If you're just tuning in, this is the diary of my ongoing experience playing Rockstar's boarding-school sandbox game Bully on the PlayStation 2. You can check out the previous entries at this link.

8 March 2010
I returned to the fortress of Nerd, apparently as their new leader. My first task in this new role was to take "naughty" pictures of the head cheerleader, Mandy, which could easily "land me in jail or worse."

"Don't touch me you perverted peeping tom creepo son-of-a-bitch." I think that's what she said when I got too close while sneaking up to take Mandy's photo in the girls' showers. Here, once again, Rockstar managed to mix the ridiculous with somewhat-juvenile humour and cutting social commentary. No real reason was given for me needing to take these pictures, although I could easily come to my own conclusion. Superficially, it was to bring the Jocks down a level by compromising their prize asset (Mandy, apparently).

In reality, it had two purposes. From a gameplay and story perspective, it caused/will cause (when I do the next mission) the Jocks to launch an assault on the Nerd base, which means that I have to save the day and beat them down, ready to take control of their clique. But from a character perspective, it was simply to satisfy the perversion of the head Nerd, who could never get close to any of the cheerleaders, but maintains a stereotypical fixation on them regardless. Meta-narratives -- I love them.

My latest trip to the punishment prefect left me instructed to mow the entire football field, which is about three times as big as the previous mowing area. I'm curious to see how much further it can escalate. I don't know if there's any bigger lawn they could set me on, but the requirement for percentage mowed could certainly increase from the measly 60% set for that last effort. At the rate I'm going, I'll probably find out soon -- I just can't go more than a few seconds without hitting, insulting, or shooting someone with my slingshot.

I put my kiss any girl, any time ability to good use today for some much needed healing, before seeing the girl I kissed and another random girl start pulling each other's hair. Meanwhile, a gang of Jocks tried to beat me down, only to stop instantly when I ran past a prefect. All these little touches are what keeps me playing.