Well, since not a lot of people have been reviewing or following this story, I guess it doesn't really matter to you guys that I update every two weeks. I think it's just gonna become the norm. Anyway, this story is quickly losing its flame because NO ONE IS REVIEWING. So, it would be nice if I could get a few before I post the next chapter. PLEASE tell me what you want to see happen because I LOVE reading your reviews! I don't care if you're a guest, please please please review! I don't own HOA, so now you can read!

Chapter 3

"Well, Mr. Isard, looks like you've got Alexander Ruil. Here's his email address and," he paused, staring Derrick in the eye, "do NOT share the email with others. And that goes for all of you." Mr. Fredrick glanced at the class, then resumed his kindly nature once more.

"Mr. Miller, seems you have a girl pen pal. I tried not to mix genders, but I hope you don't mind," he commented, almost sadly, slipping me a piece of paper with the email on it.

"Don't worry, Mr. Fredrick. It doesn't matter to me," I responded quickly, peeking at the page.

patriciawilliamson0323

So this was the girl I would be talking to for the rest of the year. I would have to get to know her, probably pretend to be friends with her, and she'd probably be one of those girls who would fall in love with the guy she's talking to via email.

What a pathetic sob story.

"Alright, so we're taking a quick trip to the computer lab to make sure you email them. They received your emails yesterday, or what is considered yesterday to us because their time zone is much different from ours, so expect an email from them in your inbox."

I sighed, reaching for my school bag. Quickly, I noticed everyone was simply filing out of the room and not bothering to grab their bags, so I left mine and caught up with Derrick as he was leaving.

"Wow, you have a girl pen pal," he stated as we walked down the clean hallway, our sneakers squeaking on the clean floor.

"Whoopie. Big deal," I replied dully, letting my arms hang by my sides. I definitely didn't want to get caught up in the drama that involved partners of the opposite gender from around the world, but school came first. I'd never talk to her outside of the computer lab.

"Now, get on your email and start typing. I don't want to be in here all day," Mr. Fredrick demanded as we entered the computer lab and the seats filled up at an alarming rate. Again, I was yanked to the far corner of the room by Derrick and shoved into a plastic chair next to him.

"What did I tell you about being fast?" he hissed under his breath to avoid Mr. Fredrick's hawk-like gaze. Already I had seen a bad start to the student-teacher relationship.

My eyes were glued to screen for a while after that, clicking on the Internet, waiting for the link to load, typing in the username and password, waiting some more, and finally having the email itself pull up.

I did not expect what I was about to read.

From: patriciawilliamson0323

To: eddiesmiller (when I was typing my username, I accidentally started to write 'Sweet' and messed up)

Hi.

My name is Patricia Williamson. I'm from England, if you don't know already. Nothing against you, but I really don't want to do this project. But, since I have to make this email 100 words, I'll do my best to explain myself.

I have auburn hair and green eyes. That's all you need to know about my appearance. I like rock and roll music, so that probably makes me seem uncool to you, but honestly, I don't care. My favorite color is black, and no, I'm not emo. I just like it.

Well, that's 93 words right there, so I'll just waste the other 7 here. There we go. Count if you want, it's over 100. Maybe we can be friends, but not many people seem to connect with me. Although, I do have some really great friends.

So, is there anything you like?

At first, I was completely shocked. I thought pen pals were supposed to be overly friendly, bubbly, and seemingly perfect. But this girl, Patricia, acted different. Well, indifferent really. She didn't care what people thought about her, even if they were halfway across the globe. She liked rock and roll, which was certainly not weird to me, but I guess if she would've gotten anyone else, it would.

So, I began typing a response.

Hi.

My name is Eddie Miller. I'm from America, if you didn't already know. I really don't want to do this project either, but you actually seem a lot cooler than what I first expected.

I have blonde hair and blue eyes. I guess you could say I'm tall, and I like to play football. Don't worry, I like rock and roll too. Ever heard of Sick Puppies? It's my favorite band, but I'm sure if they're very popular in England. Anyway, I like coffee and sports and just laughing. My main duties include taking care of my mom, going to school, and I also offer grass-cutting services. I haven't had a chance to do that yet in my neighborhood because I just moved, but it's a way of making money.

I really hope that we can still be friends, even you're not that interested. I mean, we don't have to talk outside of school (too much work) but at least you won't hate me.

I think that's over 100 words.

Only seconds after I pressed the send button and logged out of my email account, Mr. Fredrick gave a yell.

"Everyone, back to the class. It's almost time to go!"

Wow, time went by quickly. Making sure I didn't make any unnecessary noises as I crossed the squeaky clean hallway (that I sure would be scuffed up and dull by next week) to the classroom.

Mr. Fredrick didn't seem like the teacher people would hate, but I was kind of glad the class was about to end. I was kind of glad I hate a pen pal like Patricia, but I didn't think she'd be exactly thrilled about the idea of us becoming friends. I didn't have a lot of people who just wanted to get to know me and hadn't really judged me based on my social status in school. She could know the real me without seeing whatever it was that made kids move to the other side of the room when I came in.

Turned out, Mr. Fredrick's wristwatch was thirty minutes too fast, so we sat in the old plastic desks, going around and sharing our names with each other. I saw Abigail do a double take when I stood up to say my name. The flattery I felt was soon washed away when I remembered what Derrick had said to me.

She makes her way around.

Great. A girl who wanted to get into everyone's pants. What a catch.

People recited their names quickly, so after that was over, Mr. Fredrick began talking to us about how he felt like he was going to a fatherly figure to us all. I tuned him out after a few minutes of that. He was pretty young to be a teacher, much less a patriarchal example to the rest of the airheads in the class.

The bell rang about ten minutes later, answering my prayers, and I raced out of the room. In the hurry, I forgot all about Derrick and as I sped through the doorway, I stopped. I wanted to wait for him, but before I could move out of the way, a heavy force did it for me.

Aaron.

"Hey, watch where you're going, newbie!" he shouted, pushing me almost to the ground. "Don't you know it's not polite to block the path of people above you?"

I grumbled, wiping my sweaty palms on the front of my khakis. Don't start a fight. Don't start a fight. Don't start a fight.

So paralyzed was I, that I didn't even move out of Aaron and his friends' way.

"Oh, you think you're so tough, huh? Gonna wait for me to throw the first punch? Well, you won't have to wait forever because-"

"Back off, Aaron."

Derrick came from nowhere, pulling me backwards by my arm. If he didn't stop doing that, I would probably lose my arm by the end of the day. But I was still grateful.

"Oh, no, I'm so scared of you, Derrick. So, so scared!" he mocked in a high-pitched voice.

And then he was gone. Him and his jock friends had their backs to us, laughing about something. Probably me. However, as long as it wasn't in front of me, I felt a little bit better about it.

"Wow, you sure are a magnet for trouble," Derrick said in a whisper as I made my way to my next class.

Math. Oh the joys of being alive.