Gah

As the title surely should have made obvious, school has begun.

A new headmistress, a slew of new teachers, and a new, final school year which may prove more daunting than any before it.

To tell you the truth, distilled from my usual attempts at ambivalence, I embrace these changes. From what I've seen/heard of our new headmistress, she appears to fit perfectly with our school- she is affable, clever (always something I admire) and appears to be competent and qualified to direct our school. The Head's at our school seem to have a usual pattern of having fleeting tenures- I truly think that this one will achieve the much needed longevity.

I have the most wonderful new teacher as well, someone born with a fiery passion to teach.

So why, given my seeming optimism, does the title of this post read "Gah"?

Mostly because I have entered the final year of the International Baccalaureate program- a program that has significant merits, but unfortunately taxes my time to the point that the phrase "Free Time" makes me shake my head with disbelief. On the third day of the program, I already have enough homework to last me a week at my usual, procrastinating best. A chemistry lab, for example, due tomorrow.

Yes, this means that my blog will contain more of my futile sighs on workload, and less of the more glamorous content you've been seeing of late. Surprisingly, there are even deeper layers of boredom.
_

I was sick yesterday, lying by the fire, sniffling and feeling my forehead periodically to ensure that I had a fever, and that I was indeed sick. Because lying down and ordering people around is the most ideal situation for me, I freely exercised the power that comes into one's grip when one is sick.

"Rosh, " I said to my twin, not moving my eyes from the television and lifting a hand dismissively," please go get me some water and tylenol." There was a pregnant silence.
"I'm sick," I said, sighing, and coughing heartily to emphasize my point.
Heaving a great sigh of his own, Rosh went on up the stairs.

When he came back it was indeed with a tall glass of water, a shimmering layer of condensation around it. One of his fists was clenched around what I presumed to be a pill.

He had a glittering, malevolent look in his eyes. The fist was tightened around the pill surprisingly tightly, his knuckles white with tension. Suspicious, I reached for the glass and put my palm outstretched for him to drop the pill on.

A small, oval-shaped pill fell to my palm. I recognized it for what it was, instantly- the vitamin pill I have to take daily.
"That's not Tylenol!" I said, throwing the pill somewhere into the kitchen. He grinned.

I knew what this was about- Rosh is doing an essay on the so-called Placebo Effect. Placebo's are effectively pills with nothing in them. They are often given to patients with illnesses, as a way of seeing if the mind is convinced that being given a pill it will heal- and manifest this healing physically.

So by giving me a fake pill, he hoped I would convince myself I had taken Tylenol and would apparantly heal myself of this sickness.

Do I look like an experiment?

Don't answer that.