The boy has a July birthday. He is also unusually small for his age—short, slight, and skinny. He is the youngest in his kindergarten class when school starts that fall in San Antonio.
He does not know it, but his parents are thinking of holding him back.
After his first day of school, he sits at the table eating a snack. His mother sits next to him.
“How was school?”
He grunts. “Boring.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Mostly, we just played a bunch of baby games. We barely did any work.”
“I see.”
They do not hold him back.
The Living and the Dead, by Gordon Laws 