The Pen Pal Project

.::.Echo.::.


I sghed and pulled out my dark purple ink pen and a sheet of paper. I bite my lip and begin writing in my frantic, scrawling cursive.


"Dear James Matthews,


I am slightly amused that you would think so horribly of my name. I quite enjoy having such a unique and individualized name. As for your name I find it rather plain if that. "


I pause, wondering what to write next. In my day dreaming I have drawn a pretty heart. I shake my head and think about taking out my White Out and covering it. I change my mind and continue writing.


"I suppose you think we're all stuck up snobs at Hollyfield, and to be frank, I can be one as well. I grew up in a rich family and will most likely die in a rich family. I have also never had a Pen Pal either and think this is all rather ******* stupid. Well, I suppose we should learn more about each other, eh? I'll ask a few questions and answer them as well...Here goes.


Favourite Colour? Purple! ;)


Favourite Animal? White Tiger


Music? Rock and Roll and a very selective type of Contemperary


Play Any Intruments? Flute and Electric and Acoustic Guitar


That's all I can think of now. Well, Pen Pal, write back soon.


{Echo Dark Caverns}"


I sat back and read through it, nodding here and there. I stood and dropped it on the teachers desk and headed out the door.
 
Dear Bella,


Whoa, I didn't mean to upset you. I didn't know my brother that well. He died when I was six, it's just been that long my future's been decided for me. It really isn't that bad either. I'm always going to know how to fix my cars when they break and the shop does alright consistently. To be completely honest, it kind of helps having my future decided. Twenty years from now I'll probably be exactly like my dad and my dad lives a pretty good life.


Your parents always being gone sounds like the real tragedy here. That's not cool at all. Maybe it sounds really lame to you, but in the end I'd rather not have the money. Don't get me wrong or anything, money's fantastic and there's never quite enough, but in the end you can't really take money with you. Besides what's left to buy once you've got a house and maybe a few cars? And even with the house what's the point in having a huge house if you have a thousand empty rooms. Just wait though, if I ever get a fistful of cash I'll wind up buying something completely stupid and useless. And to be completely honest, horses kind of freak me out a little.


Fair enough. Waiting and seeing sounds like a pretty good idea. I'm not one to plan months in advance anyways hah.


James


"So I see you've warmed up to this penpal project?" his teacher asked and James silently passed him the letter.


"Can it." he grumbled as he left the room. While he was enjoying the project and he enjoyed having someone to speak to about something other than the autoshop and sports, he wasn't going to give the teacher any benefit of the doubt. Encouragement was not something you handed out to Riverview teachers.
 
Finally off shift after a ridiculously long day, she got on the phone with her mother. Nothing but mass amount of screaming and the constant review of the same old speech, live up to your name, be a lady, why can't you just "blend" in? The same old questions and the same end to the conversation.


"Sorry mom, I just don't want to be like you."


She hung up. The reprucussions of this didn't matter to Ashlyn at this point. When she returned to the school campus she went immediately to her teachers room and picked up her letter. It was almost a relief, a nice change from her fairly terribly day.


"Nami,


You're impression of children is fairly true, though don't you believe that some people are born bad? Or do you think everything is environmental? I'm asking out of pure curiosity. I honestly believe the first of the two, but than again I'm reminded quite often I am quite cynical. Well a career mentor is someone who matches your traits, grades, family background, and etc. with a profession that would best suit you. From there they recommend classes, jobs, internships, what schools you should attend and what not. So no it's no where near as kind and forgiving as the position of a guidance counselor. Work is nice, I enjoy the people I work with, but they sadly have been informed of my background and now act as if I am different. I always feel like an outsider in normal social situations. It's frustrating and almost hurts in a strange way. Being normal would be a nice change of pace for me. Violin is a truly beautiful instrument, I wish I could play though I don't have the patience for it. The flute and trombone may contrast but symphonic bands wouldn't exist if they weren't played so important none the less. What's the name of the music store you work at? (if you don't mind me asking). Well maybe I should have a little more faith in Riverview, and I imagine there are. But that's the truly terrible thing about human nature, is not matter how bright one person shines they'll always be smothered out by the stupidity of others. Perhaps we can change each other's opinion, a fair trade I believe, but we'll see how far this little experiment goes. It should be... interesting. I wish you the best of luck in your studies, do you have any colleges in mind? Well I suppose after writing such a novel I can leave you be, so have a nice day and I hope to hear from you soon. Perhaps we can change each other for the better.


