Extending the Broadcast

The collapsed chrome antenna on that battered transistor radio had no business staying tucked away in the shadows. I leaped onto the splintered bench, hooked my fingers under the grooved tip, and wrenched upward. Segment one—snick. Segment two—click. With one final theatrical heave, I hoisted the slender steel rod five times my own height into the sky. Total broadcast authority. I braced my boots against the radio's scarred plastic casing, leaning back with my mic clutched tight, daring the afternoon airwaves to send through a signal bold enough to rival mine. Static buzzed beneath my soles. Pure resonance.