Favorite subject
Gaines: “Philosophy. I can always go for a good Plato/Socrates brain teaser.”
Heinle: “History. I love it.”
James: “English. From fourth grade on, I was always a grade ahead.”
Least favorite subject
Gaines: “Sociology. Stanford Prison Experiment … yikes.”
Heinle: “Math. I’m emotionally scarred from it.”
James: “History. I’ve always believed that children should be taught about the future and where we’re going based on what we’ve learned from past experiences, not be tested on the details of those outdated experiences.”
Favorite extracurricular activity
Gaines: “Basketball. I have played competitive basketball and baseball since I was 6.”
Heinle: “Soccer. I was a decent player.”
James: “P.E. I’m very competitive and love to play sports.”
Favorite school supply
Gaines: “Eraser. It’s great for correcting my wrong answers, especially when taking a test and second-guessing sets in. The eraser becomes a guy’s test wingman.”
Heinle: “Newly sharpened pencils! They smell so good.”
James: “[My version of] the whiteboard marker erasers I thought up when I was 5. In the classroom at FAMILY MATTERS, I used to tape tissue paper to the bottom of all our markers, so that you didn’t need to pick up the big eraser every time you made a mistake.”
Class clown or teacher’s pet?
Gaines: “I have to go with class clown. I enjoy joking around, it helps me keep things in perspective and not get too serious.”
Heinle: “Teacher’s pet. Except in math. They hated me in math.”
James: “Both.”
School portrait: Frame it, burn it or post it online?
Gaines: “Frame it for Mom. There’s no way to sneak a picture past her.”
Heinle: “Frame it because I looked really pretty. I was living in New Jersey, so my hair should’ve been huge but it wasn’t.”
James: “Frame it. Why would anyone burn it?”
Detention: Rarely, regularly or never?
Gaines: “Detention was rare. There were moments of talking excessively, but as a disruptive kid, I don’t think I fit the criteria.”
Heinle: “Rarely. I was late — a lot.”
James: “Never.”
Study ahead or cram for a test?
Gaines: “Cram. There is nothing like studying all night for a final and the next morning having your parents yell at you about being late for school. Self-created stress builds character … nope, probably not.”
Heinle: “Cram, just like learning my dialogue. Nothing’s changed.”
James: “Both. Why not do everything to give yourself the best chance to succeed?”
Honor roll or just scraped by?
Gaines: “Honor roll. I played a lot of sports, and coach and parents insisted you have the grades.”
Heinle: “Scraped by [laughs]. I barely graduated.”
James: “Somewhere in between. Nothing below a B.”
Prom night: A bust or a blast?
Gaines: “Prom was a blast. First time on a party bus and finished the evening at a house party.”
Heinle: “Bust. I went to a lot of proms and they were never fun.”
James: “Blast. It was small, but Mirabel Orozco was my date, and all I remember was lots of dancing!”
Reunion: Attend or skip it?
Gaines: “My first thought is to skip it. I am thinking about moving forward and not so much about looking back.”
Heinle: “Skip it. I’ve never been invited. I think they lost my contact.”
James: “I’d attend, but I graduated two years early, so I don’t really know my graduating classmates.”
Where is your diploma now?
Gaines: “In my mom and dad’s home office. I think they believe they earned it.”
Heinle: “In a box at my parents’ house.”
James: “In my closet, I believe.”
In high school, my dream career was …
Gaines: “To become a physical therapist. I love helping people and I think one of the best ways is to teach them different ways to be and stay healthy.”
Heinle: “I wanted to be a model, but when I got into it, I find out it wasn’t that lucrative unless you were a supermodel. But I was too short for that to happen.”
