Peri and Milo (and the Not Friendship)

Chapter One

SUBJECT: Converse (Our new pen-pal system)

TO: YR7, YR8, YR9, YR10, YR11, YR12, YR13

FROM:

Dear all students,

As promised, our pen-pal system has finally been put into place. You will be using the programme 'Converse', an instant messaging system, to talk to your partners throughout the course of the year. You cannot choose your parters, they have randomly been generated for you, but we sincerely hope that you will not give up on this. We are a closely knit community, but it's always beneficial to talk to and get to know new people. Who knows? You may make a friend out of it.
We will send you a separate email and download link for Converse at a later date. We've already created a new username and password for you, but you can change. Make sure not to use your actual name, however, as this is meant to be anonymous.
You may use Converse to speak to other people, but you will need to add them yourself. However, we have already added your pen-pal as your friend on the system.
Thank you, and hopefully this will be beneficial to the whole student body.

Mrs Hamill, Headmistress.

MILO

Amelie Harvey looked up from her phone, frowning slightly. She was supposed to be paying attention to what her friends were saying - they were nearing the point of the sleepover where everybody shared their 'secrets' - but she was kind of getting bored, and she couldn't resist peeking at the email she'd received.
"Sorry," she said, interrupting Zoey, who was teasing Lia about the boy she liked for the millionth time. "Did any of you guys get an email from Mrs Hamill? About that pen-pal thing?"
"The anonymous one?" Lia snorted, glad to change the subject. "I always thought that was a terrible idea."
"Of course it was," Macy, who hadn't been paying attention either, piped up. She was lying on her front on Zoey's sofa, a book propped up on her side and her dark eyes bored. "It's the perfect breeding ground for bullying and torture."
"But our school is so perfect." Amelia rolled her eyes, raising her voice into a sarcastic falsetto. "How on earth could anyone at Porter Secondary School be that cruel."
"I swear, does Mrs Hamill even know teenagers?"
"Whatever. At least we're getting Converse for free. I've heard it's a pretty good IM-ing system." That was Nora speaking. She sat on Amelie's left, her black hair tied into a messy ponytail.
"Who here is even going to talk to their partner?"
"If I get a year seven, I might just kill myself."
"You might get my brother."
"Ew, no."

It might be mean, but Amelie was glad they'd moved away from talking about secrets or whatever. It was way too stereotypically girly, not to mention somebody would always bring up something that she probably didn't want to hear. More boy talk, Nora complaining about how nobody liked her and how miserable her life way. It would probably end up with them saying how 'all guys suck' and wanting them to 'all fuck off'.
Which was probably not what Amelie wanted to hear.
The thing was, especially this time, she really didn't want to be asked what her secret was. She'd just say she didn't have one, obviously. But that didn't mean that she wasn't still plagued with an irrational fear that they'd get her to blurt out the one thing she'd sworn to never tell anyone.

"Anyways," Lia's high voice broke through Amelie's thoughts, causing her to jump. Oh god, no, don't look jumpy now. That's the worst possible thing to do. "Let's get back to the important stuff."
"You seem really eager to talk about Darren again..."
"Don't you dare."
It happened every year. It was always Zoey or Bee's house, always in January, just after the winter break, when the girls (Group. Amelie preferred it when they called it the group) would meet up and have their annual sleepover. It was pleasant enough, Amelie liked spending time with her friends and this was probably their last year all together, so she wanted to make the most of it. The past few years, however, when it came to the truth or dare and secrets part of the night, Amelie had been uncomfortable, but not scared. Sure, she always had some sort of secret, but none were as big as what she'd realised about herself the previous summer. And there was no way she was telling them that. That was the one thing she'd sworn.
"Whatever. What about you, Nora?"
Oh great. If Nora's up now, that means that I'm next.
"What?"
"Spill the beans."
"Which thing do you want me to start with?"
Oh great. Here we go. Fun.
And so, Nora began talking about how she had the worst life ever, and how her boyfriend was such a dick. Amelie liked Nora, she really did, but the girl could be horribly tiring at times. Amelie, with her open nature, somehow always ended up being the one who had to bear the brunt of Nora's ranting, about her boyfriend or parents or another kid as they were walking to class or on Skype. Odds were, she'd already heard this story before everyone else.
Nora really thinks she has it bad, doesn't she? I don't think she'd know what inner turmoil actually felt if it smacked her in the face.
Amelie didn't say this. Obviously.
And, as Nora's rants ended, the line that came with every one of them reached Amelie's ears. "Fuck boys."
Thanks, Nora.
"Yeah, fuck them." Macy piped up, still engrossed in her book.
That's very considerate of you.
Piper snorted. Piper didn't speak very much, but when she did, she always had something good to say. "Why do men even have more power? They suck."
Okay, can't argue with that point. Actually, I agree with your first sentence, Pipes.
"Screw them all."
How ironic, and nice of you, considering there's a boy sitting right next to you, Nora. Not that you'd know it, but that doesn't make it hurt any less. Especially coming from my friends.