Confidently standing amongst his peers, his short

crop of hair marks him out from the rest, even

though the uniform of jumper and trousers
intends to do the opposite.
In class, his demeanour is one of quiet mutiny,
reflecting his military ambitions, and he can often
be found with his head gently resting on his red
exercise book in peaceful slumber, dreaming
about this, as the rest of the class get on with
their work.
When animated, his enthusiasm trips into his
voice, and the deep vibrato resounds around the
room with constant refrains of right and like
interspersed between every few words.
When concentrating, he hates being interrupted
and at least once a week, when rebuked, the
lined paper filled with neat scrawl is flung
carelessly across the room signalling the need for
some careful cajoling to subdue him back into
submission.