Ladies' Choice (re-uploading SOON)

YOURS TRULY, DANIELLA

Hello Stranger,

Writing this, I'm beginning to think it isn't fair that you seem to know so much about me, but I don't have a clue about who you really are... I was about to say I don't know you, but I think I'm getting an idea. A nervous, soft girl who can read a weather radar and is kind to someone she's never met outside a torn piece of notebook paper. A complicated girl who likes to eat, needs to watch more movies, and has no plans of committing any murders any time soon.

My kind of girl. Haha.

It's been a few days, I know, but I didn't want to reply until I tried your advice out. After I worked up the proper amount of courage (so a sliver because honestly, I was shitting my pants), I went right up to Loman and said:

"I was wondering if you'd like to hang out?"

He replied. "I've wondered that too."

So, I said, "We should do something about that."

My heart was BEATING, Stranger. I thought I was gonna shake so much my bones were gonna jitterbug out of place. But!! It was the best thing he could possibly say. I couldn't believe he thought about hanging out too, which means I'm not crazy! It wasn't all in my head. He likes me too :)

Anyways, I took a page from your book and made a plan and the equally, if not more important back-up plan.

"We should hang out after school," I said and suggested he should come over to my house for dinner and just hang out.

He said, "I have to go to football practice today and tomorrow, but I can come after that."

I said, "That works. We should exchange numbers."

He agreed, "You're so smart. I always forget to do that."

Which means you're so smart, Stranger. Good call.

To confirm we had each other's numbers, and we weren't catfishing each other, we sent selfies. I needed to run laps around the school one million times before I could get rid of all this nervous energy. That's today. I'm really hoping it goes well. By the time you read this, he'll have already come over, but wish me luck anyways. I'm sure I'll need the extra luck somewhere else.

Like I said, I love my mom, but I can feel the difference between being friends with her and someone my own age. There are just some things she doesn't understand. And her first instinct is to try to fix my problems, or she's always trying to have a teaching moment or explain the value of my pain. But sometimes just wanna have a cry or complain and just be mad.

Your movie recommendation is The Grand Budapest Hotel. Honestly, I'd recommend any Wes Anderson film. But start there and then, look up the summary of his other movies and go with the ones that stand out to you. I just have a feeling you'll love them.

You were also right about no rain. I feel like we should be exchanging letters daily, so I can finally have a reliable source of my weather updates from you and not my app. It feels nice having a weather "guy".

It feels nice to talk to you at all.

Well, the way we're talking now.

I've never been this open with someone else, but I'm weirdly not worried. I trust a stranger more with my secret thoughts than my mom. If I told her I was lonely, she'd tell me not to feel that way as if that's all it takes. But you don't say that. You understand. So, thanks for acknowledging it. Me. Everything.

I'm the same way about food. I could outeat a man and still have room for desserts, but unlike you, I'm pro sweets. Chocolate cake is my greatest weakness. I listen to podcasts alone because it feels like I'm with people and when I retell stories from podcasts, I refer to them as my friend. But I also listen to indie pop. My celebrity crush is Daisy Edgar Jones (but Eva Green will always be my first love). I'm reading an adult romance and I will not say what because I'd hate for you to judge me.

Let me tell you something else, I hope we never meet. I simply would not know what to do with myself. For someone to know me this well, I would feel absolutely bare. If we did meet, I would not be able to speak. I would just look into your eyes, and I think all these letters would come flooding back to me. Our first conversation in the real world must be silent. I'd want our eyes to do all the talking.

This is mandatory.

And you can't say no to me.

Now that we've gotten so much truth out of the way, I want you to tell me three lies. I think you can tell a lot about a person about what they lie about. And because I'm kind, fair, and wonderful, I'll tell you that I hate school dances, black is my favorite color, and my favorite book genre is horror.

Yours Truly,

Daniella

P.S. You have to reply.