Marco's Shortness
The story is about two boys and a basketball. One is most definitely not built for the game. "You know the saying, `Good things come in small packages'? Well, whoever said that was probably talking about Marco. `Fun-sized' is what he likes to call himself." The boy who is built for the game of basketball is using this imagery to describe his best. This passage occurs two pages into the story. The focus on the diminutive size of Marco is integral to the plot.
Skellie
Skellie is the nickname given to the only reason that any student ever laughs in Mr. Widén's science class. Skellie is more properly known as "Skellington Boneapart III, his model skeleton. Poor Skellie has two front teeth missing and a dislocated lower jaw that someone reattached using paper clips." The very effective imagery bringing this visual aid to life actually serves to set up a joke. Many kids would swear that Skellie is the actual skeleton of a former student who died of boredom in Mr. Widén's one-joke science class.
Smelly Teenagers
Many jokes and observations have been made about the foul odor of teenage boys. Isaac, the natural basketball star of the story, takes the smell to a whole new level courtesy of quite tangible imagery. "Pobre niño is starting to smell like a day-old cheeseburger.' Cheeseburger? I lift my arm and take a whiff. Great. She’s right about that too!" Isaac goes on to concur that the next logical step would be to take a shower in order to stop smelling like fast food. Surprisingly, however, he immediately proceeds to argue that smelling like charred beef and cheddar is actually the least of his problems at the moment.
Isaac's Anxiety
Isaac is suffering anxiety over the marital spats which loudly punctuate the discourse inside his home. "I look over to see if he’s ready. I’m guessing not by the way he’s running around like a madman with a toothbrush dangling from his mouth." This imagery characterizing Isaac as somewhat out of control and definitely unfocused conveys how Isaac responds to emotional strain. This imagery becomes more significant within the overall context which reveals Isaac is usually very cool and laid back.
