Clever

Sydney prides herself on her cleverness. Her teachers and prospective lovers (usually different) always commented it was her most identifiable trait.

So it's frustrating when this critical character component fails to impress. Like when she explains to the traffic cop that coming to a complete stop was both unnecessary and a waste of fuel, and she's doing everyone a service.

Or when she told Ian that kissing her boss simply made her appreciate Ian more as a boyfriend.

Neither did he laugh at her joke about the dog dropping his bouquet of white flowers to bark at its own reflection.

The Queen

HUBRIS CONTEST:

She relished her place at the center of the colony. All her needs were met. Her food was brought to her, as well for her nursing children. She had thousands of workers at her beck and call, digging, constructing, foraging. Mating took place whenever she felt the urge. Even her waste was disposed of for her.

Taken care of in this manner, was it any wonder that she could expect to live for as long as ninety years? Every day, nothing but leisure.

She thought herself fortunate, but all the other ants thought of her as nothing but a slave.

From Guest Contributor Wilson Edwards