St. Mallory's Forever!

16. ABBY: Out on parole.

uzzah! After a long week of mind-numbingly pointless school-work (I mean, seriously, knowing how to conjugate Latin verbs will help me in later life how, exactly? A secretary at the Vatican, maybe?) the weekend is nearly here!

In fact, as I type, Don Pedro and Christie are downstairs booking coach spaces for us all to head into Brighton tomorrow! We have to go all together, but once we're there as long as we stay in groups of at least three then we can go where we please. Definitely an improvement from Lower Fifth, when we had to have a teacher with us at all times. A teacher, seriously? I think they found it almost as awkward as we did!

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The Helen situation has improved massively — a fellow nerdette! And a very clued-up one at that. She quotes Doctor Who to near perfection.

Haha, it's so weird looking back over my previous blog posts and seeing how awkward we were. Helen seems a lot easier around me now, though she's still a bit flighty with the others — Christie in particular. I suspect it has something to do with Christie's obvious eau du dosh — her dad's an executive of some expensive high-street chain or another, and she gets twice the allowance most of us do. Every item of Christie's clothing is a top-of-the-range brand name — I swear she must be allergic to normal clothes. Honestly, I suspect her kilt is a tailor-made Versace, and even her school bag is a Louis Vuitton special.

Also, I think the awkward comments between Helen and the girls on the first day might be hanging over them a bit... Eugh, it makes me shudder just to think of that little disaster. Invisibility cloaks would be really great to have in those situations.

But I'm rambling. Stay on topic, Abigail!

Yes, we're heading off to Brighton after lessons tomorrow. We being my usual accomplices, plus Helen and Xuan.

Hey, no need to look so surprised. After that Doctor Who session inviting Helen was a given, and when I suggested to Christie and the Don that we should have Xuan along they both agreed enthusiastically.

Actually, rather too enthusiastically, come to think if it. I mean, the Don takes to new people like a duck to water. She's a natural befriender of all and sundry. But Christie... Christie is a clique girl through and through. I knew she'd be okay (within reason) with Helen because Helen and I get along so much better now.

But none of us really know Xuan. And it's not like Christie to welcome strangers into the gang. So when Christie gushed how "absolutely super" (yes, she really talks like that) it would be to show both the new girls around Brighton, my ulterior-motive-detector started working overtime.

Helen nearly had a fit when I told her about Saturday morning lessons, and I swear Xuan is a professional Spock impersonator. I've never seen an eyebrow go that high before! I should have taken a picture and captioned it "That is most illogical"... Or not.

Oh, there's the Don and Christie now — yup, nine places all booked up!

Only nine? Well, we've got a couple of day girls, and some people go home on the weekends if they live locally, the jammy gits. (Pardon my French.)

I'm thinking I ought to show Helen that funny old music shop in town. As she's something of a music enthusiast I reckon she'll like it. Can't say I've ever been in there myself, but the place looks delightfully wacky — one of those slightly lopsided faux-Tudor things tacked onto the end of a narrow road a short walk from the main shopping streets. The beams look like startled spaghetti in places, and I dread to think what the floor's like on the inside.

Still, it'll be an excuse to have a poke without seeming like a complete weirdo. I have an issue with going into shops for no reason. Besides, if Helen is serious about getting Xuan to teach her all those instruments (whose names I will not even attempt to spell because I know I will only give myself a complex) then that seems like a good place to find obscure shizzlery like that.

But, better dash now — I need the Don to help me decipher my Spanish prep. Remind me to buy her a bag of jelly beans tomorrow.