I went down to Plymouth yesterday on the train to meet Tamara's boyfriend with her. He was a friend of Ash's (the online boyfriend we met last year... that really takes me back) and Tamara's been talking to him for the last couple of months.

I really think Tamara is my social-drug. Whenever I'm with her I have this strange wave of confidence and power. We got a bit lost on the way into town from the train station so I asked a passing woman if she knew the way to the city centre. She did, and she said she was going that way anyway so we could follow if we wanted. Whilst Dan and Tamara were getting to know each other, I walked ahead with the woman and we got chatting. Her son was going off to university soon to do accounting, and she said it's the time when you realise that all of your friends are going in their own directions. I said, "it's when you realise that you're alone in the world." And it all went from there. She wants to work in the field that I want to work in one day: Mental Health. She did a lot of volunteering in mental hospitals and we were talking about case studies and the way people's minds work. I think I actually managed to sound intelligent for a moment or two. She was lovely, and when we came to say goodbye, I really felt like I'd done myself proud. Usually I shy away from people, but I was really pleased that I managed to hold the conversation going until we went our seperate ways.

I also got spoken to by a man (well... boy, he looked about 20) on the train, and we spoke about getting stuck in doorways and about the chances of the weather not liking his relationship with his girlfriend because it always rains when he goes down to visit her. I said, "I'm sure it doesn't mean anything, don't worry," and then his phone rang and he vanished.

It was a brilliant day. I got the train down by myself, and I found out later that I was on the same train as Dan! It was coming from upcountry, sweeping by my station on the way. I actually think that I was in the same carriage as him! What are the chances? And then we all got the bus to where Tamara lives. On the way back home in the afternoon though, I had to pass over the ferry, go on the bus and go back on the train by myself too, which was a bit daunting. I seem to be very aware that I am a vulnerable 15-year-old girl, and being alone on a bus full of men is kind of scary. You just hear these stories, you know... so you can never be too careful. I got home ok though, and found myself in a carriage with the same people I came down with, which was a bit weird.