9th Grade Diary
Part 3

12:06 AM New Year's Day 1988

Have brushed teeth + hair, basted zits, watched TV, stretched out, danced, am currently singing, Will read during commercials of MTV ball. I'm waiting for Poison to come on, currently it's Belinda Carlisle. Also tonight are Gene Loves Jezebel (yeah!) and a bunch of others I'm not incredibly fond of. Jami Gertz (from Lost Boys and Less Than Zero + Glenn Frey are hosting with Brian Robbins and Dan Schneider (both from Head of the Class.) I guess this is fulfilling write, [my resolution] #6! After I sleep (which hopefully won't be for a while) I'll work on my idiot paper on Botswana. I do wish Belinda Carlisle would hurry up + get off!

Gene Loves Jezebel are on now. Ils sont tres, tres bien.

Richard Marx - Fairly Good.

Poison!!! - Even though they only did "Talk Dirty To Me" and "Rock and Roll All Night" they (especially Bret) are as gorgeous as ever and such music! Ils sont tres, tres, tres, tres, tres, tres bien. Mom is making me go to bed.

So, adieu.

January 1, 1988 (Friday)

If I had a fairy godmother I'd ask her to make me not care about what that bitch n.k.l. thinks. If I could only stop crying it wouldn't matter what she said. I wish she were dead. I wish I could run away. I'm very tempted to. Not that she'd care. But I just don't give a shit anymore.

January 8, 1988 (Friday)

Yesterday and today were both really great days! To go through everything that happened (although most of this is today):

Yesterday in Algebra we had the neatest sub! His name is Mr. Davis and he was a science teacher (head of the department) at St. Pete High until last year and it was neat!

We had Mr. Davis in science today and since it was an I/S day he spent the whole period teaching us how to deduce the meaning of long words from the Greek + Latin roots. I knew Chiroptera (bats) was "hand wings" and I got "Scintillate, scintillate, petite asteroid" (twinkle, twinkle, little star) and "An ornithological specimen in digital captivity is as valuable as a double specimen in indigenous foliage" (a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush) before anyone else + Mr. Davis said he was impressed. High praise from someone whose philosophy in life is "Those who know, and know they know, and can prove they know, are scholars. Those who don't know, and don't know they don't know, are fools. Those who don't know, and know they don't know, know more than they think they know." (To be read [aloud] like a scientific evangelist.

Yesterday we had a different sub in science. Before class, Jason, Michelle, Janette, me, and some others were conversing in a polyglot of mostly Spanish, about speaking just Spanish or French to the sub. And she came in + heard us talking in English, which was that for that. And then Jason asked her if she spoke Spanish, because most of what she'd heard was in Spanish. And the sub answered in Spanish! And Jason turned bright red! We were all teasing him about blushing, and Orlando came in + said "Finally told 'em your sexual fantasies, eh? How 'bout the one about the neighbor's cat?" A lot of the boys tease Jason because he's not a real "macho" guy. I like that. And he looks cute blushing. Like Justin in Williamsburg.

Mrs. Dyckman asked me to be in some sort of French contest. The 9th graders from this school are me + Loc. (Loc is like another Margaret Lin.) So this is an honor. I must be good! Mom says it's OK.

In our rehearsal for those Constitution presentations, Mr. Burton didn't notice that I didn't say anything.

In English, I had almost no trouble on the quiz (unusual for Mrs. Vera's quizzes.)

In PE, we got to sit on the bleachers while people who needed make-up dress-outs did them. Allana, Janette + I went under the bleachers to look for stuff and I found the two pens I'm writing in.

In Inquiry Skills, we worked in groups of 3's. And I ended up with Jason! and a girl named Amanda who looks exactly like Eden Bender and is very nice + funny + weird. We discussed (and argued) the whole period over juvenile delinquency. And everything else we could think of. And we're working together again on Monday! Guess who I fantasized about on the bus.

I saw this bumper sticker: 'The difference between dark and hard is that it stays dark all night.' Crude, rude, and hilarious!

I taped a lot of the Friday Festivities and Top 5 at 9. It is just so wonderful!

