Pen Pals on Sandbox

Selina Skies

August 23, 2020 7:34 PM

Pen Pals by Selina Skies

The large tawny owl swooped in towards the house, trying to maintain an air of subtlety as it tapped on the window. To some degree, it would be expected. All the Muggleborn students had been visited by their liaison by now. They had a broad understanding of the school and its workings, including the fact that all future letters would be delivered by owl. For those from magical backgrounds, of course, this was perfectly normal, and a number of Sonora’s owls were heading to those sorts of homes too - they were on missions to those with no prior connection to the school, no family enrolled already to answer questions and make them feel welcome, in order to try to make the whole process of settling in a little easier.

The school had taken care to select the more patient and docile of its birds, the kinds that wouldn’t nip or fuss at inexperienced, perhaps slightly nervous hands as they attempted to relieve them of their letters. The kind that appreciated an owl treat (because after all, who didn’t love those little pellets of brown and mousy goodness?) but who would not ruffle their feathers and sulk if such a thing was unavailable. The kind that would wait patiently a couple of days, in case any response to the letter they carried was forthcoming.

The missive the owl delivered addressed the new student by their name, and then continued with the same message for each:

We are pleased that you have selected Sonora Academy as your new school. We are excited to welcome you on September 1st. We know it can be daunting starting a new school, and we would like to make that easier by offering you the chance to exchange letters with an existing student.

The project is voluntary. If you would be interested in taking part, please write back with a letter of introduction. Our owl will wait two days for your response. After that, you will be assigned a pen-pal who is currently in their first year at school, with whom you can exchange letters during the summer.

Please specify in your response whether you have an owl at home or easy access to a local owl office. We will try to pair people to ensure access to owls, and can provide information about local services or loan of a school owl where necessary.

We look forward to welcoming you in September,

Selina Skies,
Deputy Headmistress.

The term itself was drawing to a close, but the deadline provided would give them time to set up partnerships and check the owl statuses of those involved. There probably wouldn’t be time to do much more than share a couple of letters during the summer break, but hopefully it would give the new starters a feeling of familiarity with the school, and a more comfortable beginning.

OOC - welcome to your next writing challenge. You have received the above letter and can now reply to it. Your post should be a mixture of narration (describing your character getting the letter) and quoting the actual letter they write in return.

If you have already submitted a character for the new first year, you should write as them. If you have not yet submitted a character, you are free to make one up to practise here. You should imagine yourself as an eleven year old magical person from any background, who has already accepted a place at Sonora. If you are Muggleborn, someone has been to visit to explain the basics of the world to you.

If everything goes well with these threads, we are willing to consider them canon interactions (they really happened for your character). As noted above, there will be a thread limit here of three posts per person, as we’re working within a set time frame (the summer holiday) and with something that would be time consuming (writing and sending letters). Our advice would be to take time and make these posts really count. Whilst the minimum is only 200 words, many posts run far over this - this is a chance to stretch your writing skills and show us your longer, descriptive side.

Some things to consider:
- How does your character feel about getting a pen pal? About using owl post?
- What background can you show us in terms of their home - give us a sense of the environment they are writing in
- What writing materials do they use? Are they using a quill or a ballpoint pen? Do they have neat writing?
- What are their thoughts and feelings about the content of their letter? Are they an open book, or is there a contrast between what they are saying and thinking?

Once the letter comes in, any current first year is welcome to nominate themselves and reply. You may state that anything the school promised has happened, e.g. including info about owl offices for the first year to send with their reply, lending an owl for the holidays etc.

13 Selina Skies Pen Pals 26 1 5

Lorena Abernathy

September 01, 2020 4:48 PM

Nerves and excitement by Lorena Abernathy

Lorena heard the tapping on the window and looked up to see a large owl balancing on the window ledge of the living room window nearest where she was sitting. She sat for a moment, frozen in her seat, while she and the owl stared at each other. Her father, on the other side of the room, finally spoke up, “Well, don’t make the poor bird wait all day, Lorena. Go and let it in!” She jumped up and dashed to the window, opening it wide for the bird to enter.

