It’s an actual pocket but I didn’t find this out until I was an adult - I thought that’s how they were made for a reason and if I cut the thread, it would make a hole in the pants. Nope, regular pockets just sewn shut for some reason.

I think I was in my 30’s before someone told me the truth. It was a man IIRC lol…but yeah my mom never knew I guess, friends at school, etc, or if they did they didn’t tell me because I guess they never noticed.