New Perspective

Brrrrring!

The US History students dashed out of the classroom as fast as they could, partly because of the evilness of the class and partly because it was lunch time. Among these students was 17-year-old Jack Hodgins, walking calmly out the door with the book they were assigned in hand. On his left and right were his two best friends; Angela Montenegro and Seeley Booth, respectively. Jack had known Seeley since the third grade, and although he acted tough on the outside, he was one of those people you could go to about almost anything. And Angela was a foreign exchange student from Mexico; Jack had showed her to her first class on the first day of school, and they instantly bonded.

Now, while walking down the hall to the lunchroom, Seeley posed a question to the other two. “D’you think we’ll have to eat in the art room again?”

This question was asked every day just as the trio entered the jam-packed room, and the answer was always the same: “Yes.”

Jack and Angela traded positions so that the boys were flanking her from both sides. They sprinted to the lunch line, and thankfully they went in and out quickly. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quick enough for them to escape. A boy spotted Angela and shouted, “MONTENEGRO!”

The rest of the boys occupying the cafeteria turned their heads in the direction of the shout, and all at once they formed a mob that barreled toward the three friends. They sprinted in the direction of the door as they always did, fearing for their lives. Angela ripped off the scarf she was wearing and threw it behind her, hoping it would deter the hormonal teenagers. Thankfully the tactic worked, and the mob started beating each other up for the scarf.

See, Angela was basically the hottest girl in the school, and every single guy wanted her. Since she would only hang out with Jack and Seeley, they frequently got beaten up for their connection with her. No one could understand why she was friends with them, so they went from the most popular guys in school to scum. All because they were friends with a pretty girl.

The group made it to the art room in record time. Jack and Seeley plopped down on two of the stools facing the central table, out of breath and tired. Angela sat across from them.

“I’m really sorry, guys,” she said, looking down at her food to avoid eye contact, “I cause you guys so many problems. Why do you continue to be my friend?”

“Oh, come on, Ange,” Jack replied, “We’re not going to let a few boys scare us away from you. You’re a great person, and I’m glad we’re friends.” He offered her a smile.

Seeley nodded his agreement, having just stuffed half of his french fries in his mouth.

“Thanks guys.” Angela smiled at the boys before starting on her salad.

The room was quiet for the rest of lunch. They didn’t mind not talking, because they always hung out together for hours after school, and the school was so noisy that a little peace was welcomed with open arms.

When lunch was over, the trio headed off to English class. They were the first ones there, besides Ms. Hinman, the teacher, so they sat in the very back seats where the teacher would hopefully not pay attention to them. The rest of the students filtered in slowly, giving them death glares. Finally the last bell rang, and Ms. Hinman closed the door to the classroom. She walked to the center of the room and scanned over the class to make sure everyone was there, then began to speak.

“Have any of you ever written a letter to another person not from here? Maybe you knew them as a ‘pen-pal’,” she said to the class. Being seniors, most people raised their hands.

“And how many of you enjoyed that experience?”

Half of who had raised their hands did this time.

“Well, you guys are such lucky ducks! I have signed this class up to be pen-pals with a class in Chicago, Illinois! Isn’t that exciting?” Ms. Hinman said excitedly, almost visibly bouncing on the spot.

Seeley let out a grunt of disapproval. “Don’t you think we’re a little too old for this, Ms. Hinman? I remember doing this when I was ten, and last time I checked I was eighteen.”

“Psh,” Ms. Hinman scoffed, “You’re never too old to make new friends. And not only will you be making new friends, you’ll be improving your English!

“How, you ask? Simple: I will be reading your letters and grading you based on spelling, grammar, and effort. Sounds easy, right? It should be, as long as you put thought into it. Oh, did I mention it’s 40% of your grade this semester? Because it is.” She gave the class a devilish grin before grabbing a piece of computer paper from her desk.

“Now, I’ve already partnered you all up, so don’t ask if you can pick. Once I tell you who you’re with, you have the rest of the block to start a letter.” She put the glasses hanging around her neck on her face and began reading off the list.

“Seeley, you’ll be writing to Temperance Brennan.”

The trio had to stifle their laughter so the teacher didn’t glare at them. Seeley repeated the name to himself. Temperance. What kind of name is that?

“Aw, Seeley, you get to write to a gi-irl,” Angela teased, “How cute is that?”

“Shut up, Angela,” Seeley shot back. “I bet you’re going to get paired with a guy.”

Angela scrunched up her face but kept silent.

“Hodgins, you get to write to…Zack Addy.”

“Lucky!” Seeley exclaimed, “You guys can talk about guy stuff! I’m gonna have to learn how to talk to a girl.” He pouted.

“Hey! What am I?” Angela said, offended.

“You know what I mean, Angela,” Seeley replied, leaning back in his chair, “Talking to a girl face to face is fine, but in a letter? That’s a whole other story.”

“…I’m not sure I understand, but okay.”

“Angela, you have been paired with…Lance Sweets.”

“Told you you’d be with a guy,” Seeley said smugly.

Angela giggled. “Sweets? What a cute last name!” She stuck her tongue out at the older boy. “Fortunately I don’t have a huge problem writing to a guy, so I don’t care.”

Ms. Hinman finished reading the list. “Well, what are you all waiting for? Get to work! I’d like to have these done by the end of the week.”

The whole class mumbled dislike toward the project but nonetheless started working. Jack took a piece of paper out of his three-ring binder and set it on his desk. He tapped his pencil on the desk, wondering what in the world he was supposed to write to some kid in Chicago. Glancing over, it seemed that Seeley was having the same problem; he was biting his pencil eraser and sighing repeatedly. Angela, however, had already written half a page, and she showed no sign of stopping anytime soon.

“Psst, Angela,” Hodgins whispered to the girl, “What are you writing to your guy about?”

Angela responded by hissing at him and continuing to write her letter, now three quarters down the page.

Hodgins took a deep breath and sighed. Putting pencil to paper, he wrote the first things that came to mind.

Dear Zack…