this chapter is a lot shorter then the first. I really don't have a plan for when to end these, things just sort of... happen, you know? anyway, enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Percy or Brenda.
...
"Ugh, this chemistry homework is the worst!" Erin groaned, placing her head in her arms.
"It's not so bad," I told her. She and Lucy had the class too, but at a different time then me an Alyssa. The teacher had given us a new assignment at the end of class on Friday, so we decided to work on it together on Saturday. We figured as long as we didn't share answers, it would be okay.
"Brenda's right," Lucy said. "I'm almost done with mine."
"I am too," Erin admitted. "But that doesn't make it less horrible."
We all laughed, and I smiled inwardly. These moments with my friends helped to keep my mind off of the letter I'd sent to Percy. It'd been nearly two weeks, and I hadn't gotten a return letter. I kept telling myself it was all right- I hadn't really been expecting a response. He was a huge star, after all. Why would he respond to a random fan?
We were still laughing when Charlie came charging into my room.
"Brenda!" she said, panting with her hands on her knees. She blinked up at us. "What's so funny?" when Alyssa opened her mouth to explain, Charlie waved her hand in the air. "No, nevermind. I don't need to know. Brenda! You have to check this out!" she waved something at me, and I rolled my eyes, still giggling.
"Show me what?" I asked.
She launched herself onto the bed next to me, putting her arm around me and putting the thing in front of us. It was a letter.
Brenda Wilson, it said in the middle. I glanced up to the top left corner, and my heart skipped a beat. I grabbed the letter in both hands.
"Oh my gosh!" I yelled, bouncing up and down. Charlie laughed and hugged me. Erin looked over her shoulder and gasped.
"Percy Patterson?!" she cried. "Brenda got a letter from Percy Patterson!"
"What?!" Lucy and Alyssa yelled.
"Brenda, why are you getting a letter from Percy? How does he know you?" Lucy asked me.
I breathed in deeply, trying to calm myself, then let it out. "A few weeks ago, in leadership, we had to write to somebody we admired. I chose Percy. You see…" I exchanged a glance with Charlie, and she nodded encouragingly. "Ever since I saw his show at Erin's house, I've been watching it and learning so much about animals. I love them now- I have for the past year."
"You did?" Alyssa asked. "I didn't know that."
"I didn't exactly make it clear," I admitted. "I was a little worried about how you'd react. I know you thought I said he was cute, but I was actually referring to the lion cubs. I didn't know how to explain that without coming off as a liar."
"Oh, Brenda," Lucy said, sounding sympathetic. "You could have told us- we'd understand."
"Yeah," Alyssa agreed. "We're your friends!"
I smiled at them gratefully. "Thanks, guys."
"You're welcome," Erin cut in. "Not to ruin the moment, but open the letter!" she bounced on my bed, a big smile on her face. "I want to know what he said!"
I laughed. "Okay, okay! I'm opening it!" I tore the flap and pulled out a paper. I unfolded it, my hands shaking slightly. I glanced around at my friends. "Do you guys mind if I read it myself? I'll tell you what it says."
"Oh, yeah, of course." Erin hopped off the bed and sat with Lucy on the couch in the corner. Now it was just me and Charlie. I read the letter silently first.
Hello Brenda, it started. First, I want to say thank you for your kind letter. I appreciate letters like yours- ones from people who love animals as much as I do. On that note… If you're interested, I could use some help on the show. Would you like to be my partner? You mentioned a teacher, so I'm assuming you're still in highschool. You should absolutely finish your education first, but if you do want to help out, I could send you clips that we've recorded to check out and give me your opinion on what should be put in the show and what shouldn't. I can also send you the script. I write it myself, but it would be nice to have someone to double check and possibly add improvements. This is only if you're interested, of course. If not, I understand. I'm including my email address at the bottom- it's much faster then letter writing, especially if we are going to become partners. It's been awhile since I got a letter from someone like you. Thank you again for writing me.
-Percy Patterson
P.S.- call me Percy.
"Well?" Erin asked eagerly, leaning forward. "What did he say?"
"He wants me to be his partner," I said, a slow smile spreading across my face. "He wants me to be his partner!"
"That's fantastic!" Lucy said, smiling at me. "We're so happy for you!"
"You're going to say yes, right?" Alyssa asked me.
"Oh, Brenda, you have to accept! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity!" Erin said, bouncing up and down on the couch.
I laughed. "I'm going to accept," I told them. "I'll have to work out the details with him later to see what I'm all going to do."
"Later? Why not now?" Lucy asked. I raised my eyebrows.
"Uh, the chemistry homework?"
"Let's get cracking then! You have a tv show host to write!" Erin grabbed the various papers from around the room and distributed them to their respective owners.
