Brett Christensen

Yes. It was very forgettable. My teacher was not impressed at all, but she didn't have the insight to recognise literary greatness in its infancy. Of course, it wasn't her job to spot it, and there wasn't any in her classroom, so her sacking was quite unfair.

I have a few desks. The one I'm at at the moment looks like it was built in 1971, covered as it is in brown laminex. With one drawer and one cupboard, it probably debuted in an accountant's office, so I imagine it's much happier these days, having (aside from a few loose scraps of paper) only a printer, keyboard and screen on it. (We shan't speak of the speakers.)

The desk I sit at most would make a challenging archaeological dig, and it probably rates as a moderate fire hazard. Last I saw it, the desktop was a cream colour. There's a mug in the bottom drawer, with cup-o-soup packets. Help yourself. (Just be careful of the snake.)