1. The Letter by EstherKahn
AshleyWalshwalkeddownthe hallway,hatingeverystep.Itwasthe firstday of senioryearand
as always,she neverfeltmore alone theninthe overcrowdedhallways,especiallythe firstdayback.Whi
le everyone aroundherwashugging,squealing,doingsecrethandshakesandaskinghow theirfriends’s
ummerwas,she was justwalkingalone,lookingdownatthe floor,feelingalone andself-conscious the
whole waytoher locker.Whenshe finallyreachedit,she openeditquickly,eagertosee the picturesof
herand her fewfriendsthatshe hadhangingupso she couldremindherself she wasn’treallyalone:tha
t she didhave friends.Theywenttoschool withherbutAshleyhadn’tseenthemyet.
She didn’tnotice the foldedpiece of paperthatwasin herlockeruntil she finallystoppedlookin
g at the picturestoput hernotebooksandbindersinherlocker.She staredatthe paper quizzicallyassh
e tookit out.It didn’tlooklike anythingshe rememberedputtinginherlockerandasshe’dhad the sam
e lockersince she enteredGrantHigh,itcouldn’tbe fromthe previousowner.Curiositygettingthe bett
er of her,she unfoldedthe piece of loose-leafpaperandread:
Roses are red; Violets are blue
You look very pretty; Can I get to know you?
Ashleysmiled.Itwassweetinacorny kindof way butaftera moment,hersmile turnedsad,bec
ause she knewbetterthentothinkitwas for her.At newly18,no one had evergivenheranyreasonto
believeshe wasbeautiful orcouldbe wanted;noguyshad askedherout or toldhershe was beautiful;n
o girlssaidshe’dlookedprettyeitherforthatmatter.So at 5 foot3 and a curvy 225 pounds,she hadno
reasonto believethe love letterwasforher.Soshe didn’tmentionittoher friendswhentheyhadhom
eroomtogether-whytell themwhenitwasmostlikelyputinthe wronglocker.Still,she wasayounggirl
and a romantic andso throughoutfirstperiod,she couldn’thelpbuttwirl herlong,smooth,wavybrow

2. n hair inherfingers,herblue-greeneyesstaringintothe distance,daydreamingthatthe letterwasforh
er.
She shookherheadto clear hermind.Too many romancebooksand movies,she chidedherself.
Fairytalesdon’talwayshappen in real life. It’s notforyou so get overit.
Whenthe periodwasover,she and one of her bestfriends,Tori Parker,walkedbacktoherlock
er so she couldswitchbooks.She foundanothernote.
Ashley,
There, now you know it’s for you. The first one was too, just so you know
[that made her smile]. I hope your first period was good…or at least not complet
ely boring [another smile]. I just wanted to say hi, though. And bring a smile to y
our face which I hope my letter is doing. That’s all I wanted to say for now: yes,
that does mean you can expect another one sometime today. I just want you to k
now that someone is thinking about you (me in case you didn’t get it) [another s
mile].
“What isthat?” Tori askedAshley,intriguedwhatwasmakingherfriendsmilesomuch.Notthat
her frienddidn’tsmileoftenbutthisone wasclearlydifferent.
“It’s a letter.”
“From whom?” she askedtakingitfromher friendbefore Ashleyevenhadachance to respond.
“I don’tknow.”
“What doeshe mean ‘the otherone’?” Tori askedonce she’dreadit.

