Wednesday December 10th

After the usual assembly (Wallis preaching on about charity contribution) I went up to the library and sat on a table with Deborah (who’s recovered), Michelle Cliff, Duncan, Lee, Evelyn Aylott. I supposedly did my English for Hirst – I got a paragraph done by 12.30 p.m. I was scribing away when suddenly Claire, who was sat near, said; “Paul, do you want to hear another episode?” I know to what she was referring and she proceeded to tell me about how he’d called at their home on Monday night, just to talk. I don’t know why she tells me this – I suppose it’s because I ask and show an interest. Things are still so superficial – they keep going off to one side, talking conspiratorially about M.B., T.M. no doubt. I’ve cheaply started – why beat about the bush – I’ve begun to fancy notice Michelle a bit more. Embarrassingly childish now. Its as if I change my options as each door shuts in my face. It’s not exactly fancying more an “interest.”

We got a written essay given in Slicer’s lesson. I wrote 503 words on Cleopatra’s “infinite variety” of character and in Hirst’s lesson we got last weeks essay handed back. The average sort of grade was ‘E,’ so I was quite pleased with my ‘C-/D+’. We also got another essay given for over the Christmas holidays. She was OK about the essay I didn’t hand in because I went to see her (along with Jeremy and Lee) earlier in the day.

Oh, while I’m at it, I went to see Ingham about dropping Biology. I finally went during second period – he seemed quite understanding about it and said he would see Mrs Newsholme and Mr Wilson. He said that if I did drop it, it could result in my required uni. entrance requirements being upped into the A-B range because Art is not considered as academic as Biology. I came out feeling hopeful.

In the evening I played “The Kick Inside” by Kate Bush which I’ve borrowed off Claire and after watching television all evening I finally started my “Persuasion” essay at 11.30 p.m, finishing at 12.40 a.m.

Suddenly I’m having doubts about the whole idea of this journal – where am I going to store all the volumes? And what for? I’ll go through about two books per year, that’s forty volumes by 2000.