Dear Dakota | Academic Rivalry Story

Nineteen | Confessions

D A K O T A R E I D

"I swear I brought them with me." Nyla insists as she checks every colored folder in her storage bin. I join her on the floor as she is looking through a red-colored folder. "Ew, that is language arts. Take that." She tosses the folder to me so she can continue her search.

"By chance do you remember what color they were in?'

"Obviously not."

Me being the nosey person I am, I look through some of the work that is in her folders. These things hold papers since her seventh-grade year. I am currently holding her grade eleven papers and can't help but point out the 85 she got.

"Oh shut up. The whole class failed and I got the highest grade."

"Yes ma'am," I respond shutting my mouth.

Nyla reaches the end of the bin with no luck in finding the notes. She stands in the corner, scanning her entire room in case something may pop up in her mind. Sure enough, something does. She walks to her desk and opens the bottom drawer.

Taking out her five journals, she pulls out a yellow folder, and lo and behold there is a stack of papers paperclipped together. "Found them! Let's go before we wake up my parents." She warns.

Making it back to my house was more than an adventure. I almost slipped on the grass. Nyla saw a spider and almost started screaming if it wasn't for my quick reflex to cover her mouth with my hand.

I open the front door to my house, letting Nyla in before quickly closing the door. We sprint up the endless stairs to get to my room. I close my bedroom door behind me, quietly, to not give my sister and Atlas clue we left in the first place.

"What date was that written on?" Nyla asks, referring to the letter she first wrote to me.

"August 19th," I recall from memory.

Flipping through the many notes, she organizes them by year and later by month. My handwriting has changed drastically through the years.

"Stop admiring your handwriting! It hasn't changed one bit." Nyla jokes. I help her finish the organizing and she hands me the letter I first wrote to her. "Here you go. Now try and read that."

Nylaaaaaa,

It's Dakota. Obviously. I am still on my summer break so I am glad I was the one to get the mail from the mailman today. I never receive mail so this is very cool.

You have now made me tell my mom to get me some sunscreen. When I told her, she looked very confused but she is at the store as I am writing this.

Presley hasn't changed at all. Your house is still the prettiest one on the block.

We had soccer practice combined with the girl's team and it was weird being paired up with a girl that wasn't you. Needless to say, that partnership didn't work out well.

I got a phone! So when you finally get one, text me using the number below. Also, send me all the beach sunset pictures you will capture since we know how much we love them.

I know your next-door neighbor is probably someone who isn't the same age as you so that makes me ten times better. Enough writing, my hand hurts now. Have fun at the beach!

Love, Dakota

ps, you should be the one getting good grades cause you're the one in school :)

"I love how you bragged about everything in this letter," Nyla says as she puts the letter into its sheet protector. I think it is so amusing how I kept comparing my life and experiences to hers. If one thing happened to her I would brag about it not happening to me. But I would also let her know about the inconvenient times in my life.