3. “I founda note inmy lockerthismorningbutI thoughtitwas justput inthe wronglockerso I di
dn’t bothertosay anythingtoyou,” she repliedasshe closedherlockerdoor,takingthe note fromTori
and puttingitand herbooksinher messengerbag.
“It was inyourlocker,whywouldn’titbe foryou?”
“Because really,whowouldsendme anote?Asit is,it’sprobablysome joke.”
Tori raisedhereyebrowsather. “Are you serious? Doyoureallybelievethat?”
“I’m not beingpessimisticorsayingI’ll neverfindaguybut wheninmylife hasgivenme reason
to believe someonewouldsend mea love letter?Sowhygetmyhopesup?”
Tori wasabout to saysomethingwhenthe bell suddenlyrangandAshleyhurriedtohernextclas
s, gladit wasn’twithTori and herquestions.Butdespite hertalkaboutnotgettingherhopesup,she co
uldn’thelpbutfindherself walkingtoherlockera little quickerwhenthisclassended,wonderingandh
opingforanothernote.Andshe was notdisappointed.
Ashley,
You did smile. I’m glad! You know, you should smile more, it’s beautiful.
Has anyone ever told you that? That your smile is beautiful? What about you?
Has anyone ever told you that you are beautiful? I hope so because you really ar
e pretty [she blushed]. I have to go for now; don’t want you to see who I am…no
t yet. Smile more, Ashley. I’ll write you more later…I promise.
Ashleycouldn’thelpbutsmile widelyasshe rereadthe note.He calledher beautiful!Andhe’dt
akenthe time to write hera thirdnote.She feltherself startingtobelieve itwasn’tsomeone’scruel joke
…that itcouldactuallybe for her. I mean,who would spend so much time to write morethan oneletter
and really, onceis funny butwhatwould bethepoint now? She thoughttoherself.She couldbarelykee

4. p a smile off herface duringthe nextdouble period,despite itbeingherleastfavorite subject.Butitwas
a long2 hours withoutgoingtoherlockerand she practicallyran the secondthe bell rang,fightingthro
ugh the streamof people headingtothe lunchroomlike afishswimmingupstream.She hadtocheckhe
r lockerbefore lunch.Again,hersecretadmirerdidnotdisappoint.
Ashley,
You got to your locker a little faster last time…I had to leave class early t
o make sure I wouldn’t run into you. I’m not sure I’m ready for you to know who
I am just yet. I kind of like being anonymous and I’m better at writing what I th
ink and feel than saying it, sometimes. But I do want to tell you…if you even wa
nt that. Do you want that? Or am I annoying you with these letters? [she actuall
y shook her head, even though she knew he wouldn’t see] If I am, just throw thi
s note out now…I’ll see it and I’ll get the message…
Or apparentlyhe wouldsee it….washe watchingherreadthem?Itmade sense;he’dmentione
d herreactions…She quicklylookedaroundherbutwithall the people walkingaround,she hadnoway
of knowingwhoitwas.Whichmade her wonder:didshe wantto know?She thoughtabout itfor a mo
ment.She wasn’tsure.Part of her wantedtoknow,wantedtomeetthe firstguyto make her feel wante
d. But whatif he didn’tlive uptoherexpectations?Whatif he turnedoutto be some randomcreepype
rson?Couldshe live withthe disappointment?Orthe hurtif it wasall a lie?She wasn’tsure.Butshe cou
ldn’tthrowthe note out, of that she was sure.These notesmade herfeel more beautifulandwantedth
an anythingeverhadinher life andsoshe put itin herbag withthe othersand headedtolunch.
Ashleysatthere onlyhalf listeningtoherfriends’conversations;all she coulddowasthinkabo
ut those lettersandsuddenly,the daydreamaboutherandthe mysterymandidn’tseemsocrazy as it h

5. ad earlier.Assoonas she finishedlunch, she rushedbacktoherlocker,unable tocontainherexcitemen
t and anticipation.
But whenshe openedherlocker,there wasnonote.She couldn’thelphersmile fromfallingof
herface.Her hope startedto fade rapidlyandshe startedto secondguessit all-maybe itreallywasall al
ie.
All throughhernextperiod,she couldn’thelpbutthinkaboutall the horriblescenariosthatcoul
d happen,herhope dwindlinglike someone slowlydeflatingaballoon.Asshe walkedtothe bathroomt
owardsthe endof class,herfeetheavywithdisappointment,she hardlygave asecondglance toherloc
ker.But somethingcaughthereye andshe feltherheartskipa beat whenshe realizeditwasanotherlet
ter,tapedto the outside of herlocker.Ashley’sface litupasshe rushedandpracticallyrippedthe letter
off.
Ashley,
I’m sorry it took so long for the next letter. I was about to put this one, w
ell the original of this letter, into your locker after lunch but you finished too ear
ly and nearly caught me. So I had to sneak out during class to put it in so you’d
have it for the next period. I’m glad you didn’t throw the letter out. I was scared
you would. I want to meet you-face to face. Okay, not meet you since we do go t
o the same school and have met before but talk to you face-to-face, let you know
who I am. After school; let’s meet after school. I'll be waiting outside, holding y
our last note of the day. I hope you come but if you don’t, I’ll understand. I’ll wai
t for you for half an hour. I hope I’ll see you…there is something I want to tell yo
u. I’ll see you soon, Ashley…I hope.

