Okay, so this is what happens when I get really bored: I write letters between our favorite teenage Guardian and his first believer! Yeah, I know I need a life. Anyway, enjoy Summer Pen Pals.
Summer Pen Pals
Dear Jamie,
Look at this! I finally figured out how to send a letter! This is so cool! (No pun intended. That's probably the oldest pun in the book, anyway.) I also have a box thingy at the local post office so you can send me letters too! They get forwarded to the pole, so if you wanna chat over the summer –as in right now –we can send letters to each other! Please write back. (My address thingy is also in the envelop.)
-Jack
Dear Jack,
I hate to break it to you, but most people don't send letters anymore. The only reason I'm doing this is to humor you. Seriously though, have you not heard of a phone? Doesn't North have one? Or email? I'm sure North has a computer. But hey, how's your summer going?
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
Yes, I know most people don't send letters anymore. And yes, I've heard of phones and email. And of course North has both of them. But the reason I'm sending you letters is because that was how people got news to others far away when I was human. And my summer is going fine, thanks for asking. I've got this wicked prank planned for the yetis, since nothing is happening at the pole right now.
-Jack
Dear Jack,
What kind of prank? Have you already done it yet? If you have, did it work? If not, tell me when you have. So, since you didn't ask, my summer is going pretty well, though to be honest I prefer winter (and no, I'm not just sucking up).
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
I have done the prank already, and it was hilarious! The best part is that the yetis think that Sandy was the one who pranked them! I borrowed some of his dreamsand and knocked them all out, then locked them in the basement. Once they all woke up, they tried to open the door, which was rigged to a pulley system so that if someone inside tried to open it a boat load of paint would fall from the ceiling and coat the yetis! They were bright orange for a week! Oh and sorry about not asking how your summer was going. I forgot.
-Jack
Dear Jack,
It's fine; you didn't have to ask. And holy crap, you actually dyed the yetis orange?! Why orange though? I thought you were more of a wintery color kind of guy.
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
Well, I didn't want them to figure out it was me. See this way they're even more convinced it was Sandy. He has no idea why the yetis keep giving him an evil glare. I almost feel bad for the little guy. Or I would if it weren't for the fact he got me first.
-Jack
Dear Jack,
What do you mean by 'got you first'? I'm just curious. Guess what! I've figured out when you'll be able to come back by! According to the Farmer's Almanac, you'll be able to come back by October 26. It's supposed to be a colder fall than last year.
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
You really miss me, don't you? Don't worry 'cause I miss you too, kiddo. You're one of my best friends. And by 'got me first' I meant that Sandy pranked me. Me. Jack Frost, master of pranks, got tricked by a short golden mute. It was so embarrassing.
-Jack
Dear Jack,
Yeah, I miss you; you're one of my best friends too. What did Sandy do to you?!
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
Let's just say it involved Bunny's Easter egg dye and hair ribbons.
-Jack
Dear Jack,
What. Happened?! Tell me!
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
Fine, I'll tell you: Sandy knocked me out and dyed my hair purple, then tied it up with hair ribbons and took pictures of me! Bunny will never let me live it down.
-Jack
Dear Jack,
Can I see the picture? Oh, and I've got a question: can everyone see you guys in photos, or just the people who believe?
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
I am never giving you that picture. And as for your question, I have no idea if everyone can see us in pictures or if it's just those who believe. I'll have to ask North or Tooth. Bunny still can't look at me without laughing.
-Jack
Dear Jack,
I contacted Bunny and he gave me a copy of the picture. You looked like a girl! I couldn't get him to stop laughing either. Have you asked North or Tooth about the whole 'showing up on camera' thing yet?
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
I asked and they said they have no idea. Maybe you should figure it out. You've apparently got that photo of me (and Bunny's Warren was frozen over for a few days because of that).
-Jack
Dear Jack,
Mom couldn't see you. I had been hoping she would though, because I wanted her to know you were real. Then she'd be able to see you all the time.
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
It's okay kiddo. Your mom doesn't need to be able to see me. You being able to is enough. Besides, Tooth told me that most people who believe in us once they're older are really strange people. I don't think you'd want your mom to be a really weird person, would you?