The owl hopped gracefully to the arm of the chair a Lorena had just vacated and dropped the letter it had carried it int beak. “Here you go, her father said, tossing a brown pellet to the bird. Now that you are in wizard it school, I’ve laid in a supply of owl pellets for you. They love ‘em!” The owl caught the pellet and then fluttered to the still open window. “He’s waiting for your response,” her father told her. Lorena sat down and read the letter then looked at her father with eyes sparkling with joy. “I’m going to have a pen pal,” she exclaimed.

Lorena read the letter through three times and then sat down to compose her reply. She hoped the owl wasn’t impatient as she wanted to think of what she would say. She wanted to make a good impression with this very important letter. She noticed her mother looked a bit nervous around the owl and didn’t seem too happy about the whole situation, but she wasn’t going to let that be an issue.

Hi! My name is Lorena Abernathy and I’m very excited to meet you! She didn’t know if this was a silly start to her letter but she couldn’t think of anything else, especially with her mother frowning at her and her father smiling happily her way. I’m not quite sure what to say, so I guess I’ll just tell you a bit about myself. I’m 11 (of course) and I’m tall and skinny with brown fuzzy hair. That doesn’t make me sound very attractive, she thought. But it’s who I am so I’ll leave it in. There are so many new things happening! I’ve never had a pen pal before and hope we will be friends. I’ve also never used an owl to send a letter. In fact, I’ve never seen an owl up close before. My mom is a muggle and isn’t very happy that I’m going to wizard school. I think she’d like to pretend it just doesn’t exist, which is why we don’t have an owl, I’m sure. My Daddy is magic, but doesn’t use it a lot around Mom since it makes her nervous. Daddy’s been telling and showing me a few things now that I’ve been accepted to Sonora. She had to pause and do a little mental happy dance at the thought.

I have a brother, she continued. He’s quite a bit older than me and has no magic. I think he will be happy to have me away at school, almost as much as I’ll be happy to be there! Lorena didn’t want to ramble and make her new pen pal bored before she had the chance to meet them, so she decided to finish her letter. I’m really looking forward to hearing from you and hope you can tell me more about Sonora!

Lorena folded the letter into what she hoped was an easy packet for the owl to carry and cautiously approached the bird who watched her, it’s golden eyes intent. “Here,” her father said. “Give it a pellet. They love these and it’s good payment to him for running your errands.” She held out the pellet to the owl and watched, fascinated, as it leaned forward and gently nipped it from her fingers. Then she held out the letter, which the owl took politely from her hand. “Would you please take this to Sonora for me?” She said, wondering if the owl had any idea what she was saying. Then it dipped its head in almost a nod, blinked its yellow eyes and jumped from the window ledge, flapping its huge wings to gain altitude. She watched until the bird was out of sight and then turned to see her father proudly beaming at her and her mother looking vaguely disapproving.

what a wonderful adventure this will be. she thought as she headed to her room to think about the visit from the owl and the letter from the school. I wonder who my pen pal will be?

48 Lorena Abernathy Nerves and excitement 1510 0 5

Bonabelle Row

September 01, 2020 5:26 PM

Serenity and nonchalance. by Bonabelle Row

Bonabelle wasn't really sure why she was doing this pen pal thing. Well, she was. Valentine could be very convincing and the Teppenpaw had been very insistent that Bonabelle should go make friends or something. Bonabelle herself thought this was ridiculous; she had Valentine, she had her uncle and Jean-Loup (although the intern would not be interning anymore as far as she knew, so she'd summarily made and lost a friend within a few months), and . . . Lavender! She could maybe be friends with Lavender. Okay, so getting new friends couldn't hurt.