6. Ashleydidn’trealize she washoldingherbreathuntil she heardthe bell ring.She rushedbackto
the room,to collectherstuff andwas aboutto make a quickescape whenshe feltsomeone grabherar
m, gentlypullingherback.She lookedquicklytosee whoitwas. “Tori? What are youdoing?”
Tori waiteduntil everyone,includingthe teacher,leftthe room. “Where were you?”
“What doyou meanwhere wasI?”
“You were gone for 15 minutes! Andyoucame backwithsuch a confusedbuthappylook,like th
e bathroomwassome enlighteningexperience!” Andthenithither. “OMG! Was itmysteryman?” Whe
n she saw herbestfriendblush,she knew she wasright. “OMG! It was!Did youmeethim?”
Ashleyshookherheadasshe wentto gether stuff andhandedTori both the note frombefore l
unch andthe one fromjustthen.
Tori quicklyreadthem. “He wantsto meetyou?What are yougoingto do?” she askedhandingt
hemback to Ashley.
She returnedthem toher bag. “I’m not sure.I mean,Iwant to meethim, butwhatif he’snot
…” she triedtoexpressherfear.
“Everythingyoubuilthimtobe in yourmind?” Tori offered.
“Yeah. “
“But you do wantto meethim?”
She lookedather friend. “Yes.”
Tori smiled. “Thendoit.”
“But what if…” she saidas theywalkedoutof the classroom.

7. “Ash,I can’t rememberthe lasttime Isaw youthishappy or smileyandIhave neverseenyouth
isconfidentanditis all because of him.Youdeserve tobe happyand finda guywho likesyou!Andif he
turns outto be some horrible guy…well atleastyoutriedbutif youdon’t,youwill alwayswonder‘wha
t it’.Ash,you have to meethim.”
“You thinkI should?”
“Did youjust misswhatI said?YES!”
“Ok. Will youcome withme?Please?”
“I’ll stay behindyoubutyouneedtomeethimon yourown.”
Ashleysmiledastheywere justabouttoturn the corner.They hearda group of guystalkingand
teasingeachotherand were aboutto turn the corneranyway,not caringabout interruptingtheirconve
rsation,whentheyheardone sayto the other, “Dude,I can’t believe you!Youputmore notesinthe loc
ker?How didshe react whenshe readthose love notes?”
“Ash,let’sgo,” Tori whisperedsoftlyyeturgently,knowingoverhearing all thiscouldn’tendwell
.
“I betshe wasall flatteredandfeltsoluckythat someone waspayingheranyattention,” anothe
r one said.
Before the guytheywere talkingtoevenhada chance to respond,the firstadded, “Andsayingy
ou’ll meetherlater? Genius!Whenyoustandherup,the lookon herface will be priceless!”
“Who said….?” The thirdguystarted.

8. But Ashleyhadheardenough;she knew theywere talkingaboutherandherinstinctshadbeen
right:it wasall a prankto humiliate herandpreyonher feelingsof insecurity.She couldn’tstopherself.
Doingsomethingsounlike herself,she turnedthe cornerandglaredatthe three guysin hergrade:Peyt
on Barnes;Max Carter; JoeyWilliams.Butshe onlyhadeyesforPeytonbecause fromthe waytheywere
standingaroundhim,itwas obvioushe wasthe thirdguy and the one who’dbeensendingherthe note
s. “How couldyou?How couldyoudo somethingsocruel tosomeone whohasn’tdone anything toyou
? I have neverfeltprettyorwantedbyanyone andyou gave me hope,made me feel like Iwasworthso
methingtosomeone!Andnow,Ihave nothing.Youbroke me.Socongratulations,jerks-yougottosee t
he lookon herface,” she yelled,notcaringwhoheardheror that there were tearsstreamingdownherf
ace. She didn’tgive Peytonachance to respond;she justran to the bathroom.Tori followedcloselybeh
indaftershootingall three of the guysdirtylooks.
“Ash,” she calledonce she enteredthe bathroomandsaw herbestfriendsittingagainstthe pink
tiledbathroomwall,herface buriedinherarms,herkneesbentclose toher,the sobs rackingherwhol
e body.She lookedupatTori, the tearsleavingstreaksdownhercheeks. “Tori,” she sobbed,notable to
say more than that.
“Shhhh,” she cooed,asshe sat nextto Ashley,wrappingherarmsaroundher shoulders,tryingt
o calm downherbestfriend. “It’sok,Ash.”
“No, it’snot,” she saidinbetweensobs. “Whywouldtheydothisto me?I haven’tdone anythi
ng to them?I don’teventhinkI’ve eversaidmore tothemthana passinghi,if that!”
“I don’tthinktheyspecificallytargetedyou…”
“But it was me.Theybuiltmyhope upjust to stomponit. I hate them!I hate them,” she cried.
“I’m so sorry,Ashley.Iwishthere wassomethingIcoulddo.”

