CHAPTER TWO
898 Words
CHAPTER TWO: A Letter from a Stranger
Hey, it’s Rockie again.
About the interruption in my last entry—yeah, my mom caught me writing. I had to hide my diary so fast I nearly tore a page out. I was so lost in thought, I didn’t even hear her creeping up the stairs.
November 16, 2020
History class always feels like it lasts a decade. Just when I thought I might survive the endless boredom, Mr. Jimmy caught me smiling to myself.
“Miss Rockie,” he said, his voice dripping with curiosity, “why don’t you share with the class what’s so amusing? With all these frowning faces around, I think we could use a reason to smile.”
I blinked. Oh no.
“I… I was just smiling,” I blurted.
Really, brain? That’s the best we could do?
He raised an eyebrow, unimpressed, but before he could unleash a lecture, the recess bell rang.
“I’ll tell you next class, Mr. Jimo!” I called, grabbing my bag and rushing out with the others. Did I really just call him Jimo? Yup. I’d always wanted to, and now I had. Thank you, bell, for saving my life.
At my locker, I found something strange—an envelope.
“Who would send a weirdo like me a letter?” I muttered.
I opened it slowly. The handwriting was clean and elegant. The note read:
“Hey, beauty. Even the stars and the moon can’t outshine your radiant glow.”
I froze.
Wait… what? A secret admirer? Me?
No. That had to be a joke. Stuff like this didn’t happen to people like me. I stuffed the letter into my bag and left school early—I had free periods during 7th and 8th. I figured I’d rest a little at home before heading back.
Math was next. Ugh. I hated math.
Seriously, why can’t math grow up and solve its own problems?
Imagine being a subject and having people all over the world solving you. Must be nice to be so important. Meanwhile, I can't even get one person to solve me.
“Oh, but you are lucky… you just don’t know it yet.”
I froze.
A whisper. Right outside my window.
I jumped to my feet and ran to check, but… nothing. Just the soft slam of the gate outside.
“Perfect. Mom’s home. And now she’s going to launch into another lecture about why I left school early.”
I sighed, put on my best fake smile, and headed downstairs.
“Oh, Rockie! What are you doing home this early? How many times do I have to tell you not to leave school before it ends?”
She went on. And on. And on. I zoned out somewhere between “irresponsible” and “bad influence.”
She kept going, and I slipped into another one of my vivid daydreams. One so good, I almost smiled again.
Note to self: Try not to smile when being scolded.
“…and don’t let me hear that you’ve been skipping classes again!” she snapped.
Back at school, I tried faking a stomachache to get out of math. Didn’t work. My mom is made of titanium. She dropped me off at the gate herself.
“Trigonometric ratios,” our math teacher wrote on the board.
Nope. Not today.
“Ms. Rockie,” he said, already picking me as tribute, “come and solve this for the class.”
What did I ever do to deserve this kind of bad luck?
I stared at the question on the board like it was ancient Greek.
“I… I don’t know the answer, sir.”
Just when I thought he was going to roast me in front of everyone, a voice rang from the back.
“I’ll bail her out, sir.”
I turned—and saw him.
A tall, confident guy with fair skin and messy black curls. He strolled to the front, scribbled out the answer like it was nothing, and handed the chalk back.
Class ended. My heart was still racing.
Back at my locker, I found another letter.
This one read:
“Rockie… Sounds tough and wonderful. Because no one can get to a rock unless the rock itself permits.”
My chest tightened. My cheeks warmed.
Two notes in two days? This was unreal.
Then a voice interrupted my thoughts.
“Hey, lovely.”
I turned. It was him.
The guy from math class.
“You’re the one who bailed me out earlier,” I said.
He smiled. “Yeah. I’m Kyle.”
My tongue twisted. I hated saying my name. It always sounded so awkward to me.
“I’m… Rockie,” I said hesitantly.
But Kyle just beamed. “A wonderful and strong name.”
I blinked. “Why do you say that?”
He tilted his head, giving me a look that made my knees weak.
“Because no one can break through a rock… unless the rock lets them.”
He walked off.
My heart stopped.
That was exactly what the note said!
Wait—does this mean Kyle is my secret admirer?!
No. No way. Kyle is brave, smart, good-looking… basically everything I’m not.
Girls throw themselves at him daily. Why me?
Why… me?
Footsteps. Coming up the stairs.
“Oh no! Mom!”
I slammed the diary shut.
- Writer
