J. Author Scott
The Masturbators
Henry and his friends liked to play football when it was warm enough and
dry enough outside at recess. Both sides had a dozen players at least,
and routes crisscrossed the field like word match answers on Henry’s
homework. Their games required either total improvisation or endless
huddles.
One day, Henry’s friend Bryce got down on a knee in the dirt and told
everybody to gather around him for one of those huddles. Henry wedged in
with the rest of his team as Bryce dug something out of the pocket of his
sweatshirt. Henry craned his neck over the boy in front of him and caught a
mouthful of the boy’s curly hair. From his spot at the center of the circle,
Bryce unfolded a sheet of paper. Henry couldn’t make out the creased image.
He got up on tiptoes as the first giggles broke out below. Just then, the
curly-haired boy ducked under Henry’s arm, and sunlight caught the paper
in Bryce’s hands.
Henry recognized long blonde hair and the white borders of computer paper,
but the rest of the image confused him. She was buck-naked. That much he
could tell. And her boobs were showing.
Bryce clapped his hands closed again and the entire group collapsed in a fit of
laughter. Henry didn’t join in. He stood thunderstruck as bodies rolled