...For anyone who actually reads this, I'm sorry for not updating earlier. It's been two weeks, and...geh.

Homecoming was...nice, I guess. I liked spending time with him, but I didn't like the acutal event much. It was like I thought, all materialism and capitalism, with nothing of substance to urge school spirit, which is what I *though* Homecoming was supposed to be about. I don't even know if we won the game or not. I think he was thinking the same thing, so we left early and went to get ice-cream sundaes. I guess we're lucky to have an ice-cream parlor (an actual, old-fashioned one with the candy stripes and everything) so close to school.

He kissed me on the cheek, which I was grateful for. I don't know how I would have reacted if he kissed me on the lips. But yeah...we hugged, and that was all. The transition from Homecoming and all that formal dress and courtesy to normal school life was surprisingly smooth and not awkward at all; the only change in all of this is that we do our homework together in the library during lunch now. I've found that doing some of my easier assignments at school gives me less of a load to carry home and slave over. Now if only I could find a way to do some more homework at *work*...sort of impossible, since I've moved to the café, into that other, more distant guy's position.

The aroma in there is extremely homey, and very calming, as if coffee and biscotti could solve the world's problems. Why don't we try it on Osama bin Ladin and Saddam Hussein? Give them gift certificates to masseurs (the willing ones, anyway) and serve them homemade coffee and nice vanilla-almond biscotti. I think that's the world's problem - we take ourselves too seriously and never think to stop and enjoy what's in front of us. We have been continuously developing hybrid and electric cars, and what's this war we're about to wage? Over OIL. It's utterly stupid. And no one can deny that OIL *is* one of the driving forces behind Bushy's little "crusade." How utterly pointless.

I'm glad I took Government Honors instead of regular. Everyone in my class is so intelligent, so able. Apt pupils we are.

~AF