Ch. 2: The Letters

  "Hey, I'll be right back. Watch my stuff!" I exclaimed, throwing the door open, "Thanks Kylie!" I heard her protest in indignation but I ignored it. I had more important matters to deal with. "Lance! Wait up!"

  Thank goodness the halls were empty. I'm sure that people would think I lost my sanity if they saw me yelling after him. I know I would. As I went closer, I noticed his greeting was not necessarily welcoming. His face obviously meant back off and his nose was scrunched up in disgust. "Rude much?" I glanced down at the envelope I was holding. I couldn't get wait to get rid of it. I tossed it at him and began to babble stupidly, "I know it's a bit early but I thought I would forget if I didn't give it to you now." Lance easily caught the flying paper and looked at it with the same perplex face he gave me yesterday, which drove me crazy. "It's just a letter!" I thought in annoyance, "Not the Pythagorean Theorem!" But I had to continue my charade. "Well, see you later in language arts Lance!" I waved, turning to walk away. I was half-way to the door until I heard a low voice say: "Why is it so fancy?"

  I turned back at him sheepishly. I guess I did make the envelope a little too well. It was pearly white with two thin stripes (blue and red) running at the end of the flaps. I put red stamp at the center of the flap and on the back of the envelope, I put in cursive: To: Lance Lee. I began to turn red in embarrassment. It seemed like a good idea at the time. "I-I guess I was worried what you would think if I gave you a plain envelope," I muttered truthfully, rubbing my arms. I looked away, pretty sure he would ROFL at my stupidness and then forever shun me. But he didn't. Instead I heard him pick up his bag and walk away, his footsteps growing quieter by the second. I looked at up slightly, my mouth opened in shock. "Did he just ditch me?!" I thought, rather offended. I huffed and turned around. I saw Kylie peeking through the window, trying to see what happened. I gave her a fake smile and gave her a thumbs-up. "I have to make this work," I thought, "I won't let something like this get in my way." I opened the door and sat in my seat, barely making it before the late bell. Sadly, I couldn't get that scene out of my head. For that whole period, I kept trying to cheer myself up and persuade myself it could have been worse until Kylie started to talk about her partner. "Lucy Ann is so nice!" she gushed, "We already planned to hang out at the mall on Sunday!" I grit my teeth in annoyance. Sometimes, Kylie didn't seem to care about other people's feelings. "That's nice," I replied through my clenched teeth, hoping she would get a clue. But of course, she didn't.

  *******************************************************

  "I can't believe this!" I groaned in my head, "It's language arts already?!" I trudged over to my seat, avoiding eye contact with him. "I read your letter."

  I couldn't help but look up. I nodded cooly and sat down, determined not to make a fool of myself. Then he continued, "Here's your reply."

  I looked at the envelope in surprise. "That was fast," I couldn't help but say as I took the envelope away from him. He shrugged and looked ahead. "You did yours fast too. The due date wasn't until Friday." I smiled a little bit and fiddled with the envelope. "Monday isn't good enough for you?" I joked, forgetting that he is someone you didn't usually joke with. The corners of his lips rose by a 1/100 of an inch but his eyes remained cold. "I didn't say that," he snapped, his tiny smile still on. Despite his harsh response, I couldn't help grinning. "I just made the most awkward boy in school smile," I thought proudly. But I decided not to push him any further. "Always take things slow."