Her Pen-Pal

Chapter 1 - The Beach Party

The beach party seemed to be going alright. Of course there were all the jocks shouting at each other to down shots and squeeze lemon into their eyes. And the good-looking skinny girls taking pictures by the fires, dancing to music and chatting up a storm of giggles. There were the nerds who seemed to be having the most fun, laughing about jokes no one else understood and quoting movies that none of us had seen more than twice.

And then there was the one girl who brought her computer to the party so that she could study for the upcoming finals. Me.

"Hannah! Could you put down that soul-sucking device to come have fun for one second please!" Maybelle shouts from where she dances beside a boombox. But with the way she is moving and the insanely loud beat from the speakers, I just can't see the point in sacrificing study time with nonsensical thrust of the hips.

So I shake my head at her and move back to outlining the Physics assignment I have opened on screen. Blocking out the party-goers with headphones and relaxing classical music, I type away with the speed of light for the next couple hours until the power percentage starts to flash at 20%. That's a sign I should be heading home soon to charge it and continue with this essay drafting.

But before I can close the computer lid myself, a fast object slams it shut for me.

A fast heavy object that one usually calls a soccer ball and is a danger to all students who thought that studying in the middle of a beach party was a safe activity to pursue. Might as well place a target on all academic-driven pupils for the soccer team to aim at.

"Ow," I react instead, rubbing my jammed fingers across the bridge of my nose. It has been hit by the fury of sports and stings with pain.

Will shouts across the beach field, "Hey Applenose! Kick the ball back, would you?"

I turn to see that the ball had settled only an arms length away, nestled into the sand and almost teasing me about it's serenity. How could an inanimate object also intimate and egg me on when it couldn't even kick itself?

"Just throw it back, Applenose!"

"Pass it over!"

"God, she can't even do anything fun."

I grasp at the ball, trying to ignore that everyone at the party has tuned into the commotion between the soccer players and me. Even Maybelle stands silently off to the side and seems to blend into the gawking crowd around her. But I tell myself that if I just throw the ball in their direction, everything will go away afterwards. Then I can leave and return back to my comfort-zone.

"There you go," Will mocks enthusiasm, clapping his hands in the direction of my own clutching the ball, "Throw it like a good girl, Applenose."

Swallowing a tear and trying to ignore the teasing, I push out the ball and let it fly from my hands. It wasn't a hard throw and it definitely didn't have any athletic approach to it. So the ball lands a few metres away and continues to roll across the sand, landing in the centre of distance between Will and I.

"Nice one, Stickyapple," and he makes the journey to collect the ball, using his foot to flick it up into his hands and sending a spray of sand my way. He also sends a nasty grin whilst twirling the ball around his forefinger, "You're just a bit pathetic aren't you?"

I feel sick.

And as everyone's attention leaves me, I feel like throwing up from embarrassment. Not only had I come here unwillingly, I had disrupted the ugly peace surrounding this beach party. The feeling of not fitting in with this crowd has my stomach tightening up and doing sharp cartwheels of humiliation.