Lilly started to cry harder at the mention of Tina’s name. Too late, I remembered Boris, and his new hotness.

“Oh,” I said, patting Lilly on the shoulder. “Sorry. What I meant was…Well, whatever. People DO like you, Lilly. It’s just that sometimes…”

Lilly lifted her tear-stained face.

“Wh-What?” she asked.

“Well,” I said. “Sometimes you’re kind of mean to people. Like me. With the whole baby-licker thing.”

“But you ARE a baby-licker,” Lilly pointed out.

“Yes,” I said. “But, you know, you don’t need to SAY it all the time.”

Lilly rested her chin on her knees.

“I guess not,” she said with a sigh. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

While I had her in a conciliatory mood, I added, “And I don’t like it when you call me POG or PIT, either.”

Lilly looked at me blankly.

“Then what am I supposed to call you?”

“How about just plain Mia?”

Lilly seemed to think about this.

“But…that’s so boring,” she said.

“But it’s my name,” I pointed out.

Lilly sighed again.

“Fine,” she said. “Whatever. You have no idea how good you have it, POG. I mean, Mia.”

“Good? ME? Please!” I practically burst out laughing. “My life is TERRIBLE right now. Did you SEE what Ms. Martinez gave me on my paper?”

Lilly wiped her eyes.

“Well, yeah,” she said. “She WAS a little harsh. But a B isn’t really that bad, Mia. Besides, I saw your dad headed toward her classroom a little while ago. He looked like he was going to read her the riot act.”

“Yeah, but what good is that going to do me?” I wanted to know. “I mean, it’s not going to change her mind about my writing talent…or lack thereof. It’s just going to make her, you know. Scared of my dad.”

Lilly just shook her head.

“Yeah,” she said. “But at least you have a boyfriend.”

“Who’s in COLLEGE,” I reminded her. “And who apparently expects—”

“Oh, please,” Lilly said. “Not that stupid Lana thing again. When are you going to get it through your head that Lana doesn’t know what she’s talking about? I mean, do you see HER dating a college boy?”

“No,” I said. “But—”

“Yeah, well, there might be a REASON for that. And if what it says all over the ladies’ room wall is true, it is NOT because Lana has any reservations about Doing It.”

We both sat there and thought about that for awhile. Then Lilly said, “So, are your mom and Mr. G still going to Indiana for the weekend?”

“Yes,” I said, and then added quickly, “but there isn’t going to be any party at my place, because I’m staying at the Plaza.”

“In your own room?” Lilly asked. When I nodded, she said, “Sweet.” Then she said, “Hey, you should have a slumber party.”

I looked at her like she was crazy.

“At the hotel?”

“Sure,” Lilly said. “It’ll be fun. And we need to work on your debate skills, anyway. We could do a mock run-through. How about it?”

“Well,” I said. “I guess so.”

Although, I’m not sure how Dad and Grandmère are going to feel about this. My having a slumber party at the Plaza.

But, oh well. If it’ll make Lilly happy, I guess it’s worth it. I seriously never knew she felt that way about herself. You know, that she’s not popular. I mean, I know Lilly isn’t very popular. But I never knew SHE knew it. She always ACTS like she thinks she’s the queen of the school.

Who knew it was all for show?

Now we both have to sit here until the bell for sixth period rings and we can duck back downstairs and mingle with the rest of the hordes. We’re missing Gifted and Talented, but I have my pass from the nurse to show Mrs. Hill on Monday, so she won’t count me absent from today.

I don’t know what Lilly’s going to do about it. She doesn’t seem to care all that much, either. Really, if you think about it, Grandmère and Lilly could BOTH teach the world a thing or two about acting like a princess.

Which is kind of scary, if you think about it.Friday, September 11, U.S. Government

THEORIES OF GOVERNMENT:

EVOLUTIONARY THEORY

Darwin theory of evolution—applied government =

1.       Family

2.       Clan

3.       Tribe

Groups formed to coordinate and manage enterprise of goods and services.

To maintain internal order and protect from external danger, governmental institutions were formed.

Wow, this is just like cliques! Seriously! I mean, the way cliques are formed within a school—to protect from external danger. Like, for instance, all of us Geeks bonded together and formed a clique to protect ourselves from being picked on by the Jocks and Cheerleaders, because there is safety in numbers. This explains so much:

The Sk8terboi clique formed to protect themselves from the Punks

The Punks formed to protect themselves from the Drama Club

The Drama Club formed to protect themselves from the Nerds

The Nerds formed to protect themselves from the Jocks

And the Jocks formed to protect themselves from…

Well, I don’t know who the Jocks formed together to protect themselves from.