So far, there still had been no word of her father, and she was staying with her grandparents in Ireland again. She missed London and they had plans to visit at some point over the summer, but it felt a bit fake. What were they going to visit? Big Ben? Parliament? Just hit up the tourist sites as if she'd never called the place home? Sure, they'd probably go to some of her favorite old restaurants and things, but there was nothing for her in London without her father, but without her father, all she wanted was London. Still, the clean Ireland air was probably good for her, and it was nice to see Uncle Killian, even if he was in and out, and mostly out at that. It made sense that the guidance counselor wanted to spend his summer truly taking a break but Bonabelle was surprised to say she missed him. He still made a point of being around for their tea and chat get-togethers every two weeks, but it was a bit different outside the safety of his office.

The letter Bonabelle received boded poorly right off the bat, and she suspected Valentine must have known this would happen. Lorena Abernathy. The girl was way too excited for Bonabelle's tastes, but she supposed that made some sense anyway; after all, she'd been excited a year ago this time, too.

Dear Lorena,

My name is Bonabelle Row. I'm going to be a second year student in the Fall, and I'm in Aladren. That's the House for people who are problem solvers and like to use logic to figure things out.

She thought it was a bit odd to describe herself the way Lorena had, but it was better than pointing out her own connection to the school through Uncle Killian, so she might as well. Plus, what else did she have to say? She was surprised to hear about Lorena's family as she didn't know anything about Muggles except what her uncle had told her, and she couldn't always be sure he wasn't messing around, but that seemed like a rude thing to comment on.

I have dark hair, almost black, and I like to wear bows in it. I'm from London but I live in Ireland now, with my grandparents. I am happy to help answer questions about school. There will be lots of people for you to make friends with, even if you're shy or anything like that, so don't worry. I met my best friend at orientation and she makes sure that I'm social. It was her idea for me to do this penpal program, so I'll be sure to introduce you two when you get to Sonora. What are you most excited for? Do you know much about the classes?

I hope this letter finds you well. Happy summer,

Bonabelle

She sealed the letter in an envelope that her grandma had picked out for her, one with a fancy ribbon seal and small flowers printed on to the front where she wrote Lorena's name. Passing it across the table to her grandmother, Bonabelle smiled a little (grandma seemed to appreciate the little gestures that made her feel validated and Bonabelle was happy to oblige if it meant so much). "Could we mail this, please? It's for my pen pal."

Grandma picked up the letter with a nod, glancing at the name. "Lorena," she smiled. "That's a good name. Do you think you'll be friends?"

Bonabelle resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Guess we'll see," she said softly, letting her expression drop as her grandmother left to find the family owl. She considered following her but decided the old woman was happy to have a little independence away from her involuntary ward sometimes, and besides, Bonabelle was still reading her Charms textbook, desperately hoping she was as charming as Valentine was, although she was sure she wasn't.

22 Bonabelle Row Serenity and nonchalance. 1488 0 5

Lorena Abernathy

September 01, 2020 6:12 PM

A Puzzling Pal by Lorena Abernathy

Sooner than Lorena had anticipated, an owl arrived, tapping on her bedroom window where she lay sprawled across the bed, reading a book. She put a marker in the book to hold her place and went to the window to let the fluffy messenger in.

She carefully took the envelope from the owl and gave it a pellet. Then she held the envelope close and hoped this would turn out to be a great friend. It was a very pretty envelope, decorated with flowers and a ribbon. This made her think this must be someone who wanted to be her friend. She carefully opened the envelope and removed the small sheet of parchment. Bonabelle Row, she thought. What a lovely and exotic sounding name.

Lorena quickly read through the letter, and then a second time, more slowly. What an odd letter. It didn’t sound like this Bonabelle girl was very excited about school and certainly didn’t seem thrilled to be a pen pal. Lorena didn’t sense that it was a result of anything she had said in her letter so she decided to shrug it off and make the best of it. She sat down to prepare her response.

Dear Bonabelle, That seemed a bit stiff, but maybe Bonabelle would appreciate the more formal greeting.

