The big boy with a young heart

I imagine a boy who is growing up so much faster than he expected - he's almost at puberty, on the edge of teenhood and practically no longer a child.

Yet on the inside, he still wants to play, live carefree. He wants to run in the field, pick up sticks and throw tennis balls at people. On the odd occasion, he does get to run free, but mostly he re-lives his younger years in his dreams.

As a boy, he is naturally mischievous, full of nonsense and completely lacking in discipline and focus. He likes taking things apart, peeling his fingers and saying silly things out loud at inappropriate times and places.

As a boy, he is also expected to study hard, work for the results and lay the groundwork for a bright future. But he sits there playing with his pen and examining his broken nails.

His eyes try to focus on the numbers and words in the pages in front of him but his mind is outside, either in the living room playing Xbox or in the sun kicking a ball around.