It's been a goal of ours to go to state. With the boys going too, it's a celebration for the whole school. It's the best feeling.

It's that Prairie tradition and all. They came out knowing they were going to win. I don't think we knew. I think we were hoping we'd win, and in the back of our minds we knew it was Prairie that we were playing.

There's no name-calling because someone missed a question. Boys don't pick on each other as bad if girls are not in the room. They are willing to be peer tutors for each other. They wouldn't do that with girls in the room.

Small boys were a mystery to Sylvie. The satisfaction they gained from throwing sticks or stones for hours on end, the obsessive collection of inanimate objects, the brutal destruction of the fragile world around them, all seemed at odds with the men they were supposed to become.

All wars are boyish, and are fought by boys

It's like getting two fat boys in the ring, ... and whoever wins gets to eat.