I’m so happy to meet you! I don’t know much about the school since Daddy has only started telling me about it recently. I probably have more questions than you want to answer, but I always have more questions than people want to answer! Lol! Tell me about Aladren House. Do you mean like solving scientific or math problems with logic or like mental and emotional problems with logic? When you get through school do you become a therapist or something?

I’m a little shy around new people but then, when I get to know them, I’m what my mom calls “effervescent”. I don’t think it’s necessarily a compliment!

Are you not very social, usually? Why would your friend get you to be a pen pal if you don’t want to? Does that happen a lot at Sonora? I’m glad to hear you like bows for your hair. I’ll have to bring you one of the ones I make out of seashells and beads. Don’t feel like you have to wear it if you don’t like it, but I like to make and share them, so I’ll bring you one.

I don’t know much about the school and almost nothing about the classes. My father said they are challenging and fun, but some are also very hard. I’m looking forward to all of it, but probably most just being away from muggle schools. And I can’t wait to learn all the magic. Since we don’t use it, really, at home, I’m so excited to see what it’s all about!

She thought a moment and then added I’m so happy to have a pen pal and am really looking forward to meeting you in person! Lorena hoped that her letter would be well received and that this Bonabelle girl would write back.

48 Lorena Abernathy A Puzzling Pal 1510 0 5

Bonabelle Row

September 03, 2020 7:25 PM

Puzzling or puzzled? by Bonabelle Row

Lorena's return letter came as Bonabelle was really starting to miss school. She always missed school a bit, but it was usually nice to be home. 'Home'. This summer especially, though, she missed school. She missed Uncle Killian's office, she missed Jean-Loup (even though he wouldn't be at school anymore), and she missed Valentine. She even missed Lavender a little bit, although she didn't know the girl half so well. As it was, she was beginning to look forward to Lorena's letter more than she expected, and she was even eager to meet her. She'd found herself wondering what House the younger girl would be in, and sort of hoping it was not Aladren because then she'd feel sort of obligated to be her best friend and she really only wanted to be Valentine's best friend. But then, if the girl was Teppenpaw, would that mean that Valentine would rather be Lorena's best friend? Pecari or Crotalus then. That would be best. She didn't know her well enough to actually speculate though, so she put those thoughts aside in favor of insisting to herself that she was just fine and that she didn't need friends. Except Valentine . . . she couldn't pretend she didn't miss Valentine. She was hoping to visit her friend this summer though, so that would be good.

Dear Lorena, she began immediately after receiving a letter back. She'd read the response ravenously, desperate for interaction with people younger than her grandparents.

I'm happy to try. Most people are shy of asking questions and then they don't get to know stuff. I think it's much better to just ask. I have a question too: what is "Lol!"?

Aladrens would probably try to solve both types of problems with logic. Most types of problems have some sort of answers in books, I think. You just have to find the write book. Houses aren't associated with future careers, it's more about how you think, how you use magic, and how you interact with other people. You'll be sorted on your first day and they're always right. Because they sort everyone young, you get to see people grow up into different versions of each House's traits.

Bonabelle, of course, hadn't been at school long enough to see that, but Uncle Killian had, and he'd commented on that. Plus, Bonabelle herself wasn't exactly like all other Aladrens, so there were different manifestations of those traits to be explored. She thought the whole thing was rather fascinating, but didn't want to feel like she was defending her own House, or bore Lorena by talking about magical theory and sorting.

She blinked a bit, reading and re-reading the next part of Lorena's letter. She was at an utter loss for how to respond. Chewing on her lip, she finally went with cautious honesty, bristling a little at the question about why she was doing this penpal program if she didn't want to.

'Effervescent' is a compliment, I think. My friend that I mentioned is effervescent too. But no, usually I prefer to keep to myself. I make better friends with books than people most of the time. I do want to be a penpal, I made the decision for myself. My friend likes to make sure that I'm not *only* spending time with books. She is a very good friend.

That sounds like a lovely bow, and that's very sweet of you to offer to bring me one! I'm sure it will be lovely.