Best wishes,


Ashlyn Lafayette"


This letter was heartfelt, meaningful, and had substance. Ashlyn was starting to scare herself she thought sarcastically, but there was a subtle element of truth in there. She smiled, in a bit of a better mood, returned to her teacher and turned her letter in. Hoping the reply would be quick, but again, not getting her hopes up to high.
 
Nami climbed up the back stairway in the music store to her room located directly above the store. She opened the window and climbed out onto the roof and began to write her response to Ashlyn


"Ashlyn,


Well I believe no one is born bad. Like you said its the environment that the child grows up in that effects how they turn out in life. Though in some cases the environment really has no effect on a child and they beat all preformed odds about them. Wow career mentors sound like dictators. I don't think I would be able to handle someone telling me how what my future would be. I think I would flip out. *Nami draws a picture of a herself telling a career mentor off* You shouldn't let the way people treat you made you feel bad or anything other then what you want to feel. Who cares about others opinions. Those who judge others only do so because they have something in themselves that they dislike. And you are normal. Normal has a variety of meanings. If you want a different life do something to change it. I don't mean to sound rude but your in charge of your own life no matter what anyone else says. I work at UpTown Beats. You've probably heared of it or drove by its pretty popular place to get music related items. I think changing each other opinions is a responsible trade. And no I haven't got any colleges in mind. I'll probably end up going to what ever college I get a scholarship to (If I do) or the local inexpensive college. Well with that I must go.


Truly


~Nami"


Nami sat that and re-read her letter. Noticing all the hard truths that she had never really thought of before this writing project. A tear came to her eye which she quickly swept away.'This project is turing me into a softy" She laughed at this. The next day she handed her letter to her English teacher. Excited for Ashlyn's reply.
 
Ashlyn grabbed the letter eagerly, another bad day, another escape.


She opened the letter and the first thing she saw was the drawing, she couldn't help but laugh. It was a nice feeling, though she was made to look like she was crazy in the midst of the cafe she was sitting in. She pulled out paper and started to write,


"That's a good point, I guess that's just the cynical side of me having it's way in thought. And they are like dictators but children who are born in to money are only used to structure. It may not be a normal sense of structure, but 90 percent of these children wouldn't survive in the real world if they didn't have someone telling them what to do. I am sadly a true product of many years of peer pressure and oppression, though I guess that's my own fault and no one else's."


She thought of going in to detail but refused to let herself become that personal, she saw the name UpTown Beats and almost couldn't believe it.


"Not only have I heard of it I buy a large majority of my sheet music from there, a lot of alternative music but decent music none the less. It's funny realizing how small the world is when we think we are so separate. The only thing that really makes us different is the way we were raised. But physically we are all made of the same components with just the slightest variations in our genetic code to give us traits that make us seem worlds apart. But I suppose you could make such an assumption for yourself. Perhaps I'll see you at work sometime, though I do most of my ordering via your guys' delivery/mail service. And I'm sure you could make it into any college you'd like. You might want to look into "Private 3rd Party" scholarships, they're scholarships that are funded by stupid rich families (such as myself). Just keep your head up and hope for the best, everything will work out the way they're suppose too. Or at least that's how the saying goes.


-Ashlyn."


She held on to the letter and right before she sealed it she went back into her dorm room and dug up the flyer for the annual scholarship her parents offered. She noticed the due date was within 2 months, so it was on the edge of being short notice but she folded it into 3 parts and put it in the envelope. She smiled, and dropped it off at her normal destination and decided to go into the music hall and play piano for a while.


--- Merged Double Post ---


(( Just out of curiosity, are the characters ever going to meet at a gathering of any sort? Or will this be a strictly letter based interaction? Either way works for me I'm just curious.))
 
