Don't forget to be the way you are; large amounts of food, double-nine dominoes, and M*A*S*H slash

Pedar went to London today. Actually, he's coming back tonight, but not until late. In any case, he didn't take me to school this morning and I had to trudge in all on my ownsome. Nichola immediately ambushed me in the common room and said I absolutely must come down to the library, she'd got a cake for Molly's birthday. So I went down, and Molly followed me. She started giggling and looking embarrassed, particularly as the library committee, as well as being useless at just about everything, can also not sing. She blew out her (single) candle, and we cut up the cake. It occurred to me that so much food seems to make its way into the library office; there are the dolly mixtures for the thirds, plus the cookies from last term, also those After Eights, and now half a birthday cake.

I didn't want to leave, but I had to go to Politics, which was very boring, but I was daydreaming all the way through it. People say they daydream, but I've often wondered what that actually means. In my case, it means thinking about something, which leads to something else, which leads to something else, which leads to yet another thing, and in the meantime time is passing and I'm staring into space. I did a lot of staring into space this morning.

I suppose one of the things that has been making the last few days rather sucky is the fact I've begun to notice that I really don't like the people I hang round with. No, no, not you lot. I do have some friends in school - Becca obviously figures more than anyone else - but more and more, they're not the people I've gone up the school with. I don't really feel like naming names - maybe another post - but I find myself not caring about them very much any more, if I ever did. I don't like them, I don't want to spend time with them, I'm a very different person from myself at twelve, but they don't seem to have changed. I'm not saying they haven't grown up, but possibly "them lot", as I seem to be mentally referring to them, have grown in totally different directions.

In any case, in eighteen months' time I will have left this school for good, and will probably lose contact with everyone except Becca. I don't think this bothers me much.

On a more humourous note, I had an interesting conversation with Louise today. I don't know her very well, despite the fact we used to be in the same class, as she's difficult to really talk to. I don't know why I was talking to her today. Anyway, she was talking about Chris Cooper (cucharita - do you know him? I've only seen him from a distance at Cabaret) whom she's going out with currently. I did know this, and asked, "It wasn't you, by any chance, who put 'I [[heart]]' in front of his name on the cast list outside?"

She went very girlish and giggly, so I assume it was her. Following that, she opened up a bit and told me she'd seen Kim Cooper staring at the list, trying to figure out who'd done it. "I've scared of her," she said. "I keep telling myself that she's in the year below and she's not scary at all, but it's really awkward." A pause, and then: "It's really annoying, having your boyfriend's sister in school."

I just stared at her, impassively, for several seconds. It took a few seconds for the penny to drop, but when it did, her reaction was a sight to behold. It involved her inserting a fist into her mouth and going, "Gnnnnhhhhh..."

I laughed about that for at least ten minutes.

Moving on, the weather was passable today, so Emma went off to hockey while Becca and I went into the village for lunch. We went to Spoilt For Choice, Gregg's and Sayers before coming to any sort of decision. In the end, she had a pasty and I had a rather strange (but nice) pizza-type thing and chocolate doughnut. We whiled away some time flicking through Heat and being bitchy about I'm a Celebtrity... Get Me Out Of Here! I have to admit that it seems like a better reality show than most, and Peter Andre being a participant was just a stroke of genius. Frighteningly, we were talking about the first time he was big in front of the Lower Fours, and not one of them could remember it.

Becca went off to voluntary service at one, and I went back down to the library, where I found Nichola and Shefali engrossed in apparently staring each other to death. Shefali is the daughter of a family friend (actually, this computer belongs to her father - he gave it to Pedar and then forgot all about it) and someone I have been instructed to "watch over from afar." Pedar's words, not mine; Shefali only came to Merchants' last year and Pedar told me to just make sure she was all right. I don't think she ever knew anything about it, beyond the fact there is a crazy sixth-former who asks about her occasionally.

Anyway, she was in the library today because her form have gone swimming and she can't go; she's broken her leg. Nichola had taken it upon herself to entertain her. They were in fact playing chess. I don't know how to play chess, so Nichola tried to teach me with little success. The difficulty is remembering which pieces can do what. In any case, Nichola won two games before Shefali and then I had to go. I didn't want to go, but I had to; Emma had come down for the express purpose of chivvying me along. "You know," she said, "last week I was early."

"Because Iona wasn't there?"

Nichola and Mrs Barry found that hilarious for some reason I couldn't discern, so I grabbed my bags and off we went.

I hadn't been down to the Stroke Association in a few weeks, but it was just the same as always. The table at which I volunteer has two old ladies as volunteers - Elsie and Maureen - and six elderly men. Their names are Dave, Jim, Bernard, Alan, Alan and Alan, which can get confusing. It reminds me of the QI episode with Alan Davies and the Tribe of Alans somewhere in Northern Russia - apparently they're all called Alan. Talking of Alan Davies, there's a new series of Jonathan Creek this Saturday! I'm actually rather excited about it; it's just the best programme ever.

The Stroke Association, yes - I wanted to play Scrabble, but was outvoted in favour of dominoes. I've recently discovered that it's apparently only people in Liverpool and Merseyside who play dominoes the way that I'm used to, which is with the double-nine as the domino with the highest value. Apparently most people play with double-sixes. I'm not sure. Anyway, they played four games, of which I won three. I may be somewhat sad, but this amused me.

And that's all of it. However, it did occur to me this afternoon that I never did a plug for the M*A*S*H Slash awards! So, plug. It's being run by tobiascharity, gamesiplay and me, so go and nominate, everyone. The nominations close on the twenty-fifth, so there isn't an awful lot of time left.

I'm hungry now. I'm going to go and eat breakfast cereal; at least, I would, if there were any milk. Or sugar. My grandmother takes five sugars in her tea and drinks at least five cups a day; no wonder we never have anything edible left in the house.