"Pandora smiled at me in school dinner today, but I was choking on a piece of gristle so I couldn't smile back. Just my luck!"
Page 15

"My spots are so horrific that I can't bear to write about them. I will be the laughingstock at school. I am reading 'The Man in the Iron Mask.' I know exactly how he feels."
Page 57

"I wish my mother would come home. I had forgotten how nice she is."
Page 84

"Barry Kent threw my snap-lock executive briefcase on to the rugby pitch. I have got to find two pounds quickly before he starts throwing me on to the rugby pitch."
Page 89

"Lucas spilt candle-wax over his new suede shoes. It was the only cheerful incident in a tragic day."
Page 95

"I wouldn't mind being a sponge-diver, but I don't think there is much call for them in England."
Page 97

"He...