I fixed (by myself) the Suzanne and Beatles 49 tapes!

le 14 janvier 1988 (jeudi)

You know what? There was the groups of 3's in Inq. Skills. Well, we got stuck in groups of 4's to review for our exams so Ms. Brooks just added Eric (Piers Anthony/Robert Heinlein fan with blond spiked hair) to our mess. So I got to spend three more days arguing with the 3 of them. Eric is reading my Aquarius book. Jason is so sweet when you talk to him. (But he's still gorgeous.) Incidentally, he's 2 or 3 in. taller (Jason) than me, blond, blue-eyed + watches TV the way I read.

Our class won the constitution presentations. Yuck.

Grands. L got my pictures developed; they came out but I don't have them yet.

le 19 janvier 1988 (mardi)

Mom has bought a new car. It is a white Misubishi [Precis], dark blue upholstery. Mom likes the radio/tapeplayer. We've had it a few days but it still smells like melted crayons.

In other news, we're in the middle of semester exams. So far they haven't been too hard.

I saw "The Couch Trip" this Sunday. Pretty Good.

le 21 janvier 1988 (jeudi)

Les interrogrations sont finir [sic], Dieu merci! I am so glad those silly exams are over. And no school tomorrow. (I'm in a good mood!) B.A.U. (Business As Usual) otherwise.

A tout à l'heure!

le 22 janvier 1988 (Friday)

I got a birthday card from Grandmother + -daddy L. with $10 and the pictures they had developed for me. Only about 8 of the 24 came out but luckily the one of Brandy, Marie, + me in the ballet costumes was one of them.

Also, Mom let me open her present early. It was a diary, with a white cover, pink pages, and a little combination lock (turn counter clockwise several times to 'm' then clockwise to 'A'!)

January 24, 1988 (Sunday)

Saw Less Than Zero again yesterday. Was definitely better the first time.

Saw Good Morning Vietnam today. That was so funny! Now the only movie out I want to go see left is Eddie Murphy Raw. So next weekend.

My birthday (Jan. 26) (Tuesday)

Yesterday was the 1st day of the new semester. I got to stay home (no, I was not skipping!) So I went to school today and everyone had complete schedule changes! I only have two of the same teachers and none of the same classes! A list:

Period 1: Economics Mr. Burton. Mr. Burton is still a nice and interesting teacher. Even though the people have changed, the class atmosphere doesn't seem to've. This is the only class Jason is in. Also in this class is Tom Brummer, who I haven't mentioned before. He is cute and he used to be in my Inquiry Skills class. Now he's in this class and one other.

Period 2: Inquiry Skills Brown. Mr. Brown is a lot more interesting than Ms. Brooks. Nobody cute but it's not needed.

Period 3 - Individual/Dual Sports - Jackson. This is gym! What can I say? Coach Jackson is nice and he talks much plainer than Coach Davis.

Period 4 - Lunch. No comment.

Period 5-6. English. Lulek. Obviously, the Gods of Scheduling decreed I had to have at least one really boring period. No one cute either. We're reading The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

Period 7-8. Algebra II Townsend. I have got to be psychic! I instinctively knew this would be a class I felt comfortable in, and I was right. This is the other one that Tom is in. Also, the four loudmouths from Ms. Geiger's: Mike Schmidt, Jim O'Leary, David Waroman, + Aaron Chambers. Also Marylou, Gina McGrew, and a few other friends. (Incidentally, I don't have any classes with Allana or my other pretty good friend Janette.) But the math is singularly uninteresting.

Period 9 - Biology. Hunnicutt. This class has also not changed even though the people have. Instead of Orlando, I sit next to Mike (Schmidt, the cute one). It's the same sort of conversations, etc.

10th period - French Dr. Logan. I love this class! I liked French even when with Mme. Dyckman it was 1st period + I was still half asleep + I like it more now. Dr. Logan is so funny, like to illustrate the word cher (dear) he'll say,

"Cher professeur,
Je suis en France.  Je ne comprends rien.  Je n'ai plus d'argent.
Au revoir,  
Votre élève."