-Jack
Dear Jack,
Have you met my mom? She's the definition of strange! She'll try to use slang that people used back when she was a teen and she thinks it makes her cool. Mom is not normal, so therefore I think she'd be one of those strange adult believers if she knew you guys were real.
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
Like, gag me with a spoon, that's totally ridic. But at least she's not using current slang, bro. Though you wanna know what's totally tubular? I've got a prank set up for the elves and the mini-fairies. Baby Tooth is gonna help me out big time.
-Jack is out
Dear Jack,
What. The. Heck. Was. That?! You sounded like my mom times ten!
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
I was using slang from different decades. I can't really remember which they belonged to, though. Just be glad I haven't slipped into different languages yet.
-Jack
Dear Jack,
Since when do you speak different languages? And which ones?
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
I've picked up on a few of them during the last three hundred years. When you travel from country to country bringing ice and snow you tend to listen to the people talking. It took me a while, but I now speak at least thirty different languages including French, Spanish, German, Russian (North doesn't know about that one), Chinese, Japanese, English (duh), and Dutch.
-Jack
Dear Jack,
Has North ever cussed in Russian?
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
Only just about every single time he uses Russian.
-Jack
Dear Jack,
What does he say?
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
I think your mom would yell at me if I told you. Or she would if she could see me . . .
-Jack
Dear Jack,
You're right; she would. Mostly because she found the letters you sent! I have no idea how she managed to find them, but now she thinks I have a pen pal she doesn't know (though that's technically true). And then she asked if she could meet you when you came back. What am I gonna do?!
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
I have absolutely no idea. Have you tried explaining the whole 'Jack Frost' thing to her?
-Jack
Dear Jack,
I told her your name was Jack Frost and she laughed. She thinks that it's a nickname or something. When she wanted to know your real name, I told her I didn't know your real last name. Now she wants to send you a letter too. What are we gonna do?!
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
Have your mom send me a letter. Oh, and the last name I had when I was human was Overland. The first name stayed the same. Just so you know.
-Jack
Dear Jack,
Your name was Jack Overland? Cool (no pun intended). And I told Mom that she could send you a letter and she's been spending days trying to figure out how to word it. I think she's gone a bit insane. Either that or she's just super obsessive.
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
So your mom is actually gonna send me a letter? Cool, I actually get to talk to her! I think I'll end up writing her back and telling her all about the snowball fights you've instigated . . .
-Jack
Dear Jack,
All those snowball fights were you! I'm just an innocent bystander!
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
If you're an innocent bystander then I'm the spirit of summer.
-Jack
Dear Jack,
. . . Fine . . . I'm mostly an innocent bystander. Is that better?
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
Yes, much better. Has your mom sent the letter yet?
-Jack
Dear Jack,
Nope. She can't figure out what she wants to say.
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
Okay. Just warn me when she's gonna send it. I wanna be prepared.
-Jack
Dear Jack,
I've heard a lot about you from Jamie. He seems to trust you, so I guess I can trust you too. But if you end up letting him get hurt when you come to visit (yes, Jamie told me you'll be back in the fall) I will personally hunt you down and hand-deliver you to the police. And see if you can get him off of this Guardian nonsense. He won't listen to me about it.
-Mrs. Bennett
Dear Jack,
She sent it yesterday, so you'll get it before you get this letter. I tried to warn you, I really did.
-Jamie
Dear Mrs. Bennett,
I promise I would never intentionally hurt Jamie; he's my friend, and friends don't hurt friends. But as to the Guardian thing, don't you think kids have the choice of whether or not to believe in something?
-Jack
Dear Jamie,
I read you mom's letter. Now I'm scared . . . And she wants me to get you to stop believing in the Guardians!
-Jack
Dear Jack,
She really wants you to get me to stop believing in you guys? Really?
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
Yep. Here's what she said, word for word: See if you can get him off this Guardian nonsense. He won't listen to me about it. How does she think a pen pal can get you to stop believing if she can't?
-Jack
Dear Jack,
I have no idea. Has she sent you any more letters?
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
Nope. And I'm kinda glad about that too. Your mom is a bit scary, dude.
-Jack
Dear Jack,
I know. Hey, summer is almost over. You can come back soon! What will I tell Mom when she asks where you are?
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
Tell her I couldn't make it?
-Jack
Dear Jack,
I can do that. Or we could just figure out how to get her to believe in you . . .
