[I'm sorry I didn't post earlier; my internet was down for some time.]
Tapping her chin with the top of her black fountain pen, Jolene tried to think of an appropriate word. She was writing a letter to her mother back home in their country estate. For a moment, images of her beloved home beside the tall, snow-capped mountains filled her mind’s eye. It was such a beautiful place. How she loved to go on long, rambling walks there! A longing filled her heart. She was feeling homesick.
Putting her pen down, she blotted the paper where she had noticed an ink blotch appearing. That was the only thing she didn’t like about her fountain pen. It made awful blotches on the paper and she was forever blotting what she had written. Otherwise, it was a lovely old-fashioned pen. She did so like old-fashioned things!
Dear Mother and Father, (the letter ran)
It is a week into school and I am missing you all very much. I have settled in quite well, I think, but I still wish I were home sometimes. It is just not quite the same without you and all the other children. I expect I will get used to this soon, but I do not believe I will ever be completely used to it. It is a good thing, I think, or I should not want to come home for the holidays!
This school is quite different from pre-school. I am not sure what I was thinking when I thought it would not be much change from my previous school! It is so very much bigger, for a start! I was quite lost for the first few days. Fortunately, all other new students were equally lost so I was not alone. The older students were kind enough to show us around until we knew our own way about. I remembered to thank them, as you taught me to.
There are very many lessons, all extremely informative. I find I must work three times harder than I did in pre-school, for I would not be able to keep up with the work set otherwise. It is very difficult, too, but I enjoy a good challenge. I think you will not need to worry much about my work because I intend to work hard, and, if there are any scholarships or rewards, to win them. Although it is not easy at times, I relish these lessons. I feel that I have learned more in one week than I did in a month in pre-school, and I daresay that I am not wrong in my guesswork as to how much we do now as compared to then.
A lot seems to go on at all times of the day, all round the year. There is constantly some activity to do and some event to look forward to. At least, that is how it seems, for it is still very confusing to me. I gather that there are tournaments where students compete against each other. Whether this is an annual event, or one that happens each term, monthly, or even weekly, I do not know. I will try to learn more and write of it to you in my next letter. It sounds most exciting and I would love to have a contest of abilities. It would let me know how well I am doing as compared to the others. I mean to be very good!
There is also a lot of drama! Not a day goes by without something to interest the school. Yesterday there was quite a silly row in the cafeteria between a girl and a boy. I presumed from their argument that they are considered to be “a couple”. I thought they were rather young, because they could not be more than fifteen! I promise you I shall not be doing any such thing until I am quite grown up, Mother, so please do not worry about that. The couple were arguing over spilt milk, it seems, quite literally too. The boy had dropped milk all over the girl’s clothes and she was rightfully upset. Everyone watched this with the greatest amusement. It ended with a declaration from the girl that she was never going to go out with the boy again, and he said – if you can possibly believe it – “Good riddance!” and stalked off! I was amazed by how rude he was. I hear that they were making up for it by the evening. I really do not understand what the fight was for if they are back to normal later. It makes far more sense that they should not make any fuss and save a lot of bother that way.
Jolene looked over the letter. She was not sure now that she should have put in the paragraph about the drama. It was something she didn’t think her parents would really approve of reading. They were quite prim in terms of what a person should think about. Other people’s business was really not her own, and commenting on people’s behaviour was not something they encouraged. All the same, she couldn’t very well remove the paragraph as she only had so many pieces of paper for letter-writing. There was a sheet for each week she was at school so she would write weekly. If she started again, it meant she would miss out on another week and her mother would be upset and worry about her.
Reading over this letter, I find it to be a little unusual of myself to write in this manner. I hope you will forgive me, Mother. School is an overwhelming business but I am sure I will be quite alright soon and back to my normal self. I have taken some time out for this morning as my letter-writing time. This seems to be a good time to write so I will do this every week at the same time as I am writing now. I hope this letter finds everyone in good health. I miss you very much.
With love,
Jolene
Satisfied now, Jolene blotted the page one last time before folding it carefully and sliding it into a clean white envelope. Sealing it, she placed some stamps on it and left the dormitory quietly. She didn’t want to wake anyone so early in the morning.
After delivering her letter, she returned outside. The air was cool and clean and the sun was shining beautifully. It was a lovely morning and she felt she simply couldn’t go back inside. There was nothing to do inside a building so early anyway!
She suddenly decided to go exploring. The first week had taken up so much of her time just finding her way around the buildings, she hadn’t really had time to get to know the grounds. Setting off at a brisk pace, she headed towards the monorails for the green gardens in Area Four. She loved gardens and that would be a good place to start off. There was an hour or so left before breakfast so she had plenty of time. With a smile on her face, Jolene began her expedition.
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