vila_restal | 20 questions

A meme about school. Not the best days of my life, in case you were wondering, but then so few of them have been.

20 questions

Who was your best friend?
Linzi Haig. She had a good sense of humour and she wasn't scared of being clever in class--not a good survival tactic in the Delta levels, you know. When they promoted her to Gamma clerical after the grading exams, I was the only one who still talked to her before she left. She was the one that fixed it a few years later so that I wasn't drafted into Space Fleet for pilot training. Good old Linzi.
What sports did you play?
You missed out "attempt to" there. I made a right mess of football (soccer to some of you) which required far too much running about for my liking and I didn't like being a goalie either: far too much blame. I didn't mind cricket. Nice game, cricket, even if it goes on for hours: you spend most of your time on the field standing around thinking about as little as poss unless a ball is coming at you, or leaving you. I wasn't a bad fast bowler, you know. Note that the 'fast' refers to the ball's speed, not mine.
What was your mode of transport to and from school?
Transporter of course, unless it was out, then it was my legs.
Were you part of the "In Crowd"?
Ha ha, me? No, but I had my own little group known as the Out Crowd. All fun and nothing much expected of you socially.
Ever skip school?
Yeah, if there was something good on the afternoon vid, or I'd been up a bit late the night before for professional reasons.
Ever smoke?
I prefer not to think of myself as flammable, but quite a bit did in the chemistry lab during my experiments on the burning properties of common household objects. It was a phase.
Were you a nerd?
I counted as one there: I was one of the only two to get to the purple reading level.
Did you get suspended/expelled?
Suspended only by that great oaf Miller, class bully. Expelled? That implies being thrown out with force, but I was just told not to bother coming back. I turned down promotion to Beta technical, you see (they'd have taken me away from my mum), and the principal was so ticked off, she didn't want to lay eyes on me again.
Did your school have an official song and, if so, can you remember the words?
Only toffee-nosed Alpha schools have songs. We had a few unofficial ones like "Do your boobs hang low?" Yes, I still remember the words of that.
Who was your favourite teacher?
Bru W Loj, known as Bru the Wonder Llama from his initials. He was a round, bouncy fellow with a big grin and lots of jokes. Only had him for two year when I was 9 and 10, but he was wonderful. More like him and kids might accidentally learn stuff while they're having fun.
Favourite class?
Metal work. I came top in that.
What was your school's full name?
Delta Training Facility 3962.
Did your school have a leaver's dinner or similar?
You're an Alpha, aren't you? Course not. Maybe some of them went to the pub, but since I wasn't there, I have no idea.
If you could go back and do it over again, would you?
Why on earth would I want to do that? I'm 34! If you mean turn back time and do it right, I've said before I'd rather not change the past; I'm alive and happy and I want it to stay that way.
Do you have a favourite memory of your final year?
Sitting in the middle of the sports hall with the Out Group drinking some sweet sherry I'd nicked from the Alpha levels earlier in the week. No one thought we could be doing anything wrong right out in public like that. A tip for all stages of life.
Did you ever win a school award or merit for anything?
Metalwork prize, English, Science (except that they wouldn't give me that one because of all the things I'd burned in the lab).
How did you do on the boyfriend/girlfriend stakes?
Well, I had a crush on Karma Naidu for a while. I used to sit behind her in class and admire her long glossy black plaits and her perfect golden face whenever she turned to talk to Jain Kenzil who sat beside her, but it was Jain who gave me my first kiss when I opened her locker after that bully Miller kicker her door and warped it. Far as it went though. Look, I was only 11.
Where did you go most often for lunch?
What, you think we had a selection of restaurants and cafes down there? To the school caf of course.
Have you gained weight since then?
I'd be a bit worried if I hadn't; I was 12 when I left. I'd rather say no more. I'm not big, but I'm sensitive about the exact kilogram value.
What did you do after you left?
Secondary and tertiary education. Oh all right, Juvy (Juvenile Detention wards) and CF1 (Correctional Facility 1). My first trip off-world, that last one. Yeah, it was a penal colony. Still learned a lot there though, and some of it saved my life and a lot of work that time the Scorpio hit an asteroid. Always worth it, an education.