Sad today

I found out one of my ex-students died yesterday. It's made somehow worse by the fact that it happened 10 minutes from where I grew up, in a car park I know very well, where we used to park when we went to the library, but which I wouldn't go near late at night.

He would still have been in school, except he left last year at Easter to join the army. He came on the ski trip and it was the last thing he did before he left. He got compliments from all the reps for being so helpful and lovely. He was a PITA sometimes but his heart was definitely in the right place. One the last night of the trip, we let him and the other sixth formers stay up a bit later as a sort of leaving do for him, and I heard them come to bed and the girls went into the room he was sharing with two other year 12 boys. I gave them 5 minutes and then went and banged on the door. No answer. I tried again, and heard scuffling. He opened the door in his underwear, no lights on, pretending to be all sleepy, like the girls weren't there and I'd woken him up. I was not fooled - but it was a good effort and it made me chuckle. Still makes me chuckle.

I am sad today :( it is sad, that he should have died so young. He hadn't even been in the army for a year.