Central Zagreb is a madhouse today. Students who have just completed their highschool or an equivalent are celebrating their maturity. Or the end of careless childhood. Dressed in colorful T-shirts that spell out their school’s name and much more besides, they stick together in the milling crowd. They screech, laugh, and blow their whistles wherever they go. As is apparently their habit on this day, they also spray each other, as well as occasional passers-by, with beer and flour. This is supposed to be a happy day for them all, but I wonder how they actually feel about it. Much still awaits them, most of it rather dire, and they know it by now. Judging by the din, they know it perfectly well. Fuck maturity, many of them must feel deep in their hearts. Anyhow, the habit of celebrating the worst disasters is but a ruse to survive them all against better knowledge.