

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