Bella left the empty house, locking the door behind her. Her parents had gone away yesterday before she was back from school, leaving her a note that just said where they went and the date they'd be back. The crumpled note had been tossed carelessly in her backpack with the other things as she walked the thirty minute commute to Hollyfield. The day seemed to drag on and on. For some reason, she was really looking forward to English class. Was it the letters? No, it couldn't be the silly Pen Pal Project that she was looking forward to at the end of the day, could it?


When she walked into the classroom for last period, she saw that a letter from James had already been placed on her desk for her. She picked it up, setting her guitar case and backpack against the wall beside her desk. She opened the letter and read it before taking out a piece of paper and a pen.


"Dear James,


I don't know whether to feel better about the fact that you didn't know your brother or if it makes me feel worse. I suppose it's less painful for you, anyway. Being able to fix cars would be a pretty good skill. I'll be sure to give you a call if I ever break down. If I'm ever allowed to have my own car, of course."


Bella paused, smiling a bit at the part about calling him if she broke down, but then remembered that she would probably not own a car until she moved away from her parents. She had never been allowed to have a car, but she'd never been allowed to get a job, either, so she wouldn't be able to move or buy a car for herself out until after she attended the college of her parents choice. She wouldn't be able to afford it on her own.


She sighed, getting an unconcerned passing glance from her teacher in the process. All she'd ever been allowed to do with her life was learn various instruments and study so that she could get into a good college and major in music. At least her Major was her own choice, but her parents would still insist that she study it at whatever college they thought would be best. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the thought, then looked down to see that she had written most of her thoughts on the letter to James.


She wondered if she should try to scribble it out. He didn't need to know about her parents specific instructions for the rest of her school career, did he? Then again, he had already told her that his future was dependent on his parents, too. Maybe it would make him feel better to know that she was in the same boat. She put her pen to the paper again.


"I'm sorry for rambling...


Bella"


 
Dear Bella,


I didn't mind the rambling. It was nice to feel like I'm actually starting to get to know you. I guess I'll whine about my brother for a while before moving on. So about my brother... It's sort of like he became Jesus or JFK or something like that after he died. Who knows how he would have turned out because he was just about to begin becoming an adult but after he died he became a saint. My parents are convinced that Matt would have become president or something if he hadn't died in the crash. Most of the time we don't talk about him, but I'm pretty sure I've just become the poorer replacement of him. and that's all I'll ever be seen as.


It's actually pretty good to know that you're like me. Well actually, I'm pretty sure I have more freedom. I can do whatever I want... as long as I carry on the shop. I've gotten jobs, girlfriends, cars as I please and I come and go as I want... which I guess makes my parents crazy and why I'm seen as the cheap replacement hah. That little bit of wiggle room makes me feel like I've gotten lucky compared to you. I get to aim low and you have to shoot high. My future is guaranteed no matter how much I screw up but yours seems so much more pressured. It's nice having this common thread between us. I haven't told anyone this before but I wanted to be a police officer until the crash.


Now that was rambling!


James Green


It was amazing how good James felt after writing his letter. A sigh of relief escaped him when he finally told someone his secret dream of becoming a cop. His dad had been talking to him regularly about owning the shop and was teaching him about cars when they were both free so he had always told everyone that he actually wanted his dad's shop to avoid breaking his dad's heart and risking alienation from his family. Matt would have taken over the shop after all and his parents knew this. Now it was written on paper and his secret was being sent to someone he had never even met and he didn't care.
 
Bella finished reading the letter and responded immediately as usual.


"James,


I don't mind the rambling one bit. Although I have to say it's upsetting to know that you're giving up your dream to take your brother's place. I'm sure if you told your father what you really wanted in life, he would love you just as much and want you to be happy.


I have some freedoms... I mean, my parents would never know what I was doing when they're out on one of their little adventures. I could do anything I wanted while they were gone.


I'm sorry I didn't have a lot to say this time around. It gets difficult to come up with new things to talk about once you've been talking about such personal things.


