Grimm's School for the Erratically Gifted: Chapter 8
Edmund’s day was ruined.
This is a turn of phrase often bandied about without due concern to its proper meaning. Indeed, the optimist might say that Edmund’s day was freed from routine, and therefore he was — for perhaps the first time since arriving at Grimm’s — able to act as he wished, rather than was required.
Indeed, many have made the argument that, had Edmund’s day not been “ruined,” he would never have made the discoveries which led to the Great British Empire being what it is today. (Whether this is a good or a bad thing has yet to be resolved)
For his own part, Edmund did not allow himself to think too far about the ramifications of his spoiled schedule. What was done was done, and he couldn’t go back and fix it now.