If only they knew that instead of catching the bus to school in the morning, you cut across the fields, loop back to the house, and wait on the outskirts until their cars disappear so you can sneak back home. How many times has this gotten you into trouble? Hiding in the closet for hours, hoping they wouldn’t catch you when they unexpectedly returned early.

What a humiliation, sneaking down from the second floor late in the afternoon, slamming the door, and pretending you just got back from school. But that’s just how skipping school works when your young mind can’t justify studying something you have no passion for.

Weekends are spent working at the family cottage, and life is steeped in monotony.