She was not sure it would be lovely, but what use was saying that? She couldn't at all imagine a bow made of shells and beads, but if Lorena was confident . . . well, at least it would make the girl feel more confident probably. That was a good thing to do.

When you get to school, they'll give you all sorts of information about the classes, the teachers, the homework, everything, so you'll learn all that soon, I promise. Charms and transfiguration are probably the most magical sort of classes because you get to see a lot of magic and do the most magic. Other classes, like Potions, Herbology, and Care of Magical Creatures, are magic but it's a little bit different. Defence Against the Dark Arts has a lot of theory and less actual practice, but it's still good. By the end of your first year, you'll be in a totally different place.

It's hard for me to imagine not using any magic. I grew up not knowing anything about Muggles and I still don't really. My Uncle Killian knows a lot about Muggles and he's taught me some stuff, but I haven't seen much of it for myself. Like ~~elektrsity~~ electricity. What does electricity look like?

I'm looking forward to meeting you too, and looking forward to your letter! Happy summer,

Bonabelle

Dictionaries were best kept on hand before attempting to spell new words, it turned out. Ah, well. Concluding her letter with something she was surprised to find was true, Bonabelle sealed it in an envelope and sent it back out.

22 Bonabelle Row Puzzling or puzzled? 1488 0 5

Lorena Abernathy

September 04, 2020 3:08 PM

Questions, questions. by Lorena Abernathy

Lorena was so excited when the owl arrived and landed on the luggage rack of her father’s car. She had been in the yard, helping him wash the old “rust bucket” as he called it, when the owl fluttered up and lit on the rack. Daddy jumped a bit since he hadn’t been expecting the bird to show up and called Lorena over to take the letter it held. “Looks like your penpal wrote you back, sweetie. Better take it in the house before it gets all wet. I’ll finish up here.”

Lorena turned as she got to the door, letter in hand to see her father spraying a gentle fountain of water into the air and the owl enjoying a refreshing bath.

Dear Bonabelle, she began. Lorena began to chuckle. She just couldn’t believe someone didn’t know what Lol meant! People in the muggle world write notes to each other on their telephones and use a lot of abbreviations to make it easier. Lol! Means ‘laughing out loud’. Since it’s hard to let someone know you are laughing, people use Lol.. Lorena hoped that explanation made sense to her new friend. This just reminded her how different the world she grew up in was from the world she was getting ready to join. She would have to pay close attention to learn as much as possible.

My father hasn’t told me much about being sorted and I’m a little nervous. Are they always right? Does anyone ever have to change houses because they got put in the wrong one? Maybe I’ll be in your house. I love to read and can sit in my room for hours with a good book, when I’m not asking questions of course. What’s your favorite class?? I’m just looking forward to all of them and I can’t wait for summer to end so I can get there and get started!

Tapping her pen against her chin, Lorena wondered what it would be like to not know anything about muggle things. Probably kind of how she felt about magic things since they didn’t use much magic in her home. Hmmm how do you explain electricity to someone who doesn’t use it?

I didn’t realize that you don’t use ANY electricity?! We use it to light out houses and charge our phones and some people even use it to run their cars! It’s hard to tell you what it looks like because it’s kind of like air, just there, all around. I know! Have you ever seen lightning? That’s just one big charge of electricity! Or have you ever touched something metal and been stung by a little blue light? That’s a spark of electricity, we call it a static shock.

I’m so glad to have you as my penpal and I’m really looking forward to meeting you and your other effervescent friend!

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Lorena put her pen down and reread her letter. Nothing that she would need to rewrite the whole letter for. She carefully folded the letter, put it in its envelope and danced down the stairs to give it to the waiting owl. She handed it a brown pellet and the envelope. “Please take this to Bonebelle.” She always believed in being polite to everyone. She watched the bird fly away and thought she was about the luckiest girl around.

48 Lorena Abernathy Questions, questions. 1510 0 5