Bella"
 
((Kaitwink- I'm switching apartments right now so over the next week or so my ability to get a connection will probably be much lower until it's installed at the new apartment))
 
((No problem, I'm going to be offline for about 4-5 days anyway :3 I'll check on this again when I'm back from NY and reply if you've responded by then))
 
Nami stormed into her room and flopped down on her bed. Someday's she just wanted to kill certain people.


Her backpack feel off of her bed sending her things flying out of her backpack. On the top of the newly acquired mess was her letter from Ashlyn. Nami was so busy at school today she hadn't had the time to open it. 'Well maybe this will bright my day" thought Nami as she opened up the letter. Before she even read the letter a fly flew out of the envelope. She stared at it questionably first. The she read the letter and smiled.


"Well if you ask me I think your children who are born into money need to be taught to have a little fun in live. To live a little and break the rules once in a while. Don't blame yourself for the way you were raised. Like you said your taught to be dependent on others and to behave a certain way. It's funny how we may have seen each other before on one of the rare times you come in to buy something. If it weren't for this project we probably wound't have noticed the other if we ever came face to face"


Nami realized how sad but true her statement was.


"I hope however that one day we could meet.Thank you for having the confidence that I could make it into any college. I think I might take your advice about Private 3 party scholarships and put that lovely flyer you gave me to good use."


She was going to end the letter her but she had a sudden spark of an idea.


Nami drew a picture of a girl stepping out of a dictating looking class into a world filled with different possibilities


"Think outside the box and don't let society tell you how to live your life


~Nami~"


She folded the letter up and began writing up a reply to the scholarship flyer Ashlyn had sent her.


The next day she handed the letter to her teacher.
 
(( [MENTION=2146]rubberchickensofdoom[/MENTION] I'm back now. Sorry it was so long, I've been really busy.))
 
((Alright, I have my internet back. Apologies that this one sounded so dumb. I've got something planned for this soon.))


James regarded the letter warily as he read over the words another time. He sighed lying the paper across his desk and he glanced up at the ceiling in his room. He hardly ever used this desk unless he needed to do an assignment crucial to passing or if he was writing letters to Bella. Of course she didn't understand.


Dear Bella,


My brother would have done it. That's all I would ever hear if I don't take over that shop. My dad's a good guy, but he's set in his ways. It's really not a big deal. If you could live anywhere in the world where would you live? What's your favourite tv show? Do you have any pets? Paper or plastic?


James


James threw in several questions at the end designed to throw her from the topic of his future. Ironically his father called from the basement not two seconds later. He wanted James to help him paint some racing stripes on a car. James called something back and trudged out of the room. He hated painting cars, the paint masks were cumbersome and he was always so sore after hunching over the car at increasingly absurd angles.
 
Bella looked over the letter, noticing how he quickly diverted her to a new subject. "Ok," she said aloud. "Avoid that subject, then..." she laid the letter on the table, grabbing a few pretzels from the bowl in front of her as she contemplated her reply. The grandfather clock in their entryway chimed five pm. She leaned back on the sofa. She was grateful that her English teacher allowed her to take the letter home rather than make her respond on the spot. It would mean James recieved it a couple days late, but she just didn't have the heart to respond when she'd read that that one option was his only option. She picked up her pen and replied.


Dear James,


I think I would live in England. We've been there a few times and it's one of my favorite places. What about you? I don't get to watch much television. Between lessons for different things, school, and silly events my parents drag me to, there's barely time for sleep. Luckily they're out of town for awhile. Do you watch much television? I have multiple pets. We have a dog, he's a Samoyed, and one other that's a Newfoundland. My mom likes big dogs, she says they make her feel safer. We have a cat, too, but he's all mine. Paper: it's better for the environment. And no, I'm not some tree-hugging hippie. Just aware.


What do you do in your spare time? I imagine you work with your dad some, but I mean real free time. I like to spend as much time out of the house as possible. I'm getting ready to leave right now, actually. I go to the park every Friday night. Gets my mind off things.


Bella


She put it in the envelope. Once it was in her bag, she grabbed her keys and strolled out of the house without looking back.


