The Parcels

Ages 15-18

Chananel's first job is tying parcels in the office, and the string will not hold.

The secretary shows him once. She sets a box on the table, and wraps the string round it twice, crossing at the top. She pulls it tight, makes a loop, and draws the end through. It is done before he has seen how. She lifts the box by the string, and it hangs from her finger.

"That's all," she says, and goes back to her desk.

He wraps the first box. The string is slack on one side. He pulls it tight, and it slips off the corner. He ties it, and the knot comes undone when he lifts the box, and the string drops to the floor.

He does the second, and the third. The cord burns across his palm. The knots slide.

For the fourth, he winds the string twice round his hand for grip. He crosses it at the top and holds the cross with his thumb, and pulls, and does not let go until the loop is made. He draws the end through.

He lifts the box by the string. It hangs. The string is tight against the cardboard on every side.

He puts it on the shelf with the others, and takes the next. The secretary is typing, and does not look up.

The last box he lifts by the string, and sets it down, and the string stays tight.