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
And how would we go about doing that?
-Jack
Dear Jack,
Simple: you write a message in frost when she's looking, something along the lines of 'My name is Jack Frost' and then make it snow inside. That's almost like how you got me to believe in you.
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
I don't know about this . . . Trying to make someone believe doesn't always turn out okay. But I'll think about it. No promises though.
-Jack
Dear Jack,
Okay. So, how is everyone? You haven't really mentioned them.
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
Everyone's fine. Tooth told me to remind you to floss, Sandy visits nightly keeping away stray Nightmares, Bunny wants to know how Sophie is doing, and North wants to know what you want for Christmas.
-Jack
Dear Jack,
Tell Tooth I floss every night, thank Sandy for me, let Bunny know that Sophie's doing well, and tell North that I have no idea what I want for Christmas. So how are you doing? You mentioned everyone but yourself.
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
I told everyone what you said and, in order, they said: Good, You're welcome, That's nice, and Just think about it. And I'm doing fine, thanks. How are you?
-Jack
Dear Jack,
I'm fine. School started last week, so I've got lots of homework to do every night. I can't wait for winter. Then you could possibly give us a snow day twice a month?
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
I'll see what I can do, kiddo. And hey, what's school like? I've never been.
-Jack
Dear Jack,
You've never been to school? I thought you died when you were sixteen.
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
Yeah I did, but I died back when school was only for the really smart and the semi-rich. I was too busy helping my dad with all the housework and helping my mom take care of Emma.
-Jack
Dear Jack,
Maybe during the winter you can sit in on a few of my classes. I don't think anyone would mind.
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
I might just do that. Thanks.
-Jack
Dear Jack,
You're welcome. Besides, I think my friends would like you to come, too. Though if you end up making it snow inside during class, I'm claiming the whole coming-to-school thing was your idea.
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
I wouldn't doubt it, kiddo. And do you honestly think I would make it snow inside where there were so many people who don't believe in me?
-Jack
Dear Jack,
Yes, I do. And don't try to deny it; you'd have too much fun watching everyone get really confused as to why it was snowing inside.
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
I guess you're right. But I promise I won't make it snow, unless your science teacher starts talking about snow. Then I might make it snow in your class room. Or just frost the board. That would be interesting to explain.
-Jack
Dear Jack,
That would be pretty funny, wouldn't it? But at least try not to do anything stupid. I don't want my teacher to have a mental breakdown.
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
I won't cause your teacher to have a breakdown. That wouldn't be fun at all. Although, just messing with people is really fun. Like last week I froze the elves into a pyramid and put them on top of the globe in the pole. North wasn't all that happy about it, but the yetis didn't stop smiling for hours. I think I did them a favor.
-Jack
Dear Jack,
You froze the elves to the globe? Awesome! Oh, and you can come back in three weeks! My friends are having a Halloween party and they wanted me to ask you if you wanted to come. You'd have to wear a costume, though.
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
Sure, I'd love to come. What should I dress up as?
-Jack
Dear Jack,
Maybe you should dress up as a different spirit or something. Guess what I'm going as!
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
You're going as North, right? Or Sandy? No, you're going as Pitch.
-Jack
Dear Jack,
Nope, I'm going as you! The only problem is that I can't find a staff that looks like yours.
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
You're going as me? Why would you want to go as me? I mean, I know I'm awesome and all, but no one outside your group of friends would realize who you were dressing up as. And as for the whole staff thing, I think I can get North to make you a walking stick that looks like my staff of you want.
-Jack
Dear Jack,
First of all, I'm dressing up like you because you're awesome. And second of all, you'd ask North to make me a staff? Thanks Jack!
-Jamie
Dear Jamie,
I'm coming back in a few days, so I might get there before you get this. North did make you a staff, but it has no powers whatsoever. He can make ice sculptures that fly around the room but he can't make a stick that shoots snow at people? That's kind of lame. I can't wait to show you my Halloween costume. It's actually kind of funny. See you in a few days!
-Jack
And that's all folks! You can just pick a random costume for Jack is you want to imagine it. Hey, random question: What the heck is Tumbler? I've heard a lot of people mention it, but I can't get on it at school (aka where I'm able to get on the internet) so I can't figure it out on my own. Thanks for reading!
~C