9. They stayedinthe bathroomfor the whole lastperiod,Tori justholdingherfriendasshe crieda
nd finallycalmeddown,justintime forthe final bell toring.
“I needtogetmy booksfrommy locker,” Ashleysniffled.
“Do youwantme to go getit foryou?” Tori offered.
For the firsttime since the incident,Ashleylookedhopeful. “Wouldyou?”
“Of course. “ Tori wentto her lockertoget herstuff firstandthenwhento Ashley’stogetthe fe
w thingsshe’dleftthere.She foundanote tapedtothe lockerand openedit.
Ashley, I need to explain. Please meet me.
Tori snortedandcrumpledupthe paper,throwingitinthe garbage before takingtheirstuff and
returningtothe bathroom. “Here,she said,handingitto Ashley,notbotheringtomentionthe note;Ash
leydidn’tneedtobe hurt anymore. “Come on;let’stry to sneakoutof here.”
Theymanagedto make itoutside withonlyminimalwhispersandstares.Once theygotoutside,
however,theywere notsolucky.Peytonwasstandingthere,atthe bottomof the stairs,lookinglikehe
came straightof a romance movie withhisshortblackcurlyhairrustlinginthe windandhis sincere dark
browneyessearchingforher.Whentheyfoundhertryingto sneakoff to the side,he calledhername.
“Ashley!”
“Go away,Peyton. Idon’t wantanythingtodo withyou.”
“Ashley,please!”
“Didn’tyou do enoughdamage?” she demandedof him, tearsthreateningtoresurface.
“Please letme explain!Imeantit-everythingIwrote,Imeantitall.”

10. The tears gave way,poolingupinher eyes. “WhyshouldIbelieveyou,Peyton?Iheardwhatyou
guys said.” She gave upon tryingto leave unnoticed:everyonewasstaringatthem, watchingthe dram
a unfold.
“I didn’tsendthe firstnote.The guysdiditas a joke;Ionlyfoundoutabout itafter.I waitedfor
youto come inso I couldtell youto ignore it,ithad beenajoke.ButwhenI saw youopenit,I saw the lo
ok onyour face,howyou lookedatitso longinglybutcouldn’tbelieve itwasforyou,that I wantedyout
o realize youcouldgetit-Ihadto showyouthat you itcouldbe foryou. Andwitheachof yourreactions
, I fell foryoumore and more.Everysingle letterIsent,everywordIwrote,I meant.”
“I don’tbelieve you,Peyton.I’msorry.My heartjustcan’t take any more hope justto be crushe
d…Iwon’tbe stupidandfall forit again.I’m sorrybut I needwhatisleftof my uncrushedheart.”
“At leastlistentomyletter,” he pleaded.
She stoppedtryingtocontinue downthe stairs. “What letter?”
“The final one Iwrote for you,the one I wantedto give youwhenyoumetme if thingshad gone
as planned.Please?” he addedathersad look,clearshe wasgoingto say no.
She wantedto sayno, didn’twanthiswordsto hurt hermore. “You have two minutes.”
Peytonunfoldedthe piece of looseleaf paperandAshleycouldsee thathe hadbeencrinklingit
nervouslywhile he hadbeenwaitingforher.He tooka deepbreath,knowingeveryone nearthemwas
waitingforhimto go on,hangingon everywordof theirconversation.Thenhe read:
Ashley,
This is not how I wanted this to happen. Let me start with the truth. Whe
n I came to school the guys told me they had put a love note in some random girl

