Chapter 11
Eight Years Before
The teachers read over the letters to make sure they didn't have anything unequivocal written, then sealed the envelopes and sent them to Grey Pond Middle School where the sixth graders were waiting.
The middle school was right across the street from the elementary school so it didn't take long for them to arrive. The teachers said that the students would get letters back in two to five days. "Sixth graders have very busy lives, so give them some time," they said. This made Daniel even more nervous. He never wanted to leave the sanctuary of being in fifth grade.
It took three days for the letters to come. They were in a big stack on the teacher's desk. His teacher, Mrs. Grace, said they could have them at the end of the day. They also had three days to write a new letter.
Daniel was nervous all day. He kept staring at the pile of letters wondering which one was his and what did it say. He was pulled from his thoughts when someone tapped on his shoulder.
It was the boy who sat behind Daniel, and he had a note in his hand. Daniel took it and looked at what was written. Are you okay? –A
It was Amelia. She sat all the way across the room from him, and yet somehow she had gotten a note to him without getting caught. Mrs. Grace was droning on about the different branches of the U.S. government and Daniel realized he should be listening. Amelia was looking at him with a worried look. Daniel nodded at her and she turned back around to face the teacher.
***
At lunch, Daniel didn't eat. It was just a letter, but it was driving him crazy. Was this what it would be like for the next month? Or would he stop worrying after a few letter exchanges?
Amelia was still vexed and decided to interrogate him.
"Are you sure you're okay?" she inquired.
"Yes...well, no...I don't know. I'm worried about this letter. What if this Austin guy thinks I'm a complete idiot? What if he hates me because I was rambling about soccer?"
"I'm sure he doesn't, Danny. I thought the rambling made you sound natural. Mine probably makes me sound like a robot."
"Yours was great," Daniel said truthfully.
At the end of the day, Daniel and Amelia finally got their letters.
They didn't even wait to open them till they walked to Daniel's house. They sat together on the bench outside of the school and ripped open the envelopes in anticipation. Daniel read his.
Dear Daniel,
You obviously already know my name, but I'm just going to introduce myself anyway. My name is Austin and I'm in sixth grade. To answer your question, yes I do play soccer in a 'fancy field with uniforms and stuff', I just practice in my yard. I really enjoy the sport. Are you thinking about joining the team when you get to middle school? It's a lot of fun.
Now, onto the subject of sixth grade. It's not that hard changing classes, you just have to memorize your schedule. And you don't really have to carry a lot because you can keep things in your locker. There are some mean teachers, but most of them are nice. Except for the science teacher, she's horrible.
If you have any more questions, just ask. I look forward to getting letters from you for the next month. :) -Austin
Daniel had been freaking out over nothing. Austin seemed like a nice guy. He even put a smiley face in the letter.
"So," Amelia asked. "Was it as bad as you thought it would be?" She had a smile on her face, like she knew all along that it would be no big deal.
"It was... better than expected. He even put a smiley face at the end."
Now
It had been a week since Daniel had gone to see Amelia at the hospital. She was currently staying in the guest room at Daniel's house. His mom had come and signed a lot of papers, and somehow, one way or the other, she had convinced the doctors that Amelia was cured, she just needed to start living a normal life again.
And she was doing exactly that. She was living a normal life of a normal person; or as normal as staying in a room all day gets. On multiple occasions Daniel had knocked on Amelia's door and asked her if she wanted to go into town with him, but he always got the same answer. She always politely declined by claiming that she was too caught up in the book that she was reading to put it down at the moment. And it was starting to seem as if there would never be a moment that she wasn't reading; that she would never have time to spare for an old friend.
Amelia didn't talk much either but, hey, better than nothing right? In fact, when she did speak, it was only to Daniel. She never spoke to Daniel's parents. Most days she went to her room and read, occasionally coming into Daniel's room to get a new book or request that she could hold Jelly.
So when Daniel heard a tentative knock at his door, he started to worry for the sake of his book shelf. It was once filled to the brim with books of various genres but now only bared a few books. He was running out of reading material for himself; let alone Amelia's new life style. But this time she came in and asked for something else, "Danny, can I borrow some paper? And a pencil?"
Daniel's shoulders slumped with relief. If she had asked for another book, Daniel would have nothing to give her and Daniel hated it when he couldn't help a friend in need of his assistance.
"Yeah, of course." Ever since Daniel and Amelia had become friends, he had noticed that Amelia was an awesome artist. She drew very abstractly, but her sketches were always beautiful. He took a sketchbook off his shelf and gave it to her, along with a few pencils. She then walked out of the room. Supplies in tow, only to come back a few seconds later, "Can I have Jelly too?" Daniel smiled; he was getting his Amelia back.
"Sure." He picked the sleeping Jelly up off the end of his bed; Jelly was just as much Amelia's as he was Daniel's.
"Oh, and Danny, you can have your books back now. I've finished them. I'll bring them in a minute."
"Don't be silly. I'll help." Daniel followed Amelia out of his room and down the hallway to the guest room. He opened the door for Amelia since her hands were full of sleepy dog, and looked around. There were stacks of books everywhere; lining the walls, on top of the dresser, on the night stand, and virtually on any surface that was available.
"Your books are over here," she says, placing Jelly on the foot of the bed where he curls up to sleep again and then walking over to two significantly large stacks of book that are haphazardly balanced against the walls. Daniel looks at her with a confused look, wondering where all the other books came from.
"Most of the others are from the library," she says, answering the question that Daniel never said aloud.
"When did you go to the library" he asks.
"There's an online database. You can check the books out online and get them delivered to your house." Oh, Daniel thought, that makes sense. He had seen his dad walking down the hallway with cardboard boxes multiple times and had never thought to ask what they were for. He had just assumed they were for his dad's moving company. Although it didn't really make sense to move someone's boxes into our house.
"What about the others? You said most are from the library, what about the rest?"
"They're mine," she says quietly. A week ago, when Amelia and Daniel's mom had gone to Amelia's house to get some of Amelia's things, they had come back with a suitcase along with two boxes that Daniel noted were oddly heavy as he lugged them up the stairs. They must have been Amelia's books. "Well, they were my parents. But I guess they're mine now," she finishes.
When Amelia's parents died in the car crash, Amelia was devastated. Not only was she left an orphan, but she was also forced to live with her aunt, whom she hated.
"It's okay," Daniel says as he picks up the two piles of books with one arm as he gives a one armed hug to Amelia with the other; determined to keep her in a happy mood. And it works; Amelia smiles. A true genuine smile, not the fake one she's been wearing for the past week.
A/N: hello, readers. if you enjoyed this chapter, would you mind clicking the star icon to register a vote for it? it would mean a lot :) also, feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you guys are thinking