The Story Of Daniel

/n i n e/

Chapter 9

Eight Years Before

Daniel was upset the next year when he apprehended that Miss Noble wouldn't be teaching him anymore. It was his last year of elementary school and fifth grade didn't have an art class. After the bird debacle, Daniel had regained her trust by always being truthful, even when it got him into trouble. He had also learned to do other things with clay. He now could make other figures and even construct simple pottery.

But there was one thing that privileged the students in this grade. To prepare them for middle school, the students had pen pals from the sixth grade. This would let them get to know how it was to be in this new school the next year. It also allowed them to make a friend who could guide them through the challenges of middle school so that they wouldn't be so afraid.

Daniel was assigned to a boy named Austin. For homework that night, they were to write their first letter to their new pen pal. At lunch, everyone was talking about who their pen pal was. "My pen pal lives in my neighborhood, so I already know them," one boy said.

"Well, I got assigned to Pete's big brother," another said. It seemed that everyone knew at least a small amount of back story for their pen pal, even if they just knew one of their younger siblings. But Daniel knew nothing about his. He was a boy named Austin in the sixth grade. That's it, that's all knew. How could you possibly write a letter to person you didn't even know?

This was what Daniel was thinking about as he sat at a table all alone, unpacking his lunch. When Amelia came to sit next to him, Daniel asked her about her pen pal.

"Who did you get?" he asked.

"Some girl named Riley," she replied. "I think she's Emma's cousin, I'll have to ask her later." Daniel groaned. Why was he the only one with a mystery pen pal? "What's wrong with you?" she asked.

"Everyone knows something about their pen pal except for me. How do I write a letter to someone I know nothing about?"

"Well, maybe I know something. Who is it?"

"Some guy named Austin."

"Oh, I know him. He lives on my street," she said.

"Really?" For the first time that day, Daniel felt excited.

"Yeah. I see him playing soccer in his yard all the time. He invited me to play a game with him once."

"Soccer," Daniel said. "I could just talk about soccer."

Amelia laughed, "That might get a bit boring, don't you think?"

"At least it's something," he said. "Thanks, Amelia."

"No problem, Danny."

Now

Daniel drove with his hands clutching the steering wheel so tight that his knuckles turned white. He stares ahead with a blank expression on his face. He refuses to let his thoughts consume him, for he knows that he will only be able to think about the things he'll see when he looks into Amelia's eyes.

Daniel continues to drive along the streets of his hometown. When he was little, Daniel used to think that Grey Pond was a magical place filled with hidden wonders that he would find, then again, any place was better than the orphanage Daniel used to live at. To a child who had no one and nothing, a new home and a new family would give a wonderful new perspective on life. It would shed light onto places deep within him; places Daniel didn't even know existed until that point.