Reality Bites

"Do I have to go to school forever Mum?" my young son asked me today.
"No. Not forever," I replied.
"But for a long time?"
"Yes, for quite a long time," I admitted.
He paused to consider this, looking off into the middle distance, his brow scrunched as he pondered the possible implications.
"It's a cruel world Mum," he said at last.
How right he is. And he hasn't even started watching Eastenders yet.