From Yours Truly, Edie

Chapter One: A New School

October 1999

"Alright, class. After lunch I have a surprise for everyone." Mrs Dobson, Edie's new third grade teacher, announced. Edie loved her, she was nice and never yelled, unlike her old teacher back home.

"Is it cake?" Ricky, the meanest boy in class, blurted. "Don't give any to Edie, she's already fat."

"Ricky, detention. You're going to write a letter of apology and give it to Edie at the end of the day." Mrs Dobson scolded and turned her attention to the rest of the class. "Lunch is in ten minutes, so I'll let you socialize, quietly, until then."

"Edie?" The girl sitting next to Edie tapped her on the shoulder.

"You gonna call me fat too? Go ahead. It doesn't matter to me." Edie sighed, pushing her hair out of her eyes. She really didn't care that Ricky had called her fat, because she knew she wasn't and that's all that really mattered to her.

"I wasn't going to. I wanted to know if you'd like to sit with me in the cafeteria."

"Can my sister sit with us too? She's in first grade. What's your name? I don't know it."

"Oh, I'm Jordan. And yeah, I guess she can." The lunch bell rang, and students poured into the halls and ran for the cafeteria. Edie found her sister, Melanie, sitting alone.

"Mel, this is Jordan. I like her. And she's sitting with us." Edie told the six year old.

-/-

"Now that you've all settled down, we can get to the surprise. One of my friends is a teacher in Germany. Who can tell me where Germany is?" Mrs Dobson asked the class, and Edie's hand shot right up. "Edie?"

"Germany is a country in Europe." Edie smirked at Ricky, who glared at her. He was still writing that apology letter.

"Yes, Edie, you are correct." Mrs Dobson smiled and went on to tell them about the country. "And now for the surprise! My friend and I have arranged for you and her class to be penpals! They have already written letters to you. So when I call your name, I'd like for you to come up to my desk for your letter."

Edie's name was last to be called. She'd been worried that there wouldn't be one for her, because she'd only arrived last week. She gave Mrs Dobson a hug. "Thank you!"

"I guess it's a really good thing that you're here with us. If you weren't, there would be a very sad boy or girl without a penpal. I think your homework for tonight will be to start writing a reply. Remember to use your best penmanship, alright, Edie?"

"I will, Mrs Dobson! My sister is gonna be so jealous." Edie skipped back to her table, sitting once again next to Jordan. "Is yours a boy or a girl, Jordan?"

"I got a stinky boy called Alek." Jordan made a face, sticking out her tongue. "He's almost ten and thinks I have a pet moose. And he drew a picture of a polar bear playing hockey on a lake made out of maple syrup."

"Draw him a potato wearing a dress and ask if he looks like that. I'm opening my letter when I'm alone in my room. I have to share with Melanie until my Mom can find us a house that doesn't have smelly old people in it." Edie eyed her envelope; it had been coloured all over in blue marker. She absolutely could not wait to open it, although she worried if it would be written in an entirely different language.

"Let's have a sleepover next weekend! You can come over to my house and we'll play on my brothers' PlayStation."

"I'll have to ask my Mom when she's in a good mood. She's very sad because we had to leave our old house, and Daddy." Edie told Jordan with a sad sigh. She missed her father, but at the same time felt she would be better off without him because he was mean and made Melanie cry. He made everyone cry.

The rest of the afternoon passed by slowly, and the dismissal bell finally rang. Ricky handed his apology letter over to Edie on the way to the school busses, and said he was sorry for calling her fat. They went on the same bus; Ricky sat in the very back with his friends while Edie sat in the front with Melanie. She told her all about the penpals in Germany, showed her the blue envelope. Melanie was jealous, to say the least.

"Can you read it to me after we go to bed?" Melanie asked as they walked up the hill that was their driveway.

"Yeah, maybe. I have to write a letter back. That's my homework tonight." Edie shrugged and flung her Sailor Moon backpack on her back. "Race you!" She shouted and ran up the driveway, Melanie screaming behind her.

/-/

Dear Penpal,
My name is Bill Kaulitz-Trümper. I am 10 years old. I want to be a famous rockstar. My favourite colour is red. I have a brother named Tom. We are twins. Do you have a brother or a sister? What is your favourite colour? I hate school. Do you like school? What do you look like? I have brown eyes and my hair is coloured black. My hair is spiky. Tom's hair is longer than mine. He is my best friend. We have a band called Devilish. But we need a drummer and a bassist. I sing. Tom plays guitar.
Your friend, Bill.

| So there's the first chapter. Lemme know what you think! I have serious plans for this; I've just finished a later chapter that takes place about 8 or 9 years after this one. Some of the things that take place in this story are based on my own experiences. (I had a penpal back in 2nd grade but I thought they were dumb because they didn't have the best grammar (they were like 6 not even). So I stopped writing to them. (I was such an ass as a kid omg I feel bad for everyone I came into contact with))