Charlie left, and we got busy immediately. For about twenty minutes, all that could be heard was the scratching of our pencils on the paper and the occasional huff as we came across difficult problems. As I was just finishing up, an alarm sounded and I jumped.
"Sorry," Alyssa apologized. "I set an alarm for five thirty five so Lucy and I could catch the bus." she began packing up her stuff, and Lucy joined her.
"Don't you guys usually leave at six?" Erin asked.
"Yeah, but we got tired of running to catch the bus before it left, so we set it for earlier so we could take our time," Lucy explained.
"Ah, I see," I said nodding.
"See you tomorrow, guys," Alyssa said, shouldering her bag. She and Lucy walked out the door, and Erin set her pencil down.
"I guess I should go too," she said. "But I want to hear everything that happens!"
"I'll text you all tomorrow," I promised her. "See you later!"
"Bye!" she waved to me before walking out the door. When she was gone, I looked down at my homework and finished up the last problem. I put the sheet in my backpack, then took my laptop from my desk. I typed in the password and opened my email, creating a new draft. I typed in Percy's email, then leaned back and debated what to write.
Finally, after a few minutes, I typed hello in the subject line and then clicked in the message part. I hesitated for a second, then typed out:
Hi, Percy. I would love to be your partner. What do you need me to do?
Perfect, I thought. Short and simple. Before I could change my mind, I hit send and quickly closed the laptop. Out of sight, out of mind. If I kept it open, I would stare at the email and slowly start to stress about it. I needed a distraction.
"Brenda! Dinner's ready!" mom called. I smiled. Perfect timing.
"Coming!" I said, placing the laptop on my desk. I turned my light off and went out to the table, sitting next to Charlie. I secretly gave her a thumbs up. Now all I had to do was wait for a response.
…
"Percy," a voice said softly. I moaned, burying my head deeper in my arms.
"G'away," I muttered to the voice.
"Percy, honey, you need to look at your computer."
"Computer," I mumbled. "Yesterday. The show. Editing." my eyes shot wide open, and I jerked upright. "Oh no, no! I was editing! Did I mess something up?!"
"Hey, calm down," My mom said, touching my shoulders gently. "You didn't mess it up. You finished it last night, and it looks like you were going to send and email to George to tell him you were done before you fell asleep on the keyboard."
I peered at the screen, and saw an email open that said
Hey geirge, hiw yiu doing? I fubally finisged the edutibg- iys lot hrder theb ut lokdc.. Ccccc cccccccccccdryc\cccccccccccccccc, etcetera. It looked like I'd fallen asleep on the c key. In the corner, it said 6:15 (9 hours ago). I looked at the clock- it was almost four. I'd been asleep for about nine hours, give or take a few.
I drove my hands through my hair, groaning. "I actually sent that to him? I sound crazy!"
"Looks like it," My mom said sympathetically. "You must have woken up enough to hit send, then fallen back asleep. You were just tired, I'm sure George understands."
I sighed, putting my face in my hands. "I had no idea how long editing took," I mumbled from behind them. "I just barely got it done for tomorrow." I glanced up at her. "Is that what you wanted to show me?"
"No. It was on your Inbox, but I clicked on this one to see what George said to you. He advised you get some sleep, by the way."
I rolled my eyes, then looked at her in confusion. "Then what did you want me to see?"
"Brenda has emailed you!" she said, beaming.
"She did?" I clicked on my Inbox, and sure enough, there was an email from Brenda at the top. It had come in at 3:45. I clicked it, slowly starting to smile. She'd said yes. She'd actually said yes. I cheered, punching my fist in the air. "Yeah!"
My mom laughed as I clicked the reply button.
Hi Brenda, I typed out. I'm going to get started on a script soon. I'll share the document with you, so you can offer ideas too. We're doing the next show on mountain lions. When we've recorded all the clips, I'll put them in the document too so we can look them over and decide which ones to use. I'll put a few facts in it so we have something to work with.
I hit send, then went into the drive to open up a new document. I titled it script, then typed mountain lions at the top. I underlined it and hit the bullet point option up in the corner. I started to type out my first fact-
Mountain lions live their lives mostly on their own, unlike lions, who live in prides.
When hunting, mountain lions
"Oh no," My mom interrupted. She grabbed my forearm and pulled me to my feet, away from the desk. She shut my computer with her hand, then pulled me out of the room.
"Mom," I protested, my feet sliding against the carpet as I tried to pull away. "I still have to share it with Brenda so we can work together!"
"It can wait," she said dismissively. "You haven't eaten a thing since yesterday. When you have some ramen or a sandwich or something, then you can send the document to Brenda."
"Fine, fine," I grumbled. I looked longingly back at my room. I wanted to get started right away, but there was no way I would be getting out of this. I'd just have to wait a bit longer…
...
if anyone is confused with the time stamps and stuff, Percy is about two hours behind Brenda.