I went to St Aelred's this morning with Dad and Nathan, conscious that the academic year was drawing to a close, in order to pick up my artwork before it all got thrown away. The weather was glorious, ELO on the car stereo, sun on my face - I was quite looking forward to seeing my artwork again after all this time - to feel the weight of the sketchbooks and the sheer size of that bloody huge A1 piece I'd done for my exam. A whole academic year had gone by, I realised, since all that stress, all that mithering, all those all-nighters with the thick aroma of coffee choking out my room.

We arrived and were received by a receptionist who asked what we were visiting for as we signed in. When I explained with a smile that I was picking my artwork up (at last!), she gave me this blank look and said that I'd be lucky if it hadn't been thrown out. She just said it, direct and devoid of sympathy. Gave Dad and I our visitor badges and hurried us on.

( Panic set in as I led the way to Mr Kelly's art classroom... )

Can it really be that the last days of summer are upon us? Outside, it's overcast and raining, and sitting in my room, I actually feel cold. My feet are freezing. In twenty days, it'll be September. Autumn's just around the corner.

This time last year, I had a pretty good idea of what I'd e doing in the upcoming September. I'd be going back to Sixth Form, regardless of grades; I just didn't know whether I'd be moving on to A2s or resitting it all. This year, I don't even know if i'll be returning to Sixth Form; if I'll even be allowed to, whether I fail or not. I could be in a different college - not that fresh starts are entirely new to me. Or I could be gap yearring, with the grades I need, raising a bit of cash for uni. Maybe I'll even have been abducted by aliens by then. I simply don't know.

Not knowing what lies ahead is scary. It's like having to walk around a blind corner on the street, only you know that on the other side you'll find either a slap in the face, an axe murderer or a piece of delicious cake. Or even alien abduction. But you can't turn around; the only way is forward. You can only go on and hope it's the cake, because cake is better than being slapped, murdered and abducted.

I had a good night's writing last night, though Dad would probably disagree - I woke him up by moving my chair. This is precisely why I need a carpet, Dad! Chairs don't scrape noisily on carpet! They do on wood! And with a bookshelf to keep anything non-essential out of the way, I'd make less noise tidying up before bed.

Ergh. Rain, rain, sod the hell off or I'll smash your face in. Seriously. You annoy me. I want the sun!

What the hell was I thinking a few weeks ago? I can't drop Art. Without Art, I think I would go crazy.

So, Art, English Language, English Literature at A2, along with AS Media? As much as I love Photography, I can't do it without a camera.

And besides, the Art course I do covers Photography, as well as fine art, graphic design, ceramics, textiles... the list goes on. And being above Sixth Form age wouldn't prevent me from doing an A-Level in future *shameless burst of optimism*

P.S. You know the results day? Looks like I'm walking.

Ergh. Results day today. I don't know whether I should be excited or shitting myself right now. Last school year, there were times where I really didn't put as much work in as I should have had, but only in Art and Photography. Those are the two subjects that are worrying me the most right now. English Language and Literature not so much; I gave them all I've got, but I'd still like four good AS-Levels to secure a place at a university somewhere.

Guess what, people? I am officially writing to you all from Newton-le-Willows. We've officially moved. I'm sitting on my bed, a desk beside me and a pile of bags by the opposite wall. The walls are hideous - my fault for shredding the paper - and there's still so much to do before I can call it home but you know what? It feels damn good.

Right now, Dad and Nathan are off to the old place to gather up the last of our possessions. Most of our stuff is here, but we left behind Dad's model boats, my brothers' RC cars (they have a fleet of them) and a shelving unit where we normally keep the DVDs and PS2/Wii games. They should be back soon... I was getting up as they left and since then I've had time to find my missing hairbrush to tame my developing afro, take more of my junk upstairs, make a coffee and write up to here on this entry.

So, what else do I need to do on le bedroom? I need to finish stripping the wallpaper off. That should take a couple of hours. I need a nice, thick carpet because my feet hate wooden flooring and my ears hate how noisy it is. To get this in (and to strip/paint my walls) I'll have to get everything out and then back in again... You should have seen me trying to get my furniture arranged yesterday. It was madness (madness...? IT - WAS - SPAAARTAAAAA!)

Well, the priority for now then is walls and flooring. I have a temporary blind, at least (my bed's high for a low-sleeper and next to the window so the whole world can see me now) and bedding can wait.

Y'know, as bizarre as being in a new house is, I slept like the dead last night. I was a little uneasy at first but once I was out of it, I was out of it. Wow... that's the first decent sleep I've had in literally a week!

The gas company are coming to sort us out today so my 'eeew no bath for weeks' point is officially invalid. I think I'll have a good long soak tonight to say goodbye to one hell of a chaotic week.

Now that moving's out of the way I can focus on my beloved novel again! I'll ease myself back into it later by reading my previous chapter, having a quick flick through my notes, and I'll only do two pages. There's still a lot to do around the house today so I won't be able to manage much.