Identifiable by a shuffling gait, designer sneakers, rhythmic hiss escaping from earplugs and fingers tapping at phone screen. Pubertae may appear solitary, though closer inspection often reveals related adults walking ten paces ahead.
Identifying call: ‘Why did you bring us here, Dad? What’s so good about Florence?’
Illustration by Simon Letch. First published, Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne Age 2015.
I remember. Then when arriving home, telling my friends all the cool places we’d seen.