Chapter 1

Brooke Davis stared at her computer screen contemplating what to say to her pen pal but she had no clue what to write about.

"Reveal something about yourself and ask your pen pal a question," her teacher Mr. Ryan had said.

"Damn it," Brooke yelled while banging the keyboard.

"Ms. Davis is something wrong with your computer?" asked Mr. Ryan glancing up from the tests he was marking.

"No, I just don't know what to write. This project is stupid," she replied.

"Do you need help?" he asked.

"No, I'm fine," she replied flashing him a fake dimpled smile. The last thing she needed was help with a simple letter. Mr Ryan seemed to believe the fake smile however, and returned to marking the tests.

She started typing random keys to make herself look busy while thinking about what to send her pen pal. It would help is she knew who she was writing to. Instead her teacher gave each student another classmate to correspond with and part of the project was not knowing who the other person was. Apparently, the point was to have someone to tell all your secrets to without worrying about them telling anyone else. After the project was over you could reveal yourself to your partner if you wanted.

Dear pen pal,
You can call me Cheery. Are you a junior or a senior?

She hit the send button thinking that her message was good enough. She asked a question and she didn't tell the person her real name. She looked around at all her classmates who were typing long letters to their pen pals and laughed. This really was stupid.

She pulled out her cell to text her best friend Peyton when she heard a Ding! signaling that she had gotten a reply.

Dear Cheery,
I am a senior. What about you?
Broody

She laughed at the person's choice of a nickname and opened a new window to send a reply.

Dear Broody,
I am also a senior. Don't you think this whole project is freaking stupid?
Cheery

After hitting send she stuffed her books into her pink nylon backpack, flung her purse over her shoulder, and waited for the bell to ring. When the bell finally rang she met up with Peyton at her locker. They had an assembly next period and Brooke wanted to sit with her best friend.

"Hey did you have to do that pen pal assignment?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah" she replied.

"I had no idea what to say. It's so...urgh!"

"I think it's kinda cool."

"You would," Brooke laughed.

"Whatever," Peyton laughed while smacking Brooke on her arm.

The noise in the gym was deafening as students scrambled to find seats for the big assembly. Brooke and Peyton sat near the back where they could talk without many people hearing them. Brooke wondered if her pen pal had replied yet so she pulled her pal out of her purse, keeping it out of sight as she logged onto her email.

Dear Cheery
I don't think this assignment is "freaking stupid". I think it's kinda cool. I mean look at it this way, we don't have to do much. Just email each other. So tell me a little about yourself.
Broody

Brooke sat up in her chair. This person wanted to know more about her, waht should she tell them? She knew she should be paying attention to the assembly but when had that ever stopped Brooke Davis? Plus she wanted to reply anyway.