It was Paul’s idea to have a small get-together a have an evening of talking all over old times. All of his friends like the idea, especially Brian who came back from his home town only a week ago. The trip was very special to him.

He wandered through the park in the center of the tow and remembered the days when he used to walk through the same park with his first girlfriend. He stood for a while m front of the movie theatre and thought about all the Sunday afternoons he used to spend there. He ate at the ice-cream shop. And he even rode on the merry-go-round. For a little while, he felt like a kid again. He visited several of his old neighbors who were still living there. He said hello to the owner of the bakery near his house. And to top it all he bumped into Mr. Morns, his school teacher. Well, he did have something to tell his friends about!

When Paul and his friends finally got together one cold winter evening Brian was the first to speak. His nostalgic story brought back memories of the days gone by-early childhood and, of course, schooldays. For some of them, like Carol, schooldays were very happy. She had a great time at school. The thing was that she lived on the edge of the country so the moment she finished school she and her classmates would | be out in the fields playing all kinds of games. There was a river, and they used to swim in it. In the little village school she went to they were all together—boys and girls of all ages. It was like one happy big family. Perhaps it was a bit difficult for the teacher— different ages and different abilities—but the older children always helped the younger ones. And everyone enjoyed that. When Carol's parents moved to town she had to go to another school—a big comprehensive school with a lot of subjects. The teaching was very good and there were lots of extra activities. It was quite interesting to study there. Yet Carol was never so happy as she used to be in her little village school. There could never be another place like that!

Cindy's schooldays were certainly not the happiest. The problem was that she lived in a world of her own. She went to the local grammar school. It was an all-girls' school, and they all had to wear a uniform. Cindy really hated it! The girls weren't allowed to mix much with children from other schools and none of them liked it. She was about twelve or thirteen and she felt very lonely there! Once she even pretended that she had a little sister and it got so real that she told her friends at school. And she kept this up for two whole years! But then one of the girls mentioned Cindy's sister to her mother, who knew Cindy's mother, and the truth came out. Everyone looked at Cindy a bit strangely a and she was very embarrassed but after a month or two all of them forgot it and so did Cindy, but she still hate everything about that school, even games. She still shudders at of those freezing mornings when they had to run around the school stadium.

The next person to speak was Charles Barkley, one of those select few who had a very privileged education. He studied at Eton, one of the oldest and top public schools for boys in the United Kingdom. Its students are largely from aristocratic and upper-class families. But Charles thinks that it can be a handicap in life to go to a school like Eton. People think that those who study at Eton are arrogant and snobbish, with no brains or talent. Charles passed three "A" levels in Maths, Physics and Computer Studies. However, his teachers were not very happy with his work. They thought he was spending too much time playing his guitar and reading music magazines. He had his own room at Eton where he slept and studied. Charles went home for the weekend twice a term but otherwise he didn't have much freedom.

Kelly was good at most subjects at school. She was especially good at Arithmetic-she could add up as fast as a calculator, and she still can, but when they started real Mathematics—Algebra, Geometry—she had no idea about the subject and she didn't like it. It all started when the teacher said that a circle had three hundred and sixty degrees and Kelly asked him why—she was really curious—and he said: "Don't ask stupid questions, girl!" That was the end of real Mathematics for Kelly.

It was well past midnight but the discussion went on and on. Paul leaned forward and hung on every word. He wondered what was in store for them in the twenty-first century.