The · Land · of · Counterpane

Happy Valentines day to all of my fellow Euphemers. While I do not have a Valentine, being completely incapable of actually, you know, telling someone I like them (and now she is with some guy I've never met,) I still rather enjoy ye olde V-Day, possibly because the cafeteria gives us cookies with icing and sprinkles. Delicious.

--R

P.S. Sorry about my current antisocial tendencies. I promise I'll give you a good excuse as soon as I think of one.

I'm sorry if I've been a bit frazzled or out of it lately. You see, my parents finally deigned to tell me why it is I was finally allowed to go to a real school and why it had to be a school so far away. This is what they were keeping from me: All eight doctors said my lungs were fine, nothing wrong with them whatsoever. The last doctor thought that my "condition" might be explained by problems with my home environment, whatever that means, so they sent me to the first boarding school they found. If being away from home isn't helping, which it isn't, they'll want me to come home. So, I guess I can't tell them about the blood on my pillow. Which okay, I guess, since they only just got around to telling me that eight out of eight doctors say that Rob is not sick.

--R

I'm feeling much better, which might have something to do with the ending of that snow storm of doom. I was feeling well enough to go into town to get some cough medicine at least. The fact that this is an accomplishment is rather depressing, especially since cough medicine has never been the slightest bit helpful to me. I did manage, despite my semi-invalid state, to meet two new people, which was nice. Hopefully, I will stop radiating "new kid" quite so strongly soon. Sometimes, I feel like I have "N008" written on my forehead, and it doesn't help when I manage to have coffee come out of my nose in front of one of my new acquaintances. But, I am well enough to go to class and maybe even -- gasp -- go outside for a bit, which is what really counts.

I've been forced to explain about my illness so many times that I am getting rather sick of it (no pun intended.) So, I will explain it all here once and for all and have done with it, since I'm pretty sure everyone at Eupheme reads livejournal. It's almost pathological how addicted to it we all are. Anyway, here is the long and short of it:

My problem is with my lungs. According to the eight different doctors I have visited -- none of which were able to help me in the slightest -- I have something sort of resembling tuberculosis in symptoms, except when they actually took a look at my lungs, they couldn't find anything actually wrong with them. So, naturally, it doesn't respond to treatment. Apparently, I am a medical anomaly, and not one of those cool medical anomalies like Rasputin who just happened to have a genetic condition that made him immune to the most common poison in Russia at the time, no, I'm the "Wow, you're screwed" kind of medical anomaly. The only actual explanation I've ever gotten was actually not from a doctor, but from one of my friends when he was stoned out of his mind. My problem was, and I quote, "Just bad karma, man." Very helpful.

--Rob

So much for back to the daily grind, as I said in my last entry. This cold is no good for me. I should have gone to school someplace warm, like California or Hawaii. I've always wanted to live in Hawaii. But, if I did that I would not have met all of you, so don't think I'm trying to leave. I just hate being trapped in bed and helpless, which is what is happening right now. Since the power cam back on, I've been slowly getting better, but no miracle recovery like I was hoping for. In the meantime, I guess I can get ahead on my homework or, more likely, finish A Feast for Crows and claim that I was too sick to do my work. It is believable, as I look like a zombie. Damn unidentifiable-by-expert-medical-doctors lung conditions!

Rob, over and out.

When I was feeling my absolute worst yesterday, Sammie came over and made everything seem so much brighter. She snuck in through the fire escape, for one thing, which made me feel wonderfully risque, but it was more than that. It was just nice to know that there was someone at Eupheme who cared enough to take care of me when I was sick and, wonder of wonders, that I was comfortable enough with to let see me at my worst.

I know I am making this sound very dramatic. But, all that really happened was that she brought me some tea and got me an extra pillow and we talked for a while about, well, everything.

I'm feeling much better now that the power is back on. Between the return of the heat and my portable humidifier, I feel almost human. So, I guess its back to the daily grind for me, thank god.

Rob, over and out.

Its snowing outside. I can see the flakes blown against my window in the instant before they melt. I long to be out there, building snow forts and having snowball fights and exploring this world made alien by it's blanket of white. But I can't. I barely had enough strength to go find my laptop and a couple books and drag them back under the covers with me. I won't be able to use my laptop much longer, the spare battery is running low and the power is out. Who knows when it will come back on? In the meantime, I'm huddling under as many blankets as possible, shivering and coughing so bad I can hardly breathe. This isn't any sort of way to live, trapped inside listening to the calling of my friends and classmates as they enjoy the winter weather. I long to escape this "land of counterpane" as my namesake so eloquently put it. I want to run free, not to be chained to this body that feels like its dying. I've been saving up the strength to go down the hall to the bathroom to get some water to take my pills. That's how pathetic I am right now. I can't even walk the length of a hallway. The battery is almost out. I should save it and start on one of my books. The latest A Song of Ice and Fire book arrived from Amazon.com yesterday, so I think I'll start on that.

This is Rob signing off.

The thing I miss the most from home is my D&D group. I know it is terribly nerdy of me, but having all my friends come over and sit around my bed drinking hot chocolate and spinning wild adventures was one of my great comforts when I was sick in bed, and while I do not miss being sick, I miss my friends and our games terribly.

However, while my elven rogue is languishing in my bottom desk drawer, I have been out having adventures of my own. I went boating on the lake that someone told me had a kraken. Of course, I saw no kraken, but I had a delightful time frightening myself. And I have plans to get thoroughly lost in Icaria with Sammie, which should be a grand adventure. We mean to climb every single tree within walking distance of Eupheme by the end of the year. Still, I wonder if anyone at Eupheme plays D&D.

First day of classes wasn't too bad. I thought I might be behind, because I've never attended "real" high school before, but I guess my tutors prepared me pretty well. I'm not feeling overwhelmed at all, which is odd since not only am I new to Eupheme, I'm new to the U.S. of A and high school in general. But, I keep having this odd feeling that I'm finally at the place I was meant to be. Every time someone tells me some rule or silly thing about this school, it feels right. Every time I meet someone, we fall into easy conversation, hardly awkward at all. I think I'm really going to like it here. I had lunch with some great people who had similar taste in literature to me, which can be hard to find, and a fellow pirate enthusiast. Very exciting.

Though, to be quite honest, the best part of being at Eupheme, is not being at home. It's an indescribable relief to be away from my father's constant nagging to take more sciences and maths, to do better in them, to stop "goofing around" writing poetry and for once no one is harassing me about stupid Young Engineers Club. Ah, freedom!

I also have a bit of a mystery to report. I've noticed one girl, Sammie -- ah, I don't remember her last name, something with a C -- is in all of my classes. Every single one. If it were half my classes, or even two-thirds, I could write this off as a coincidence. But, all of them? Clearly some greater force is at work. Is it the hand of destiny or the school administration? Only time will tell.

Until next time,

Rob

((OOC: If people want to fill themselves in as Rob's lunchtime companions that would be excellent.))

Going through customs was an adventure, by which I mean hell on wheels. It's probably a good thing I sent that sword I bought on ebay last year ahead of me by mail. The flight itself was uneventful. I amused myself by watching the clouds and reading.

I'll be starting at Eupheme in a couple of days. This is my first time at a real school. It's kind of weird actually. I mean, no sooner do the doctor's say my lung problem is relatively under control and I can go to school with all the other little boys and girls, then I get a letter in the mail about Eupheme High and it's exactly the sort of place I want to go and, miracle of miracles, my parents actually agree to it. I've been telling all my friends at home that it is too much to be a coincidence and clearly this all part of some elaborate plot. I don't actually believe that, of course, but its more fun this way.

Until next time,

Rob