Letters from the dorm

It's the weekend, finally. One text message, two Skype discussions and a misleading conversation over the telephone have left me clueless as to what to do for the next two days.

The latest stir at Bishop Strachan is the Stewards Dance at Upper Canada College, an all-boys' school that's a convenient two blocks away. This will be the first opportunity of the year to hang out with the boys and escape our all-girls scene. The dance theme is Halloween - every girl invited by a boy has to dress up in a costume to match her date.

This year, I'll be going with my close friend Doug, who avoids planning at any cost. As much as I adore his sense of spontaneity and thirst for living in the moment, this makes it difficult to plan for a costume dance.

The theme is 'Good and Evil'. I've texted, e-mailed, and left messages for Doug, pitching ideas: for example, Little Red Riding Hood and the big bad wolf. Doug responds that one of us goes as Jesus and the other as a controversial world leader. I start to worry. He stops responding to text messages.

The dance is fast approaching - one incommunicado boy and no costume. Maybe the all-girls thing isn't so bad after all. A hot bubbly bath and a weekend of movie nights - no costume required.