Agar and pencilcases

I don't usually leave updates this late, but hmmm. Nothing has really happened. Wednesday today, which meant I actually had to decide what to wear. I eventually grabbed a red (my mother calls it maroon) furry jacket-type thing instead of my vamp-Death-coat, which was a bad idea as it turned out. Guess what the weather was like?

Becca and Kat were AWOL today, having gone on an English Literature trip. They went to hear a set of lectures on Frankenstein, of all things. This would be educational if either of them had actually read the book. I, amused but sympathetic, texted to find out how it went, and Becca did not sound happy. I didn't think she would. In any case, she told me and Emma to "have fun at Sayers."

We didn't really, but that comes later. I had to go to Biology before that, and I got yesterday's test back. Meh. I revised. I really did. I revised. And still only got seventy-one percent. It would have been sixty-nine, but I quibbled. And following that, we had to get out the remains of yesterday's experiment - it involved iodine on agar jelly in petri dishes - and I dropped mine. It fell down the sink. Finding no profanity sufficient to express my feelings, I wailed. Everyone else thought it amusing in the extreme.

Talking of amusing in the extreme, it was Hayley's birthday today (passing through the kitchen, I got given a piece of birthday cake, which was nice) and Fidan decided to serenade her by singing Happy Birthday in German. We were in P1, the room with the corridor, and Mrs Custard was passing through as Fidan launched into song. She didn't say anything, just lingered with a decidedly shell-shocked expression, then disappeared at the sound of applause. It was all very funny.

I went to lunch after that, with Emma, but as she said herself, she wasn't very good company because she's lost her voice. She sounded generally ill and I did say she shouldn't have come in, to which her reply was, "Physics coursework." Such is life. I bought a pasty, they gave me a mince pie, I got a gingerbread Christmas tree, and went back to school and lurked in the common room.

We had to go the Stroke Association early today because it was their Christmas Fair. For some reason, Emma and I got stuck selling raffle tickets (the prizes included a large hamper and a larger-than-life-size Bob the Builder). There was, however, a second-hand book stall. They are my weakness. I wasn't going to buy anything - I wasn't! - but I've got Blast From The Past, by Ben Elton, and Bill Bryson's Notes From A Small Island. Ten pence each, easy.

I also got talked into having my blood pressure checked (the Stroke Association, natch). It's a hundred and eight over sixty, which I'm told is good. Don't ask me. I didn't actually do anything at the fair apart from yelling, "Raffle tickets!" Blah. I went home at the usual time and got soaked. Soaked. It was absolutely tipping down. And I didn't have the Death coat to repel water with. Rain soaks straight through red furry stuff. Argh. I got home and my grandmother asked (translated), "Is it raining?"
"No," I growled.
"Ah," sayeth she. "I checked. It isn't raining."

As I may have said before, the woman is impervious to sarcasm. Argh.

Pedar got back about six and we went to the libary. I renewed some books, got out The Light Fantastic (Rincewind! Falling of the edge of the world!) and was told their copy of it was out, so get The Last Hero from College Road library. They close at one tomorrow, so I'll have to go on Friday. I love libraries. I said as much to Pedar. "Keep the Tories out of government," he said darkly.

All that remains to be told is a story Bev told me. She has lost her pencilcase. Actually, she has lost two of them. My life would fall apart if I lost mine, and she assures me she feels exactly like that. She said she rang the bus company. I started laughing. The bus company can only be Arriva, and they're hopeless when it comes to buses. Lost pencilcases... well.

So Bev rang them. She said, "Have you found any pencilcases?"

And the man laughed. Laughed and laughed and laughed.

"It's not that funny!" quoth Bev.

"I'm sorry," he said (said Bev to me). "Did you say you'd lost your pantyliners?"

At which point I started to laugh. No, the pencilcases did not turn up. But much amusement was had by all.

On which surreal note, I will leave you.