Set a Purpose

Ikarus, the new boy at school, has a problem. Find out what it is.

“Look at that strange boy!”

Everyone from the neighborhood is pointing fingers and watching the sky.

“How’s he doing that?”

They stretch their necks and shake their heads.

Ikarus Jackson, a new boy on my block, is flying above the rooftops. He is swooping and diving, looping past people’s windows and over the crowd.

I don’t think he’s strange.

Ikarus Jackson, the fly boy, came to my school last Thursday. His long, strong, proud wings followed wherever he went.

The whole school was staring eyes and wagging tongues. They whispered about his wings and his hair and his shoes. Like they whisper about how quiet I am.

Look at that strange boy!

Our teacher complained that the other kids couldn’t help but gawk and stare. He said that Ikarus’s wings blocked the blackboard and made it hard for the students to pay attention.

The teacher told Ikarus to leave class until he could figure out what to do with his wings. He left the room quietly, dragging his feathers behind him. One boy snickered.

At recess the snicker grew into a giggle and spread across the playground. Soon all the kids were laughing at Ikarus Jackson’s “useless” wings. I thought that if he flew just once everyone would stop laughing. Ikarus looked up, flapped his wings a couple of times, then jumped into the air.