["Dear teacher, I am in France. I don't understand anything. I have no more money. Goodbye, Your Student." I guess it was funnier at the time.]

In other news, today I opened Grandmother L's box. It was a pink shirt. Mom likes it because it's her idea of 'cute' and I like it because it's comfortable. I got a chocolate birthday cake with 15 yellow candles. I blew them all out at once but I can't write down my wish as I want it to come true.

Bye.

January 30, 1988 (Saturn's day)

In the AM: As a semi-birthday excursion (since Marie is still grounded) Brandy + I are gong shopping. She's also returning the books she borrowed. I'll write on how it goes.

In the PM: It's 10:15 and we've just gotten back from taking Brandy home. She's left her Cinderella and Europe tapes here.

We picked Brandy up at 2:30 and went to Tyrone Mall until 5. She bought some sesame sticks, some string in a can, some bubble fluid and a sea-monkey farm. I bought two Doctor Who's and a Piers Anthony [novels].

Then we went to my house, and looked at all my photos, my scrap book, my box of folders (but not my fantasies) + added to the Z-B constitution. Then it was 10 + we took her home.

February 2, 1988 (Tuesday)

Yesterday + today we had the weirdest sub. Mr. Poindexter Posh. Poindexter Snodgrass Posh, to be exact. He was the sort of sub you can get away with anything with. Half the class switched names, we had some guy who was not even in the class walking around doing Eddie Murphy imitating Bill Cosby (not badly, either) and (obviously) no one got any work done. (This was in Algebra, Mr. Townsend had left assignments.)

Today's groundhog day but no word on what the groundhog saw. If I remember to (not likely) I'll write it in.

Auf Wiedersehn!

February 3, 1988 (Wednesday)

Yes, I'm proud of myself! We got our exams + semester grades today. Semester: B's in Government + Algebra, A's in Everything Else. (Even Personal Fitness!) GPA: 3.71. Exam Grades weren't as good, A's + B's with a C on my Algebra exam. But anyway that's better than a lot of people. Eric Celentano has a one point something GPA. I don't know what most others got but I'll find out. (We got our report cards at the end of the day.) If I do find out I'll report.

February 6, 1988 (Saturday)

Mom is taking a real estate class on Saturdays. It's from 8:30 to 5 so I get to spend all my Saturdays (for the next 7 weeks) alone in the house! And Mom has decided she can trust me with the VCR so I can watch movies while she's gone. With my next allowances I'm going to buy Ghostbusters and Young Sherlock Holmes (and The Lost Boys when it comes out, which I hear will be soon.)

February 10, 1988 (Wodin's)

Yesterday we had an assembly. This woman spoke. Her name was Sharon something -- O'Connell I think. She was kidnapped, raped and shot through the eyes so now she's blind. (The rapist was on quaaludes.) She was a good speaker but her speech was a little bit stuck on the value of determination after things like that. I mean, if someone's not going to be determined, what good would just a speech do? But she was nice.

Valentine's Day (Sunday)

Here I am, cleaning my room on Valentine's Day. Things happening:

Joe sent me a birthday card and it arrived on his birthday (2-13) but there was $20 in it.

I bought Young Sherlock Holmes. It's nice to own my own tape, not that I'll ever get to watch it. Mom always has the TV. Lost Boys is coming out at the end of the month. Guess what I'll buy?

I'm depressed. I got one Valentine, from a girl I hardly know named Alma. True, last year I also only got one but then it was from Brandy who was a good friend. Dieu, la vie est ennuyeuse.

February 18, 1988 (jeudi)

Jason - healer

Tom - twin

Mike - one who is like God (ahem!)

Noah - rest

Noah is in my Inq. Skills class. He reminds me a little of Mark (but not as bad as Mark usually was).

Otherwise I have a nice friend. Her name is Jeni Shepardson. She is in my Inq. Skills, Math + French classes. She reminds me a lot of Sarah, and she teases Dr. Logan about her hobby of horseback riding. He'll ask her, "Qu'est-ce tu fas pendant le week-end?" and groan when she says "Je fais du cheval.", etc.

