A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier Innocence Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #10

But on the first day of school in Freetown, all the students sat apart from us, as if Mohamed and I were going to snap any minute and kill someone. Somehow they had learned that we had been child soldiers. We had not only lost our childhood in the war but our lives had been tainted by the same experiences that still caused us great pain and sadness. (21.4)

Yeah, it doesn't really end. Ishmael and Mohamed are trying to do the most kid thing possible—go to school—but even their classmates see them as dangerous. They can never get back the years they lost, but they can move on with their lives as much as possible.