Seven-forty-five in the morning is way too early to be out in the cold, waiting for a bus. There are a few of us at the side of the road in our green and navy uniforms, probably all thinking about how much we wish we were still in bed right now. I know I am.

We arrive at the school at 8 a.m. and I make my way to the Transition Year corridor. This year my class is back in the same classroom we occupied in second year - oh, the memories, most of them bad.

Getting in early does have one advantage - the time can be used to do homework, if you're not the sort of organised person who always has everything done. Am I that type of person? No. However, if you're a teacher of mine who has by chance decided to read this, of course I'm organised, and of course I don't rush through the homework you give me. Would I do that?

I have nine classes most days, with eight on Wednesdays and Fridays. Transition Year is nice in that there's not much pressure and there's a good mix of the academic and non-academic subjects. Of course, being the pathetic person I am, I find myself enjoying the academic stuff. "Oooh, English, yay!" "Accounting now? Woohoo!" Well, most of the time.

I get home from school sometime after 4 p.m. Time to make tea and get chocolate. Caffeine addict, me? Never.

By five, my computer is usually turned on. I have a laptop that I love to pieces, and that's what I use to write on. The TV is usually on in the background, ready to distract me. It usually succeeds, but at times I can resist the temptation of that wonderful invention. I use my computer for two things - the internet and writing. Usually I'll do a bit of both each night.

What I'm working on at the moment is my third book for Poolbeg Press, my publishers. Because there's a deadline and because I already have the cover for it, despite the fact that the book itself is incomplete, I'll try to work on that every night, when possible.

I suppose some people might think it's hard to juggle school and writing, but as I've been doing it for years, I don't think of it as work. It's like trying to fit in any hobby or part-time job around school hours. Most people can manage it. I'll spend time writing at the weekends, too, but I usually go out with my friends as well.

So, the majority of the evening, since there's very little on TV and not much homework to do, is spent sitting at my laptop with, beside me, my mobile phone, bleeping every so often to indicate the arrival of a text message.

The joys of modern methods of communication that allow you to be interrupted, no matter where you are or what you're doing.

I'll still be there until my mom reminds me that I have school the next morning. "Oh, right," I say vaguely, glued to the screen, typing away. On the fifth try she'll get through, and I'll go up to bed, because I've learned the hard way that staying up late at night writing when you have to be out for the bus at that terribly early hour of the morning isn't a good idea.

In an interview with Bernice Harrison