Set after Twilight This is just a little something I thought about when I was reading over Darkest Hour. David's off in computer camp again. Suze decides to write a letter just to check up on him and make sure he's all right. It's meant to be sort of cute, but I don't know if it turned out that way. Have fun.
Dear Doc,
No, no. I couldn't call him Doc right to his face. Well, it was a letter and I wouldn't exactly be in his face, but you know what I mean. I scribbled Doc out almost faster than I had written it. The smell of the heavy ink I was using reached my nose, but I ignored it. In blue pen, I wrote in David next to the block of smeared pen.
Dear David,
Hey there! How's computer camp? I know you really liked it last year, so I hope things are going just as well this year. Are you learning anything new?
That was a pretty stupid question. If it was David we were talking about, there was no doubt in my mind that he was learning. I was even willing to bet my favorite pair of Jimmy Choos that he was learning more when the teachers—or counselors, since it's a camp—weren't teaching him anything. My youngest stepbrother's mind was like a camera that took in everything he saw and filed it away for later use. I envied him for that, especially in my junior year, where I could most definitely use a mind like that. However, despite my question's stupidity, I kept it there.
What kind of stuff do they teach you at computer camp, anyway? I mean, I know they teach you about computers, but are they teaching you how to program things? Maybe they're teaching you how to make them. How neat would that be?
No, your eyes aren't deceiving you. I, Susannah Simon, just used the word neat, and not in the clean, organized connotation, either.
Oh, and I want to know about all the new friends you're making, too. Have you met anyone who happens to live anywhere nearby? And what about the girls there? Have you seen the girl that you liked last year? You should talk to her, or something. She'll love you, I'm sure.
I couldn't help but laugh as I imagined David blushing, right out to his sticky-outy ears. All right, so he never officially told me that he liked a girl from computer camp last summer. However, he did tell me to shut up when I mentioned it to him before, so of course, that was reason enough for me to believe that he had a 'special someone' that he was keeping secret from me. The thought of David having a girlfriend gave me some warm, fuzzy feeling inside, like a mother who found out that their son just got a date to his first dance.
Being very far from David's mother, this sort of weirded me out.
Jesse's been asking about you, too.
Speaking of special someones.
Jesse doesn't know a whole lot about computers, so he'll be pretty excited to hear about what you've been doing. In fact, he's eager for you to teach him a little more about technology in general. I've been trying to teach him a few things on my own, but the only thing I've taught him to correctly use is the CD player. He likes Madonna, you know; he doesn't really care so much for Brad's Marilyn Manson, though. Can you blame him?
Out of everyone all my friends and family, David had known about Jesse for the longest time; ever since the night when Jesse woke him up and told him to save me from dying under a fallen breezeway, to be precise. Even though David didn't know a whole lot about Jesse, he always knew of the 'unearthly presence' in the house. He even offered to trade rooms with me because of it.
I knew he was my favorite stepbrother then, even though I declined the offer.
However, ever since Jesse has been alive, David hasn't talked to him much. I guess they still had some catching up to do. I shifted the notebook on my lap and continued to write.
You guys would really hit it off, I think. After all, you were one of the first people he'd talked to in over a century and a half. Hey, maybe we can even pick you up from camp when you're ready to come home. We can all stop and get something to eat. You can pick the place, if you want.
Out of Jake, Brad, and David, David was the only one I chose to spend time with, let alone time that could have been solely spent with Jesse. I had a feeling that he knew this deep down, which made the time we spent together even better.
I was starting to run out of steam. I glanced over at the digital clock on my nightstand: 11:50. That explained a few things. The letter, much to my chagrin, was still pretty short, but I could always send another one if something else came up. With that thought in mind, I started to wrap things up.
Well, it's getting late and I guess I should be going. I hope you're having a great time. Make sure you write back before you come home, too. I really would like to hear from you before you come home. I miss you here at home.
Looking at the letter, I realized why they made us get into the habit of writing rough drafts and final copies in the second grade. The thing was a mess, with all the scribbles and cross-out marks, but that was all right; I would have time to fix it in the morning and still be able to have it mailed off.
The only thing left to write was the closing on the letter.
Sincerely,
Suze
I stopped. Sincerely? Somehow, that just didn't wrap the letter up correctly. I scribbled it out and wrote something else instead, smiling at I did so. Hey, David deserved a better closing than that. He was, after all, my little brother.
Stepbrother, a little voice in the back of my head corrected. I ignored it.
Feeling satisfied, I set the letter on my desk and started in the direction of the bathroom to chance. On my way, I cast one last glance back toward the end of my letter, getting that stupid fuzzy feeling inside. Only then, it didn't feel as stupid as normal.
Love,
Suze