Inked {l.h} -EDITING-

Chapter One

Rose Collins hated life. Every single aspect of life. She hated her family and "friends", who talked constantly behind her back; but she mostly hated herself. Her long brown hair, oddly pale skin and bright blue eyes. The first thing she would notice each time she glanced in the mirror was her body shape. Her hips jutted out awkwardly, her feet pointed in slightly, the round shape of her face, the way her shirts sometimes didn't fit because her mom buys them a size too small...
Her parents, the worst parents on the face of the earth, always put her down. They were half the reason she hated herself. They continually pointed out each of her flaws, which only made her self hate even bigger than it already was.
Rose went to school every day miserable. She didn't have any real friends. They all walked slightly ahead of her, talking about the way her clothes fit, or the way her hair was too long and not perfectly straight. She went through each of her classes, listening to the muffled laughs and comments all around her.
As she sat in English, she sunk down into her seat, listening to the teacher as she passed out a sheet. When the paper landed on her desk, Rose read over the title.
"Pen pals!" Mrs. Greene practically yelled with excitement. "Each of you will be required to write to your pen pal at least once a week. If you fail to do so, it can result in a very bad grade for the quarter." She said, standing back at the front of the classroom with a stack of envelopes in her hands. "I contacted a school over a week ago, and waited for their letters to be sent. I got the letters this morning and now I'm going to assign each of you a pen pal." Mrs. Greene said as she handed out the letters.
Rose looked over the envelope as it was thrown onto her desk, seeing her name written on the middle in scraggly handwriting. She didn't know how she felt about this. Her pen pal would probably come to hate her too. She tore open the envelope slowly.

Feb. 21, 2012
Dear Rose Collins,
My name is Luke. I am 16 years
old and I live in Sydney, Australia. I am in the school choir, and orchestra. I play the cello. I prefer playing my guitar at home over my cello. I also love pickles. Don't ask me why I said that I'm just excited. My mom took me out for ice cream before I went to school today. I went in late. I'm really high on a sugar rush so excuse my rambling. I went bungee jumping last week. Have you ever been? Anyway I want to get to know you. I'm always up for meeting new people! ^_^
~ Luke Hemmings

Rose laughed slightly at the letter in her hands, thinking 'he's my kind of people.' She re read it over and over before bringing out a sheet of paper. She began to ignore the quiet comments thrown at her from the girl she sat in front of and began to write to Luke in her normal writing: cursive.

March 3rd, 2012
Dear Luke Hemmings,
I'm 16 too and a junior in high school. I'm in the choir here too. I sing soprano. I'm from a little town in Maryland, USA, called Indian Head. That's the town my schools in. There's lots of small towns around here. I love the color purple. I hate the color green. I also hate camouflage printed things. A lot of the guys at my school wear it. No, I've never been bungee jumping. If probably be to scared to. What's your family like? Write back soon!
- Rose A. Collins

Rose folded the paper into thirds and put it into an envelope. She licked the edges and sealed it. Rose picked up her pen and neatly wrote Luke's name across the middle of the front of the envelope. She raised her hand and Mrs. Greene came over to her.

"Yes?" She said to Rose.

"I'm ready to send my letter."