Thank you so much for seeing the things I liked best about this story.
"These painful reflections on a harsh school experience have the ring of real suffering and disenfranchisement."
Been there. My experience of school is best described as schizoid. Many, many years of being reviled and tormented coupled with a couple years of near-divinity.
It is no wonder I'm a mess. Still, I think they make a nice couple too. L