“So we’re going to write letters to people at All Saints?” Ariel phrased it as a question, raising a single dark eyebrow at Mr Crane, the Life Skills teacher
“Yes, Miss Wilson, that is exactly what we’re going to do" his voice was full of the sarcasm teachers always use when they wish their class would just shut up and get on with it
"I don't get it, what's the point?" Ben Grimshaw, a boy in the front row, asked
"The point, Mr Grimshaw, is to learn to communicate with a stranger" Mr Crane began
"My mum told me not to talk to strangers" Ben interrupted, smirking. His comment drew a small laugh from the other teens in the room and an eye roll from the teacher.
"Well one day you're going to have to, and when you do you'll want to be able to conduct yourself in an appropriate manner to speak with them."
"Basically, we've finished the Life Skills syllabus and they've come up with this as an excuse for us to keep doing work" Hayley muttered from beside Ariel who chuckled and nodded in agreement.

After looking over the class to ensure all questions had been answered, the teacher took a bucket that had previously been concealed behind his desk and held it up
"Now class, you just have to choose your partners. Pick one name slip and they will be your pen-pal for the entirety of the project. No swapping". When he'd made his way round to Ariel, she pulled out the first paper her hand touched, opening it quickly to read the name
“Alex Gaskarth” she smiled, something about the unusual name intriguing her. In the seat next to her Hayley picked hers
“Jack Barakat,” she giggled “his name practically rhymes” Mr Crane shook his head slightly and let out a sigh of despair as he moved on. Hayley and Ariel turned round in their chairs to face the two girls behind them
“Who’d you get?” Ariel questioned them
“Zachary Merrick” Skye read
“Rian Dawson” Anna followed
“I got Alex Gaskarth and she,” Ariel motioned to Hayley “got Jack Barakat”
“All guys!” Skye smirked
“This could get interesting!” Anna winked and wiggled her eyebrows
“Trust you to jump to that conclusion” Ariel rolled her eyes playfully and Anna smirked
“I bet at least one of us will be girlfriend to our penal by the end of the project” she declared confidently
“I’ll put in ten against” Hayley countered quickly
“Same” Skye and Ariel chorused as Anna just smirked.
“Now class,” they turned their attention back to the front “you need to write your first letter, the teachers won’t read them but we trust you’ll be polite and friendly. Your pen pal will receive the letters tomorrow and you’ll have their response the day after. Get writing.” around her everyone began writing, but Ariel just stared at the blank paper staring back at her from her desk. How do you start a letter to a stranger? She settled with hi.

“Hi Alex, I’m Ariel Wilson but everyone calls me Laurie because I’m not a mermaid. I’m going to tell you about my life now, brace yourself. I do a lot of dance, it’s basically my life and has been for about 12 years. I have a younger brother who’s goal in life is to make mine hell and I have a dog called Laska, she’s awesome. I don't have a clue what to write, I'm not all that interesting. My favourite cour is teal, I like raccoons and this whole project seems kinda lame (no offence)
Laurie
P.S If you know Zachary Merrick, Javk Barakat or Rian Dawson let them know they’re lucky and they’d better be nice I their letters”

She left it at that, hoping it would stand as a semi decent first impression and folded it into the envelope, sealing it carefully and printing Alex’s name on the front as the bell for the final lesson of the day rang. She piled her letter with the rest on Mr Crane's desk as the class filed out of the room.

When Ariel got home that night she didn’t have long before having to head back out to her dance lesson. She opened the door and was immediately barrelled into by her younger brother Matthew, covered in cake mix
“We made cake!” he declared excitedly while jumping up and down
“Awesome! Can I have some?” Laurie grinned with the sort of feigned excitement only ever used around a dirty child
“No” he shook his head sternly and crossed his arms over his chest. He was laughing again within thirty seconds.
“You’d better get changed” their mum spoke fondly from the doorway, a humoured smile playing on her lips as she herded Matthew back into the kitchen, being very careful that he didn't touch anything with his cake covered fingers.

Ariel dashed up the stairs and quickly changed into her clothes for her Jazz dance lessons- Black leggings and a black tank top. She pulled the purple hoodie that bore her dance schools logo on the chest and had ”Ariel” written across the back over her head to keep her warm in the cold winter weather. After grabbing her duffel bag and water bottle she went back down the stairs, calling a quick goodbye to her mum and Matthew before shutting the door behind her. The dance studio was only a two or three minute walk up from her house, and when she entered several people were already there; including Joel, her dance partner.
“Ah, Ariel” Miss Hudson, a tall, old and extremely skinny woman spoke “let me see yours and Joel’s piece.” Every student at the dance school was preparing for the yearly show and it was definitely a big deal. Ariel hurriedly put her bag at the edge of the room, taking her hoodie off and shoving it in before she moved to the centre of the room where Joel was stood. Everyone else cleared to the sides to watch. As the two eldest Jazz dancers their routine was the most difficult of the lot and they'd already been practising it for weeks.
“You ready?” Joel smirked
“When you are” she confirmed and they moved into the starting position. Joel gripped her waist a little tighter than necessary and pulled her a little too close for her liking. The teacher played the music and Ariel got lost in the dance, enveloped by the music and the movements. But she was struggling to properly get into it because every time he was given the chance, Joel would hold her tighter than necessary and she found his hands wandering on more than one occasion. As soon as the dance ended, Ariel made a point to put distance between them
“Very good, you two go together well” Miss Hudson commented and Ariel groaned internally “Ariel darling, you were too stiff, loosen up a bit. Joel isn’t going to drop you, so just trust him” Ariel scowled, she didn’t trust a bone in his body “go through to the other room and practice.”

The thing about Miss Hudson is that if she gives you an instruction, you follow it. To the minute detail. She has no room for second best or half hearted attempts; with her, it's all or nothing. So, of course, Ariel did as she was told and retrieved her bag as Joel got the CD from the CD player. They walked through to the smaller room opposite the hall and Ariel put her bag down once again, this time with a bit more force than necessary before turning to Joel
"Let's get on with it then." she sighed. They ran through it a few times without the music, correcting each other's mistakes and especially focusing on the bits they most often messed up on. His hands still roamed and if he didn't have a smirk permanently plastered on his face Ariel may have been able to convince herself she was making the whole think up. She finished that lesson in a bad mood, mad at Joel for being such a jerk for the full two hours and even more annoyed at herself for letting him get away with it.

Notes

Literally copied and pasted from here on Mibba (it is my own story though)
Thought I'd upload to here to maybe get a few more readers, feel free to subscribe on either site thought (if you want to, I'm not going to pressure you into anything even though it would make me very, very happy if you did subscribe ;D )