Elemento 621 (Element 621)

No puede sacarse de encima la tristeza, ni de las uñas el betún de los días de infancia. Su desahogo es pelear. Siempre hay un motivo a mano. Y cuando no lo hay, invita aalgún amigo para darse unos golpes como si de verdad pelearan. Si encuentra a otro necesitado de soltar vapor se van detrás de los baños. Allí, donde nadie pueda intervenir, se suman en el ritual hasta caer extenuados. Luego regresan a las aulas sonrientes y abrazados a pesar de los moretones, como buenos amigos que son.

In English (tran. by Andrew Hurley)

He cannot seem to get rid of his little-boy sadness—or, from underneath his fingernails, the black shoe polish. His relief valve is fighting. There is always a good reason handy. And when there's not, he invites some friend of his to trade a few punches with him, as though they were really getting it on. If he can find another boy who needs to let off a little steam, they go out behind the showers. There, where nobody will step in, they immerse themselves in the ritual until they both drop, exhausted. Then they return to the classrooms all smiles, their arms around each other despite the bruises and black eyes, like the buddies that they are.