Letters Ch 1

CH 1

It's a hot summer day at the beginning of September. The paperboy rides his bike across the neighborhood, tossing newspapers from building to building. One of the newspapers strikes a middle schooler in the back of the head.

"Sorry!!" The paperboy yells out as he continues forward.

Once the boy recovers from the blow to the head he stands up. He picks up the newspaper. The head line being, 'WWII ENDS! WHAT NOW?'

"That looked like it hurt, it's a good thing you're a guy, Thomas." Another middle schooler says from the neighboring yard.

"Shut up, Elizabeth! What would you know?" Thomas replies with annoyance.

Thomas suddenly gets pulled by his cheek as his mother passes by.

"Now Thomas, that's no way to speak to a girl. Go get ready for school; you're going to be late." His mother says in a loving but strict tone.

Once Thomas returns home, his mother turns towards Elizabeth.

"Would you like me to walk the two of you to the bus stop?" The mothers having a girl-to-girl talk with the pretty little black haired Elizabeth.

"No! That won't be necessary. We will... be... just fine..." Elizabeth plays with her fingers as she talks to the mother.

Thomas races from his house towards the sidewalk. However, his mother stops him and orders him to walk with Elizabeth to school.

The two young kids get on the bus headed toward Northridge. Once there, they immediately see a huge crowd forming upon arrival.

Getting closer, Thomas and Elizabeth start to get more curious about what it is that has everyone's attention. Making their way to the center, they see some fellow classmates one-sidedly beat on a "colored" student.

"You don't belong here! Go back to where you came from you stupid monkey!"

Elizabeth takes a look at Thomas and notices the way he is grinding his teeth and gripping his hand close. With no hesitation, Thomas storms through the crowd and attacks the bully in an attempt to save the other kid.

However, Thomas is quickly tackled to the floor by the bully's friends. Thomas struggles against the gang as they pin him down and beat him. A whistle blows and the students run towards their classrooms.

Probably half an hour passed since the fight in front of the school and Elizabeth still hasn't seen Thomas.

'He must have gotten in trouble...' She thought to himself.

In between classes, Elizabeth is traveling pass the nurse's office when she over heard the voice of the 'colored' student.

"Why did you try to save me back there?"

"My father joined the army for the war to fight the Nazis in Germany. In one of his letters, he told me of a black man saving his life. As I was reading the letter, I realized that he still chose to save him even though he is white. Now I can see my father again..."

"Or I don't know..."

"...Maybe I just don't like the way they were treating you just for having different color skin." Thomas scratches the back of his head thinking that he is just embarrassing himself at this point.

As Elizabeth over heard everything, she starts to turn bright red as she sees him under new light.

Thomas walks up to Elizabeth's house after school and rings the doorbell. Edward, Elizabeth's father, answers the door.