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Shadowboxing

November 26, 2012/in Winter-Spring 2013, Writing for Young People, Writing for Young People / by Jesse Cheng

My shadow seemed down when I was boxing it the other day. I’m not sure if that was the first time or what, I never paid much attention to my shadow unless we were boxing, and we only boxed when I was pissed so I probably wouldn’t have noticed even if it was.

But this time was different, it looked down, I mean real down, I don’t know how but I could definitely tell. I asked it what’s up. I guess I must have said it a little too hard like, I was already pissed, that’s why I was boxing it, and because the shadow didn’t say nothing. It just stood there trying to act like everything was okay but I could see something was up, I’m not stupid.

What, I said. I was getting annoyed, the way it was fronting like that with its dumb blank look without features. If something was up why didn’t it say so but whatever, I let it slide and put up my hands to go again.

I might have been crying a bit, too. I don’t know, maybe I was feeling sorry for it. I mean, this old sparring partner who never did anything but take my punches, walk my walk, remind me always that I am. How could there ever be a better friend.

And damn it, the shadow began giving me more of the same crap. I don’t know, something about how it responded, just a fraction too slow. What the hell is up with you, staring at me with that empty expression that I can’t figure out what it’s thinking. I couldn’t be sure if something was the matter or if it was hating on me or what.

So I went up closer to check it out, and wouldn’t you know right when I did the damn thing jumped straight at me, getting up into my face all threatening like.

That did it.

I started swinging and screaming and cursing, cursing at that damn shadow cursing at damn God cursing at damn everybody. I kept swinging and screaming and swinging and cursing. I don’t know why but I just couldn’t stop.

And then…strangest thing. The shadow wasn’t hitting back any more. Its head was hanging, shoulders slumped. It was sobbing. I might have been crying a bit, too. I don’t know, maybe I was feeling sorry for it. I mean, this old sparring partner who never did anything but take my punches, walk my walk, remind me always that I am. How could there ever be a better friend.

We sat there sucking wind for a while, not looking at each other. It was getting to be kind of awkward, to tell you the truth.

Finally, neither of us could take it any longer. I stood the thing straight up, brushed off its shoulders, tipped its chin with a light uppercut.

Everything’s cool, right? I said.

And I guess I knew it was when my shadow moved with me step by step, side by side, out into the light.

Jesse Cheng is a lawyer and cultural anthropologist from Southern California. His website is jesse-cheng.com.

https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png 0 0 AudreyM https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png AudreyM2012-11-26 17:52:452019-05-19 12:17:49Shadowboxing

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Friday Lunch Blog

Friday Lunch! A serving of contemporary essays published the second Friday of every month.

Today’s course:

How to Kill a Cat, or How to Prepare for CATastrophe

March 10, 2023/in Blog / Meghan McGuire
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The Night I Want to Remember

December 16, 2022/in 2023ws-migration, Blog / Sanaz Tamjidi
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From Paper to the Page

November 18, 2022/in 2023ws-migration, Blog / Annie Bartos
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Midnight Snack

Take a bite out of these late night obsessions.

Tonight’s bites:

Point Break & Top Gun Are More Than Homoerotic Action Movies

March 3, 2023/in Midnight Snack / Michaela Emerson
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Mending the Heart and Slowing Down: Reintroducing Myself to Mexican Cooking

October 7, 2022/in Midnight Snack / Megan Vasquez
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The Worth of a Billionaire’s Words

September 23, 2022/in Midnight Snack / Kirby Chen Mages
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Amuse-Bouche

Little bites every third Friday to whet your appetite!

Today’s plate:

On Such a Full Sea Are We Now

March 17, 2023/in Amuse-Bouche / Jemma Leigh Roe
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The Russian Train

February 24, 2023/in Amuse-Bouche / Cammy Thomas
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Still Life

October 31, 2022/in Amuse-Bouche / Daniel J. Rortvedt
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School Lunch

An occasional Wednesday series dishing up today’s best youth writers.

Today’s slice:

I’ve Stayed in the Front Yard

May 12, 2021/in School Lunch, School Lunch 2021 / Brendan Nurczyk
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A Communal Announcement

April 28, 2021/in School Lunch, School Lunch 2021 / Isabella Dail
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Seventeen

April 14, 2021/in School Lunch, School Lunch 2021 / Abigail E. Calimaran
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Word From the Editor

Our contributors are diverse and the topics they share through their art vary, but their work embodies this mission. They explore climate change, family, relationships, poverty, immigration, human rights, gun control, among others topics. Some of these works represent the mission by showing pain or hardship, other times humor or shock, but they all carry in them a vision for a brighter world.

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