Distracted kid

Narrators are often flawed characters. Sometimes they want to be the calm, observant type, but their mind won’t let them. When that happens, you’ve just got to strap yourself in for the ride.

This snippet tells you as much about the narrator, Ishmael, as it does his subject. He overthinks things, which is what happens when he describes his school mate, Ignatius.

Ignatius Prindabel always reminded me of an old man, I guess because he was thin and kind of stoopy and his hair started too far back on his forehead. Sometimes I had the crazy thought that he was really a pensioner working undercover for the government, you know, like an ASIO spy checking up on teachers or a stooge for the drug squad. But what I could never figure out is why they would be using pensioners. Were they cheaper? Were they the only ones with the time to spare? In the end I decided it was more likely that Ignatius Prindabel was just a weird-looking kid like the rest of us.

Don't Call Me Ishmael(2006)

Billy Moore made me think of a sloth, just without the fur or those long nail things they have. He had heavy eyelids, a permanent smile, and could sleep through World War 3. I am certain that, if our year level was allowed in the preschooler’s playground at lunch time, that’s where Billy would be, hanging off the monkey bars, smiling away, fast asleep, little kids happily climbing all over him. Maybe that’ll be his future career – Billy the Human Climbing Frame – something for the kids to play on before going and watching the rest of the circus acts. Eventually I learned that Billy Moore was tired because he spent most of his time outside of school working at his family’s restaurant.

Write a description of someone based on the picture. Write from a narrator’s point of view. Start with a description and expand on that until you go overboard. Then bring it back in.

Everyday Life Genre (Middle Years)