Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of bullying. 

Alex believes that the worst part of Little League is at the beginning of every season when he is required to yell out his uniform size in front of everyone. Alex has always been the smallest kid on the team, but this year, he notices that he’ll be the only one wearing a small-sized uniform.

Alex recalls a time in kindergarten when his teacher told the class to cut out magazine pictures representing their image of themselves as adults. When Alex brought in a picture of the Lucky Charms leprechaun, his teacher was concerned. Alex joked with her at first and then confessed that he would rather be a pilot, but the assignment was about what they were going to be, not what they wanted to be. Alex’s teacher called his mom, who sat him down and talked to him about his small size. She emphasized that everyone grows at different rates and then measured his height on the doorframe and made a mark to prove that he was growing. Six months later, she measured him again, and he had grown by half an inch. Alex joked about all the rest of the growing he’d still need to do to be a “real boy,” and his comment frustrated his mom.