Billy woke up that Tuesday morning to the cheerful beeping of his alarm clock, his hand shooting out to stop it. He groaned, stretching his arms, which felt strangely heavy with new muscles that he still wasn’t used to. Over the summer, he’d shot up in height, a good head taller than most of his classmates, though his mom always said it was just a “growth spurt.” Now, even when he stood next to some of the older kids at school, he looked only a little bit shorter, though his face still showed all the boyish roundness of an eight-year-old.
He thumped downstairs to find his mom already setting his breakfast out, flashing him a warm smile that also had that glint of amazement she’d worn a lot lately. She poured a glass of orange juice, looking him over as if she couldn’t quite believe how much he’d changed since the last school year.
“Good morning, big guy!” she greeted him, still with that same chuckle in her voice. “How’d you sleep, Billy?”
“Pretty good!” Billy mumbled, digging into his eggs. His older brother Max, who was eleven, sat across from him, glancing up with a bit of a frown as he watched Billy eat.
“Mom, Billy eats *so much* now,” Max complained, rolling his eyes. “Isn’t he supposed to eat, like, a normal amount?”
His mom just shrugged, patting Billy’s shoulder. “He’s growing, Max. Boys grow at different rates, you know.”
Billy glanced over at his brother, trying not to grin too wide. “Besides, I need more food for all my muscles,” he teased, flexing one of his arms just enough to show the slight bulge of muscle, which Max scowled at before heading back to his own breakfast.
When he got to school, Billy walked through the crowded hallways, feeling slightly out of place with his classmates, who all seemed so much smaller. He liked hanging out with his best friend Jake, who was also eight but barely came up to Billy’s shoulder now. Jake looked up at him with a big grin.
“Hey, Billy! You ready to play dodgeball in gym today?” Jake asked, bouncing a bit with excitement.
Billy nodded eagerly. Gym class was his favorite because he could run faster and throw harder than most of the kids his age. But he was still figuring out the balance; he’d been scolded once or twice for throwing the ball “too hard” during dodgeball, even though he didn’t think he was being rough.
They headed to the gym, where Coach Michaels greeted them with the same friendly, patient smile he used with all the younger kids. “Alright, kiddos, we’re doing dodgeball today, so I hope everyone’s ready to play fair!” he called, glancing at Billy with a raised eyebrow. “That means *everyone*, Billy.”
Billy grinned sheepishly, nodding. Even though he tried not to hit his classmates too hard, sometimes it was hard to control his strength. As the game started, he ducked and dodged, carefully aiming his throws so that he wouldn’t accidentally knock anyone over. But it was hard not to get carried away; he loved the feeling of running fast and winning, though it was still strange to him that the bigger kids gave him encouraging high-fives, like he was their younger brother.
During lunch, he sat with Jake and a few other kids from his grade, laughing and swapping their favorite superhero comics. A few of the older kids walked by, glancing over at him with curious smiles. One of them, a girl named Sophie, gave him a friendly wave as she walked past, and Billy, being polite, waved back.
“Hey, Billy!” Sophie called out with a smile. “Are you going to be at the mall this weekend?”
Billy shrugged, looking a bit confused. “Uh, maybe? I don’t really need anything there, though.”
She giggled, and her friends whispered to each other as they walked away. Billy tilted his head, watching them go. They were friendly enough, he guessed, but he didn’t really understand why they were so interested in him coming to the mall. He didn’t have any plans to go; he’d rather be playing video games with Jake anyway.
After school, Billy headed home, and as he walked through the front door, he heard the clatter of weights coming from the basement. He followed the sound and found Max down there, lifting the new set of dumbbells their dad had bought him. Max, who was three years older, was bent over the weights, trying hard to lift them and giving a big heave.
Billy smiled and watched. “You need any help with those?”
Max, already a little red in the face, shook his head, scowling slightly. “No, I can handle it. These are mine. You wouldn’t even know what to do with weights anyway.”
Billy laughed, picking up one of the smaller weights and giving it an easy curl. “I’ve seen people do it in movies. Like this, right?” he asked, lifting the weight with little effort.
Max dropped his weights with a thud, clearly frustrated. “Whatever, Billy. You’re still just a kid. I’m the one who’s almost a teenager.”
“Yeah, I know,” Billy replied, smiling, not quite getting why his brother was annoyed. He set the weight back down, shrugging as he made his way back upstairs. Maybe Max was just mad that his “little brother” wasn’t as little anymore, but Billy figured Max would get over it soon enough.
Later that night, as he brushed his teeth and looked at himself in the mirror, Billy saw the faintest outline of stubble on his upper lip and the muscles that had surprised him even just a few months ago. He grinned at his reflection, amused. It was weird, he thought, but also kind of cool to look a little older than he was. At least it meant he could keep up with all the sports he loved, and besides, he’d always be the “big kid” among his friends, no matter what.