A/N: I'm baaaaacckk! 😂😂 I feel like imma be attached to this book already just a heads up...Look at baby Dell 😂
October 17,2001
"Class, today we are going to do something fun that we've never done before," Ms. Jenkins, Odell's fourth grade English teacher, spoke to her class.
The class ooo'd and clapped in excitement.
"We're going to write letters to other students in a whole different state! New York!"
The classroom filled with young children gasped, many of them hadn't been out of New Orleans in their short lives, much less to another state.
"How will they get there," Odell blurted out.
"Odell, remember to raise your hand-"
"Sorry Ms. Jenkins," he apologized.
"It's okay, just remember next time, but the we'll mail the letters. It's called having a pen pal," she smiled as she explained.
"How do we know who they are," another boy asked.
"You'll pick a name out of a hat." She walked over to her desk and grabbed a hat filled with tiny little papers before turning back to the class.
"You can tell them anything you want: your name, about your family, all about Louisiana, anything. Are you ready?"
"Yes," the class responded, nodding their heads.
"Each of you will come up by your group number and pick your pen pal. Group one," she pointed to the desks of four grouped together, "come pick your names."
Odell, Corey, James, and Peter walked over to the front of the room.
Peter was first he dug in the hat and handed his teacher the paper. "Jonah Witherspoon," Ms. Jenkins read the unfolded paper.
Then Corey, "Harold Washington."
James got a boy named Geraldo Hernandez and finally there was Odell.
He swished his hand around the hat rather than just grabbing the first paper at the top. "Desiree' Black."
"Ewww Odell got a girl," the boys in his group shuddered as they laughed at him.
"Shut up Corey, boys are stupid anyway!" Tasha, another girl in the class spoke up.
"Tasha and Corey both of you apologize and go move your pins from green to yellow-"
"But Ms-"
"No," she shook her head, "disrespect is never okay."
The to huffed out and apology and walked across the classroom to moved their pins.
Odell really didn't think much of writing a girl, his mom was a girl.
~
"Okay class, all of your letters will start off the same, but after the introduction you can write whatever you'd like," Ms. Jenkins turned to write on the blackboard.
'Dear _______ my name is _______. I live in New Orleans, Louisiana and go to Mary Mcloud Bethune Elementary School.'
"Read with me class." The class read the board as Ms. Jenkins handed out loose leaf paper.
~
Odell took this seriously, he took school seriously. His mother especially always instilled in him the value of education and he didn't want to disappoint her.
He started his letter the way that Ms. Jenkins instructed before telling the faceless recipient of this letter about himself.
'Dear Desiree' my name is Odell. I live in New Orleans, Louisiana and I go to Mary Mcloud Bethune Elementary. I am nine years old and live with my mom. She's a really nice girl, I hope you're a nice girl too Desiree'.
Where I live is a cool place even though it's really hot here. Is New York a cool place? I'm sorry about the buildings that got knocked down up there, but I'm glad that you didn't get hurt when they fell. Did you?
Football is my favorite sport. It's the best one. All the other ones are cool too but just not as cool as football. I think it's because my dad played football.
Well it was nice to write this letter for you Desiree'. I hope you write me back.
Sincerely,
Odell Beckham Jr.'
~
A few days later at P.S. 308 in Brooklyn, New York Mr. Shelley's class received a box filled with envelopes.
The recent terrorist attack on the city had left everyone in a state of painful shock, even the children.
Mr. Shelley graduated from LSU and had dated Ms. Jenkins when they'd attended the college together and although they'd long since broken up he reached out to her for her students to write his class.Thankfully she accepted and now the letters had arrived.
He told his class abut it and they were excited to get letters from a place they'd never been to either.
He passed out the envelopes to each of the students they were personally addressed to.
Nine year old Desiree' took her letter and saw how her name was scratched along the center of the envelope and huffed as she assumed a stupid boy must have written her letter.
She opened her envelope and began to read it to herself.
Her letter was from a boy named Odell.
That's a weird name. She thought to herself.
Once she read it she began to write back.
'Hi Odell. Your name is kind of weird, I've never heard of anyone with that name. Does everyone in Louisiana have a weird name? I got to P.S. 308 in Brooklyn. Brooklyn is the best place in the world. You should be from here.
The buildings you're talking about was the World Trade Center and I don't want to talk about what happened. It makes me too sad even though I didn't get hurt.
Football is stupid. It's just boys running around for nothing. Basketball is better.
Thank you for writing me a letter though Odell. Mr. Shelley said that we can be friends. Even though boys are dumb you seem kind of smart. If this letter makes you mad that's just too bad, but I hope you do write me back.
Sincerely,
Desiree Black
Things are just so black and white until they're gray.
A/N: What do you think? Love it? Hate it? It won't be in third person the entire book, just for now. I feel like third person is a little impersonal. Please vote and comment and let me know what you think ! :D xoxo
YOU ARE READING
When We Were Young
ChickLitWhen you're young life is easy and things are black and white. As we get older the world changes and taints us, making lines that were once so clear become blurry. Why can't things just be the way they were when we were young? Contains private chapt...