((No problem :3 I haven't had internet for a few days either))
 
Bella,


To be completely honest I haven't given it much thought until right now. I'd probably choose somewhere warm and sunny, I think I look pretty mean with a tan and I'm only awful at Spanish so I'd probably have to live in Brazil because they speak Portuguese and I might have talent for that.


I watch more television that I should, but don't get me wrong I do other things aside from watching TV and helping my dad at the shop. I'm a pro (if we're judging by effort alone) at soccer so I try to get out as much as I can. In winter I'm pretty much in hibernation though with TV and video games. Every so often I manage to get myself into a gym for soccer. So one of my main hobbies is soccer if you didn't catch that haha. Otherwise I'm actually lazy like most teenage guys. How about your hobbies?


I'm a fan of large dogs too... not for safety though but just because they're more fun. I've got one dog. Her name is Jess and just because I'm so proud of her I've even had the decency to photocopy one of my favourite pictures of her to brag. She's got a huge ego so I'm sure that she won't mind.


Breeds-Of-Dogs.jpg



James
 
James,


I am sorry to say that I'm not lucky enough to have time for hobbies. I have an interest in hiking and swimming but don't get the opportunity to do things like that. Sometimes I wish I could have just a week off from being the "perfect all A student with a million talents and extracurriculars". It's tiring. For once I wish I could take off, go hiking or maybe have a lazy day by the river with no time limit on how much fun I'm allowed to have.


I have to say, that's such a cute dog. I wish our dogs looked happy, but they've become lazy bums since I'm the only one here to walk them. Since they're like twice my size, the walks don't tend to last very long. It's more exercise for me than it is for them.


Bella


((Sorry for the terrible length, I'm horrible at trying to post on mobile))


 
He knew he probably shouldn't be tearing open his latest letter from Bella when he was feeling this upset with his dad, but James didn't know how to deal with his anger. He was so tired of it all right now. He tore open the letter and read it halfheartedly before he grabbed his pen and jotted down a few sentences quickly.


Bella,


We're going to take off.


Nothing serious so don't get your gold underwear in a knot. Just for the day. You said that you go to the park on Fridays? I'll drive out to Hollyfield and we'll just go to this river you speak of. I hope this doesn't scare you off but here's my picture so you know who to look for.


guu.jpg



9:00am sharp! I'll probably be late because Hollyfield has two parks. Stand somewhere obvious and... do something obvious so I know it's you. If you're going to meet me of course..


James
 
Bella read over the letter again and looked at the clock. It was 8 am now. She rushed to get ready, pulling on a pair of jeans she realized too late were holy, a white tank top with her favorite light blue short sleeved button up over it. It took her a few minutes to dig through her pile of shoes in her closet, finally finding two Converse that actually matched. She checked her makeup before leaving. Bella brushed her hair on the way to the park, hoping she wasn't going to meet him with a bed head. When she got there she checked her phone again. 850 am. Good thing she'd read the letter when she had; she hadn't been planning on her usual trip to the park today. She sighed, having practically ran here, and slumped to the ground by the park's pond, waiting for a person that looked like the picture.
 
Even the town looked as pretentious and stuck-up as he had heard Hollyfield students to be. He wondered as the large stately houses had inched by how many of them were filled with enough people to justify such living. His house was the perfect fit and while he wouldn't mind more room he couldn't imagine living in one of the empty cold large houses.


James felt a tremor of anticipation mixed together with a slight apprehension. He was now making a round through the second park. He had mostly made peace with the idea that she might not be there. I mean he had only sent the letter on Monday. What if it hadn't even left Riverview yet? At least if she had gotten the letter it was an excuse he always had ready.


He was scanning the park carefully as he inched his cavalier through it slowly. It was too early so this park and the last one he had tried were relatively empty. It made the task of looking for someone that he had never watched a lot easier than he had expected.


He was considering calling it a day when James thought he could see a figure near the pond. He squinted trying to figure out whether this was Bella when he felt slightly frustrated with the ambiguity of the situation.


"Bella?" he called out loudly. There was no harm in it. He quickly glanced over his face in the mirror. He had lost his facial hair since the picture had been taken and that was probably a good thing judging by how in retrospect it appeared rather greasy-looking to him.
 
