Chapter One: Letter from the Rockies
"Okay class, settle down. This is your assignment...I think you are all really going to like it!" Mrs. Sonat said. "I have this close friend who lives in Tree Hill, North Carolina, who is a teacher. We decided that since we both teach the same class, that we would have our classes be pen pals with each other. You will be writing letters about yourselves and the important things that are going on in your lives to this mystery person. All of your parents have been notified that you will be doing this so there is nothing to be worried about in that department. Nonetheless, we would ask you not to provide any specific details about yourselves, which would include your addresses, phone numbers, etc. I will send all of our letters in one big envelope, the same as my friend will do from North Carolina. I think this is going to be a really great experience for all of you. I bet you never imagined that you Coloradoians would be able to have a friendship with another kid in North Carolina!"
Mrs. Sonat gave a couple minutes for the kids to discuss their new assignment. She was very happy with all of their reaction, especially since they were all freshman in high school who were very hard to please.
"Now I will put the names of your pen pals on the overhead. All I ask of you to do now is to start writing your letter. Don't forget to have fun with this assignment, kids. Plus, you will most likely never meet this person, so don't be afraid to tell them who you are. No ones judging you on this assignment!"
"Theresa, how are you going to start your letter?" Haley James exclaimed.
"Oh I don't know Haley, I suppose I'll just start rambling and see how it goes from there."
"Oh okay. Well, Mrs. Sonat is giving us that please-be-quiet-look, so we should probably just start writing" Haley said.
Haley began to write her letter to her new pen pal, Nathan Scott. At first, she was a little afraid to have a boy as pen pal. Then, she realized that this could be a good opportunity for her. She had always had such close girl friends but had never had a close boy friend. She figured that maybe now should could find a male friend in Nathan.
Dear Nathan,
Well, my teacher Mrs. Sonat just gave us this pen pal assignment. I was assigned to you of course, hence the letter you are holding in your hands at this moment. I suppose I should tell you a little about myself. My name is Haley and I am a freshman in high school in Denver, Colorado. I absolutely love to write, so my letters might be a little lengthy. But on the other hand, you will have something very good to read (hopefully), so enjoy my ramblings!
When I was younger, my parents bought me a keyboard. That's how I learned that I had a singing voice. First, I learned how to play the keyboard and then I taught myself how to play all of the sheet music to my favorite artists. You should feel very privileged to know this information but no one in my school knows that I love to sing. I am not quite sure why I keep it such a secret. Maybe because for the first time in my life, singing and music is something that I can just call my own. I don't have to share it with anyone (believe me, that's nice to have when you have a huge family like mine). I hope that doesn't sound selfish because believe me, I am none of the sorts. It's just nice to keep it private, for now anyway.
Okay, so now that I have told you my deepest secret, I suppose I'll lighten the mood a little. I love to read books. I have always been a bookworm. It's not that I hide in novels during school or anything, it's just nice to escape into other people's lives for a few moments during my day. You can understand that right? Hmm, what else. Oh, I love to watch basketball on television. I am not really that great at it myself, but I try anyways. I have several brothers, so I got roped into liking basketball from an earlier age. I wonder if you like basketball. (I would assume that would give us something to talk about considering I doubt you would like to talk about my singing voice.)
I suppose I should probably close now. Hopefully you found some interest in my letter. If not, well then you can add some comedy into the one you send me. I can't wait to hear from you. Until then, goodbye from the Rocky Mountain State.
Haley