February 24, 1988 (Mittwoch)

I am staying home today. So here I am watching the Muppets doing the "Rubber Duck" in Ernie's bathtub on Sesame Street.I had kind of a cold yesterday but I went to school anyway but I felt horrible all day and woke up sneezing + with a sore throat. So Mom told me to stay home. So I get to turn in my letter to Gorbachev tomorrow. (It's a very boring letter and I'm sure Gorby will trash it, along with every other one from Mr. Brown's students.)

In other news, we've been put into groups to do stocks and Jason and Tom are both in a group with Loc and some other girl and I got stuck with John "Junior" unspellable last name, Sherri Petts, who is OK and Christy something who's an airhead. Mr. Burton was lazy + put us in groups by seating. He always does that and I hate it!

February 25, 1988 (Thursday)

I was going to go to school today but the bus didn't come, then Mom has to go to work for she took me home. And tomorrow is an in-service day so I get a 5-day weekend! Actually it's getting a bit boring already. I've watched every decent videocassette in the house, read all my books, all Mom's books except some that sound very boring, etc. At least tomorrow I can call people because they'll be home.

I am going to try to write everyday for a while. Not only will it be something to do but these diaries have an irritating habit of starting things and not finishing them, or bringing important things out of nowhere. I am going to try to stop that. If I write everyday this will be more of a taste of everyday life.

February 26, 1988 (Freitag)

Nothing happened today. I watched Lost Boys + Spaceballs (rented, both) on the VCR. Mom refuses to take me to the library now that she's home because she's watching Oprah Winfrey. Humph! And, since Mom won't be home while it's open tomorrow, I don't have anything to read until at least Monday and more likely Wednesday.

I have spoken to 2 people since 4:00 Tuesday. Mom and a man at the video rental place. I didn't call anyone today. I'm getting desperate.

February 29, 1988 (Monntag)

See p. 89-90 [top of this page, New Year's Eve Ball]. They're rerunning the ball! I'm watching! Opinions are the same!

OK, I missed two days. Update: Saturday: I rented Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Dirty Dancing. Spent the day watching them. Sunday: We went shopping with Martha. Got (me) 1 pair shoes, 4 books. Typical.

Today: Jason got his hair spiked. It looks ridiculous. That sort of hair (on him) looks as if it has been borrowed from someone with six jean jackets and a pierced ear. Jason's Coca-Cola clothes don't suit it. He looked much better with just normal cute blond hair.

March 5, 1988 (samedi)

Michael John Schmidt. The J. was on his registration card (we all got them yesterday) so I asked him and he said it stood for John.

Absolutely nothing has happened the entire week.

Bye.

March 7, 1988 (Monntag)

I bought the book of Less Than Zero. The book and the movie are really different but I still like both a lot. Anyway I was reading at school and Mike asked if he could look at "the part where the guy's sucking the other guy's cock." That was a part not in the book but I found him some more sex to read about so Mike spent the rest of the I/S period happy as a clam.

March 9, 1988 (Wednesday)

p. 94 [Jan. 8] The contest is tomorrow! Jeni is in it too. Dr. Logan asked her just like Mrs. Dyckman asked me. We took the exam from 1985 today and it was not hard. (Not exactly easy, but not hard.)

I was reading The Love You Make (a Beatles bio) today and Jim noticed the spine in math and goes "Well, Suzanne, reading another tale of lust" or something like that. Anyway, he did say "another" so Mike obviously told everybody about Less Than Zero. C'est typique, oui?

March 10, 1988 (Thursday)

The National French Contest a été aujourd'hui. Jeni et moi prenons l'examen et nous both rate it "not too hard." After school, Dr. Logan drove us 2 in his van over to SPJC. Everybody else rode with Mrs. Dyckman or the other people. There were 5 people in Level A (first year French, no prior experience) and tons of people in various other levels. We took the test with some French teacher from Gibbs. Then Dr. Logan drove us back to SPHS + Mom picked me up + we went home.

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