Laura Finnegan's diary entries from Bittersweet Sixteen

Diary of a Main Character

The Diary of Laura Finnegan from Bittersweet Sixteen

September 10th know I should feel lucky to be at Tate. it's a great school, will give me a quality education, blah, blah, blah. But what good is that when all I talk about in the locker room is not as, but how to develop my abs?

It's like that old Alanis Morisette song: "Isn't it ironic." Isn't it ironic that your designer handbag was made in a Third World sweatshop, but you're volunteering to save the poor to boost your resume for Harvard? Thank goodness I know where my clothes come from -- my sewing machine! Just a few stitches and some quality fabric and I can make something that looks like designer duds for a dime!

September 23rd

So my parents always say -- stay focused. Remember, Laura, it's all about goals and your future. Which is great and all if you're a middle-aged NYU professor with a kid, right, and married? But when Whitney Blake goes vamping through the room, it's hard to not to just want to be like that -- to be like Whitney.

4. October 2nd

Looking back on some of my entries and feeling pretty down about myself. I think: 'I have to do well in school because I'm not rich and pretty like Whitney. If I was like Whitney, it would be enough simply to exist, I wouldn't have to work so hard.' I tell myself that work is good, but working hard doesn't always feel that rewarding. Sometimes just having a guy give me a second glance, or having someone ooh and ah at what I just bought would be nice too.

5. October 5th feel like -- oh my God, there is no comparison because this is the best thing ever -- Whitney was actually nice to me today!

6. October 17th

Okay it's official. I am Whitney Blake's friend and research assistant. Whitney is going to have the blowout Sweet Sixteen party of the century. Who would have ever thought that the fact that I can SEW my own fashions would impress a girl who YAWNS at haute couture? I'm taking notes for the best dresses, bags, party favors, SHOES, starting now!

7. October 23rd

Big confession here: when I was ten, I had a party at my parent's. Store-bought cake with pink icing, Snoopy paper plates, pinata, games, favor cups, the whole middle-class nine yards. And I liked it.

8. November 3rd

My dad says I'm changing. While slurping his spaghetti this evening he couldn't understand why I wasn't that excited about some dumb award he won for an article he published in a journal but I thought it was majorly cool that an/the Olsen twin(s) were in his class.

9. December 1st

Sophie M -- at first I didn't know what to think about the Hollywood connection, and I know Whitney thought even less about it, but now that she knows that there can be two queen bees (in different ways) at Tate, things seem to be going a bit smoother. Just call me the peacemaker, okay? Hey, maybe someone will send ME a prize tulip via private jet from Holland to say thanks -- ha, a girl can dream!

10. December 3rd

Now I'm getting totally excited about the major blockbuster it is going to be! I just hope my fingers don't fall off with all of the sewing between the Sweet Sixteens and the Gold and Silver Balls!