But otherwise it’s all making sense now. This is why cliques exist! Darwin was right!!!Friday, September 11, Earth Science

Magnetic field surrounding Earth due to interior convection currents

Discovered by Van Allen (radiation belts)

High radiation zone due to particles, some radioactive and charged, from space and sun

Aurora borealis caused by interaction of charged particles with the atmosphere

KENNY’S NEW GIRLFRIEND, HEATHER, ACCORDING TO KENNY:

1.       Has naturally blond hair, and never needs to get her roots touched up

2.       Gets straight A’s and is in all honors classes

3.       Can do a back handspring

4.       Often does them at parties

5.       And in restaurants

6.       Is totally popular at her school in Delaware

7.       Is coming to see him at Thanksgiving

8.       Has her own horse

9.       Never wastes her time watching TV, because she is too busy reading books

10.    Doesn’t have an answering machine

Which is just as well, because probably no one ever wants to call her, since she doesn’t watch TV, and therefore has nothing to talk about.

HOMEWORK

PE: n/a

Geometry: exercises, pages 42–45

English: Strunk and White, pages 55–75

French: ????

G&T: ????

U.S. Government: How is Darwin’s theory

applied to dev. of gov.?

Earth Science: section 2, Nature of Energetic

EnvironmentFriday, September 11, the Plaza

Grandmère felt so badly about having caused me to have a crying jag in the middle of the school day that she insisted on taking me to tea downstairs at the Palm to make up for it.

Of course, I knew she didn’t REALLY feel bad. I mean, she is GRANDMÈRE, after all. And there WAS press all over the place, trying to get pictures of us eating our scones with clotted cream, so that tomorrow on the front of the Post there’ll be a photo of us sitting there and a big headline that goes Tea 4 2 / Take that, EU! or FU, EU, or something.

But it was nice to sit there and eat tiny sandwiches with the crusts cut off while Grandmère nattered on about Lana’s pom-pom-shaped squeezy things and how cheap they are and how much more superior our Propriété du Palais Royal de Genovia pens are. Especially, you know, since I hadn’t gotten any lunch due to having spent all of that period in the nurse’s office with a cool cloth on my forehead.

Grandmère was being so nice on account of the whole feeling guilty thing (note to self: Can someone with borderline personality disorder feel guilt? Check on this.) that I finally just came out and went, “Grandmère, can I have Lilly and Tina and Shameeka and Ling Su over for a slumber party in my room tonight, so we can do a mock debate?” and she went, totally calmly, “Of course, Amelia.”

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, then I got on my cell phone and called them all and invited them. Mr. Taylor had to speak to Grandmère before he would let Shameeka come, to make sure there was going to be adequate supervision and all, but Grandmère carried it off like a champ. By the time she handed the phone back to me, Mr. Taylor was asking if there was anything we wanted Shameeka to bring, like a popcorn popper, or whatever.

But I assured him that the Plaza would see to all of our needs.

We sent Grandmère’s maid back to the loft to get my stuff and feed Fat Louie.

I hope he’ll be all right on his own. It’s going to be weird for him not to have Rocky around. He’s gotten very used to licking all the leftover milk from Rocky’s face every evening, as a sort of midnight snack.

Note to self:

Call Mom on cell as soon as her plane has landed and remind her to keep Rocky away from:

Hay threshers

Copperhead snakes (native to Indiana, and highly poisonous)

Pitchforks

Black widow spiders (their bite is deadly to infants)

Unpasteurized milk (salmonella)

Papaw’s La-Z-Boy (Rocky could become wedged inside it and suffocate)

Farm animals (E. coli)

Mamaw’s tuna-potato-chip-macaroni casserole (it’s just gross)

The cellar (escapee from local mental institution could be hiding there) Friday, September 11, the Plaza, room 1620, Time ???? LATE!!!!!!!

Oh, my God, Ling Su found the coolest quiz online and brought it with her so that we can all do it and find out stuff about ourselves!!!!

QUIZ

DO NOT CHEAT!!! NO reading ahead…just answer the questions in order!

First, get a pen and paper. When you choose names, make sure it’s people you actually know. Go with your first instinct. DO THIS NOW!