11. 's locker, just the one as a joke. I told them it wasn’t funny and when they told m
e what locker it was, I went to watch you get it, ready to tell you it was all a joke
and to ignore my idiotic friends-after all, what harm could be seriously done fr
om one pathetic fake love note? It wasn't enough to make someone get their hop
es up and think it was love. I was about to come over when I saw you read it. Th
e look on your face broke my heart. I saw the heartbreaking smile on your face.
I could tell you wanted it to be for you but your mind was telling you it had to be
for someone else, that it couldn't be for you and in that moment, I knew no one
had ever sent you one, had ever told you how amazing you are and I had to. It
wasn’t so much a want and a need to make you realize how wonderful you are.
So I sent you the second one. Again, I watched you read it, needing to see your r
eaction once you knew the letter was for you. And when you smiled, god, Ashley
, this may be totally corny but I’d never seen anything so beautiful. I had always
liked you from our few interactions and the things I’d seen you do. But when I s
aw you smile then…I fell: hard and fast. With each letter and each of your reacti
ons to my letters I fell for you more and more. My day was going perfectly and
while I had been upset my friends had done that practical joke, I was kind of gla
d they did: because it gave me the opportunity to get to know you, the real you n
ot just how you are with people. And it gave me the confidence to express things
I don’t think I could’ve said otherwise. When I was in the middle of explaining th
e whole thing to my friends, telling them what I just told you, unable to keep my
happiness to myself, you walked by, hearing only the middle of the conversation
-the part where they were congratulating me, thinking that I was only furtherin
g the joke. The look I saw on your face killed me. My heart crumbled, your tears
piercing it like bullets. I knew it was over before I even had a chance to start an
d I was crushed. It wasn't how I wanted you to know who I was and definitely n

12. ot how I ever wanted to make you feel. When you left, I yelled at my friends, told
them how real my feelings for you are. They tried to help me find out what class
you were in so I could corner you and explain it all privately but they found out
you weren’t in class. I knew my choices were to either drop it or wait for you an
d do it like I am now, in front of everyone. And Ash, I just couldn't drop it. I had
to tell you the truth.
So here I am, in front of everyone, telling you the truth: I love you, Ashle
y Walsh. I love your blue-green eyes, the way you look in your blue jeans when
you walk, the way your brown hair is curly yet straight the same time and how
it frames your soft, beautiful face. I love your laugh, how your face says exactly
how you’re feeling even when you try to hide it, the way you turn slightly pink
when you’re embarrassed and bite your bottom lip and play with your hair. I lo
ve how your beauty hasn't gone to your head like most other girls and how it's a
natural beauty, not crafted with masks of make-up. And did I mention your smi
le? I love you and I had to take the chance of telling you now, even though I kno
w you’re probably never going to speak to me again and after what you heard a
nd went through, I can't blame you. But I had to try; I had to risk it all by lookin
g like a fool and telling you because risking it all gave me a slight chance at a ye
s from you whereas saying nothing gave me none and I need that glimpse of ho
pe. So here it goes: Ashley, will you go out with me?
The last part he asked,lookingonlyather,ignoringthe crowdof people lookingatthem.He kne
w he lookedandsoundeddesperate buthe didn'tcare because that’sexactlywhathe was:desperate fo
r her.

13. Ashleystoodthere foramoment,shocked.She hadexpectedexcusesandliesbuthere itwas,h
onestyandsoul bearingforthe whole school tosee andshe knew he wastellingherthe truth-hiseyest
oldher that.Anddespite herheadyellingatherthat itcouldall be part of some plan,her heartwas whi
speringtogo for it.Andfor once she followedherheart.She nodded,whispering,"Yes,"whenhervoice
finallyworkeditswayout.
Peytonsmiledashe tookthe stairsup to hertwo at a time and whenhe reachedher,he tookhe
r face inhishands andkissedher,neitherhearingthe cheers,whistlesandapplause fromtheiraudience
.