My friend Vitek lived literally across the street from our school building. During the revolution of 1905, Vitek was always late for his first class, although it took him about three minutes to walk from the gate of his house to the school locker room. He came up with the most terrible excuse for his lateness. (I explain to young readers that we are talking about the 1980s, a time when no one dreamed not only of an electronic magazine, but of the Internet in general, and a primitive personal computer was an absolute exotic that only the richest could afford. ) I still remember how Vitek came again Once he was late and announced that he could not get through the gate because the coal had been spilled. Theoretically, this was even possible, because the apartments in that part of Lodz were actually heated by coal stoves. But, of course, no one believed him.
If Vitek were a student today, it is very possible that he would not be enrolled late and would not be considered disorderly laziness, but would be under the careful supervision of a psychologist and prescribed some disease. Fortunately, Witek – or anyone else in my class – was not aggressive or overly disruptive to the environment. If he was, then at the end of the year he would simply receive a failing grade for his behavior, meaning he would not be promoted to the next grade.