Bella waited for a few minutes, staring out over the pond and hoping he was still going to show up. Hopefully he hadn't meant NEXT Friday. A sudden anxiety fell over her when she realized she might be here the wrong day. After all, it was strange enough that she'd gotten the letter in time, and he'd probably planned for her to recieve it later this week right?


Bella heard someone call her name and turned, her sapphire eyes scanning the park until she saw the cavalier. She waved, a simple gesture that would let him know it was her and he was in the right place. While he was parking she stood up and brushed the grass off that was clinging to her jeans. He looked a little different than the photo, but just because the facial hair was gone. She walked over quietly to meet him.


--- Merged Double Post ---


By the way this is what Bella looks like:


http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj110/Harry_Potter_16/Rolplaatjes/BlondeGirlDiannaAGron.jpg
 
James smiled broadly seeing that he had found her, "So yeah, I'm James. I'm actually surprised that you showed. I thought that for sure you'd be too much of an overachiever to skip school like the cool kids." he loosed a laugh. He wasn't one to feel awkward for very long and he felt like he was meeting a friend because of their previous letters.


"So you have a river someone near this dump I hear?" he asked motioning around him. It was clearly a joke, but at the same time James kind of meant it. He preferred his own town to this one. At least Riverview was a town where you knew your neighbours and you could pop in for a visit if you wanted to. Hollyfield was... gorgeous to say the least but he couldn't help but see the town as hollow. Then again... maybe he was just judging based on what he saw. He'd have to ask later, but for now he wanted to visit this river.
 
Bella laughed the tiniest bit when he said he didn't think she could be one of the 'cool' kids. "Well I'm still not 'cool'," she admitted. "We didn't have classes today." She felt disappointed that he would probably say something about how uncool she was for that, but at least she wouldn't mess up her record. "And yeah, the river's walking distance, about a mile that way," she motioned to a more wooded area of town. She hadn't been to the river in what seemed like years. She hoped it hadn't changed too much.


"Come on," she said with a cute smile. She nodded towards the half-hidden trail that wound through the woods. She was more than thrilled to have a day where she could just be outside, enjoying the sunlight and fresh air. Much better than being in the stuffy house, studying or writing music. They began walking through the sun-splashed trees, Bella trying her hardest to think of what to say to break the awkward silence. "So, what made you want to come here?" she asked. It had been a very sudden plan of action, and she was curious as to why he had any interest in meeting her.
 
"Yeah I wouldn't have told me this." James smirked, "I'm beginning to wonder if you're any fun at all." he added teasingly. He felt like his attempts at humour were at least going to be understood more readily at the very least. "Lead the way." he told her warmly. He was grateful that he had been practicing soccer lately because immediately after the snow melted he was sure he would have impressed her by losing his breath ten minutes into a simple walk.


They had barely gone anywhere when Bella answered the question he hoped that she wouldn't ask him. He kind of didn't want to talk about his problems and yet he opened his mouth to provide her an explanation anyways, "I kind of got detention for missing too much school." he offered her and laughed finding it ironic considering that he should be in his English class, "My dad was pleased. But hey... all I need to do is graduate this year and I'm pretty sure I'll scrape by." he shrugged easily strolling after her.
 
"You didn't want to hang out with your cool friends in detention?" Bella asked jokingly. She offered a small smile. She didn't push the subject any further; he seemed unhappy that she asked to begin with. A few minutes passed. "Here it is!" she said. She walked out into a open clearing where a wide river flowed gently. The sun reflected off the small ripples in the water made by fish and debris. A cool breeze went by. Bella loved the feeling of wind in her hair. She closed her eyes and just took in the feeling.


Bella turned back to James. "Well?" she asked. "What do you think?" she gave him a small smile, knowing there was no way he couldn't be enjoying the river. Everyone that saw it loved it, it was a popular place in the summer especially for the Hollyfield High School students. Luckily most of them were enjoying their day off by sleeping in or hanging out with their friends, so Bella and James had the river all to themselves.


 
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