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Mia rode her scooter up the hill towards home after she left Lily’s house. She hadn’t had too terrible of a day, all things considered, now that she was conquering her fear of public speaking and her informational speech assignment had gone better than the debate. She had to miss rock climbing today, though, because she had a big French test to study for. This one had both an oral component and a multiple-choice test. She hated the two-parters, but her French was getting a lot better ever since she’d started corresponding with her pen pal Nicholas, who was from a French country called Genovia. It made her much more excited for class and studying since she could tell him everything she was learning.
She and Nicholas had been writing to each other for about two months now. It was part of a pen pal exchange program she’d signed up for at school, where interested students were paired with a pen pal from a foreign country. She couldn’t believe her luck when she got matched with a cute guy who happened to be the heir to the throne of Genovia. He had signed up to be a pen pal because he explained that in preparation to be king, he desired to learn as much as he could about other cultures so he could talk with people from all over the world. While she didn’t consider herself a royal watcher, she had always crushed on Prince William from afar (just like every other girl in the world, she figured) and knew this was as close as she would get to royalty. Their letters took a few weeks to arrive when they wrote to each other, but she looked forward to his reply almost as soon as she dropped her letter in the mailbox.
“Yes, there is mail today!” Helen assured Mia when she walked in.
“Is there a letter?” Mia asked.
“Let’s see…” Helen picked up the small pile and handed Mia a blue envelope. “You’re in luck. It has the Genovian stamp. I just love how happy this is making you. What have you and Nicholas been talking about in your letters?”
“He tells me about what it’s like to be a royal in training. Sometimes he says he’s bored at functions with world dignitaries because they’re all, like, three times his age and he has to pretend to be interested in conversation with them. That and how hard it is to find a woman who can marry into the royal family. He told me it looks glamorous on TV because they only show the royals waving to the crowd in a parade or smiling for the cameras. But a lot of girls he meets don’t want the pressure of being queen, or even princess.”
"Could you imagine living that life?”
“God, no. Me?” Mia laughed. “I’d only want to live it in a fantasy and then come back to my private real life once I’m done daydreaming. And I’m not as pretty as a queen or princess, although Nicholas said that he bets there’s nothing wrong with my looks.”
“Are you two going to exchange pictures soon? You told me you were thinking about it.”
“I know. But I don’t think I’m ready yet.” With that, she headed upstairs and closed her bedroom door, tearing open the envelope before she could even sit down on the bed. Fat Louie was already in his spot, almost as if he was looking forward to reading the letter with her.
“If only you could read,” she told her cat. “But here, let’s see what Nicholas has to say. Last time I wrote to him I was mad at Lana for making fun of me during gym class. Do you think it was stupid that I told him about that? I guess we’ll find out.” She shrugged and unfolded the letter:
Dear Mia,
As always, it was a pleasure to hear from you.
I’m sorry to hear that you’re having such a hard time at school. Genovian people can be quite cruel and not think before they speak as well, especially when you’re a future royal. I don’t always read or hear nice things about my family in the press. But maybe you yourself are a part of a famous family and just haven’t told me yet. It could be that we understand each other better than you think.
“Definitely not,” she said, sharing her thoughts as if Nicholas was sitting alongside her. This confirmed her instinct that being in the spotlight was not all it was cracked up to be. Then, she continued to read.
The best thing to do is to not let people like that get under your skin. I know if someone criticizes me or thinks I’m not good at conversation that the only thing I can do is continue to prove them wrong and show them that I am ready to be king someday. I’ve lived in Genovia my whole life and know the people and the culture; I understand this is what I was born for. I’m sure you have a lot of talents and good personality traits that you feel confident about.
“Isn’t he the sweetest?” she asked Fat Louie. “This is the kind of boyfriend I want to have.”
In the meantime, I hope you’re keeping yourself occupied with something fun and exciting. I’ve never tried rock climbing, as you said is one of your hobbies. Have you ever done it outdoors, like at one of those big national parks? I’m taking up archery, although I really have no choice since I have to hit the bullseye with a flaming arrow on the day of my coronation. Still, I find it quite fun to practice. Don’t worry; I don’t have to learn with the flaming arrow right now. It’s fun to be focused on only one target and keep refining my approach until I get it just right.
“I wonder if it’s wrong to apply that to dating.”
Is French class still going well? French is a very easy subject for me since it’s one of Genovia’s languages. I’ve been learning it since I was a child. I know this can be hard to do from afar, but if you need help with anything, let me know. I’m sure I can send some pronunciation guides or trivia about French culture. Do you have to tell your classmates about your pen pal’s native country? In my school, I recently had to give a presentation on San Francisco and the ways it differs from Genovia. It didn’t really count for much as far as my grade goes; it was more educational than anything so we could share our experiences with the pen pal program. Some of my classmates have pen pals in London, Beijing, or other cities in the United States like Boston.
I hope soon we can exchange pictures. It would help put a face to the name, and in my life, I have to know many names and faces. I look at thick photo albums several days before an event and try to remember as many people as I can. If I forget who someone is, my uncle will take me to the side and help me remember, though he’s not always kind about it when I can’t keep up. He doesn’t seem to want to understand the pressure I’m under, unfortunately.
I’m looking forward to hearing back from you soon, Mia. I apologize if this letter seems short, but like you, I still have to study. I have an essay due for my literature class in three days, and I’ve spent more time on thinking of what to say to you than I have trying to remember the font and citation requirements for my essay.
Au revoir,
Nicholas
Mia loved how Nicholas changed up the closing of his letters. At first, he just used “Very truly yours” or “Sincerely.” But now it was “goodbye,” in French. Before that, it was “Farewell for now.” It made the letters feel more personalized and like he cared enough about her to make a little extra effort.
Now that she had finished reading, she went back downstairs to see Helen, who had resumed painting.
“So, how was the letter?” she asked Mia.
“I can never take my eyes off the paper. It was shorter than usual since he was procrastinating on an essay, but it just goes to show that future members of royal families are just like the rest of us.”
“Yes and no. We’ll never be like his family, but I get the spirit of what you’re saying. Now come on. Tell me what else is going on in his life. Maybe I can help you figure out what to tell him when you write back.”