Eleven-year-old Théo Grataloup lingers on his way home from Ponsard Middle School in the southeastern town of Vienne, 35km south of Lyon. Even with an overloaded red backpack, the sixth grader likes to wander the streets of his town, stopping to have a crêpe as a snack or finding a shop to buy a compass before going back “home” – or rather to his parents’ travel agency, specialised in horse treks. “Théo is capable of anything and everything in order to avoid doing his homework,” laughs his mother, Sabine Grataloup, delighted to finally see her son make an appearance.