You know, I used to hate science. I thought it was a stupid subject. Lately, though, I realized that without science there’d have been no drugs to help me fight the cancer. Therefore, SCIENCE ROCKS!
Okay, I’m down to 3 sun signs — Pisces, Sagittarius and Capricorn. Which one are you?!
Kaleigh
---------------
From: jselenski
To: cosmicgirl
Subject: Re: Research Project: Conclusion
I’ll give you a hint. I was born the same day as my hero, Albert Einstein. How’s that for serendipitous?
Mr. J. Selenski
---------------
From: cosmicgirl
To: jselenski
Subject: Re: Research Project: Conclusion
Aha! You’re a Pisces. Supersensitive, sympathetic, compassionate, and reclusive. So true. (And is it because you’re reclusive that you chose to be a distant learner teacher rather than a classroom teacher?)
Kaleigh
---------------
From: jselenski
To: cosmicgirl
Subject: Re: Research Project: Conclusion
Kaleigh, no more questions!! (But my, you are inquisitive! Is that a Gemini trait?)
Enjoy your spring break, and I look forward to being your supersensitive, compassionate science teacher in the fourth term, when we will be studying metaphysics, one of my favorite topics. You may wish to get ahead on your reading, just for fun.
Mr. J. Selenski
Share Your Discoveries
Forecast For the Week of
March 26 – April 1
by B.A. Stargazer
Gemini (May 22 – June 21)
The past is not an indicator
of what lies ahead. Dream. Be
creative. Sing!
---------------
From: cosmicgirl
To: starlight Cc: blondeshavemorefun; 2good4u
Subject: We’re done!
Hi Leo subjects and one other,
Phew! It’s done. The astrology report has been written, turned in and marked. I received an 89%. Not bad for a completely messedup project!
I wrote an essay for Mr. S. telling him what I discovered about horoscopes and astrology over the past 12 weeks. It was mainly about my belief that the cosmos does influence us in many ways, from our character traits to the kinds of energies that are going to affect our day-to-day lives.
What I didn’t tell him was the other stuff I learned on this project, the stuff about role-playing, fantasies (a much better word than lies!), and hiding behind our computers. I have a feeling that these lessons will stay with me way longer than the ones on astrology. We’ve had our good times and our bad, haven’t we, but I really want to thank each of you — even you, Lucas! — for hanging in there for me. You all submitted data — in your own way—and I learned a lot from it, even from the stuff that was make-believe (another great word). I know you all had your reasons for doing what you did, and I want to thank you all for spending “time” with me on this. The truth is, I’m going to miss working on this project. I’ve grown to like you all — a lot! I’ve spent a lot of time mulling over whether or not you can really get to know other people online, and I think I’ve come to a conclusion. I believe (for now, anyway) that a person may be able to conceal certain truths about themselves, but their true nature still comes across in their words, even if they think they’re hiding it. I feel like I know each of you, and now, without this project, I’m afraid we’ll lose contact. I guess we’ll continue being distantstudybuddies for as long as we continue being correspondence students, but it sounds like we’re all planning to be back in “real” school (even you, Lucas?) soon. But even if we do stay in touch, it won’t be the same without swapping day-to-day stories. I guess what I’m trying to say is, I hope to stay close to each of you.
Thanks again.
Sending hugs!
Kaleigh
---------------
From: cosmicgirl
To: starlight
Subject: ps
Hi Shari,
You have been so right about me not sharing anything with you. I just wasn’t ready until now. I really want 2 b good friends with you, so I’m ready to tell you anything you want. You ask the question, I’ll give you the answer. I’ll let you decide for yourself which answers are fantasy and which are true! LOL
Your friend, Kaleigh
---------------
From: starlight
To: cosmicgirl
Subject: Re: ps
Kaleigh, you’re a brat! LOL. But I love you anyway. I also know you’re funny, friendly, caring, wise and lots of other stuff. Oh yeah, and a Gemini. What else does a friend really need 2 know?
Your bud,
Shari
---------------
From: blondeshavemorefun
To: cosmicgirl
Subject: Re: We’re done!
Nice letter, Kaleigh, but I want to be MORE than friends. How does a guy do that online?
Jamie
---------------
From: cosmicgirl
To: blondeshavemorefun
Subject: Re: We’re done!
Hmm. A guy could try phoning the girl in question. (540) 457-9324.
k.
But first I’d better do some checks. Are you a neat freak or a slob? Punctual or late? Is your belly button an inie or an outie? When you eat corn on the cob, do you chew around the cob or up and down the length? And most important of all—and this could really make or break things, Jamie … when you eat your smarties, do you eat the red ones last? :)
---------------
From: blondeshavemorefun
To: cosmicgirl
Subject: Re: We’re done!
I believe I have the right to refuse to answer those questions on the grounds that my answers may incriminate me!!
j.
P.S. but yes about the smarties. :)
---------------
From: cosmicgirl
To: 2good4u
Subject: one more thing…
I meant what I said, Lucas. You may be the worst juvenile delinquent on the planet, but you’ve got a wicked sense of humor and an intriguing fantasy life. Will you stay in touch? And are you going to change your wayward ways once you’re set free? Maybe go back to school? You are so good at “creating” yourself online. Why don’t you “write” a new you — for real?
k.
---------------
From: 2good4u
To: cosmicgirl
Subject: Re: one more thing…
Not a chance.
2good
but I have a real good friend here who’s looking for a hot e-pal. Know any available chicks?
---------------
From: cosmicgirl
To: 2good4u
Subject: Re: one more thing…
Yep, but she only writes to hunky actors.
k.
---------------
From: 2good4u
To: cosmicgirl
Subject: Re: one more thing…
A perfect match.
TTFN
2good
---------------
From: cosmicgirl
To: B.A. Stargazer
Subject: I’m Back!
I bet you thought you’d never hear from me again! Lol. My last letter to you must have been a bit depressing. Sorry about that. I was going through a hard time — as you know. I felt like I was trying to make my way through a thick, murky fog. I could not see the light. Not even a glimmer. Well, that fog has lifted and I’m back, but just this last time. I thought you might be interested in hearing what became of me.
First of all, as you can see, I’m still alive! :)
When you didn’t reply to my e-letters, I have to admit I was disappointed and a little hurt. You list your address on your webpage, so I assumed you wanted to hear from your fans. Now I realize you have been corresponding with me, just in a different way than I was correspondin
g with you. Through your Sun Signs column you’ve been giving me great advice, and warnings, but most of all you’ve given me hope when no one else could.
I’ve decided I may not become an astrologer myself (way too complicated figuring out those star charts), but I do know I will always be open to the messages that the universe is sending my way. Thank you for helping me see the possibilities.
Your loyal Gemini friend,
Kaleigh Wyse
March 30
Dear Immortal Twin,
I’ve decided to stay mortal for a while longer. I bet you were beginning to think we’d be swapping places in the very near future, didn’t you! So sorry, but you’ll have to wait a little longer. I don’t know how long, but it won’t be today and hopefully not tomorrow. With any luck it won’t be for another 100 years, give or take a few.
Thanks for being there when I needed you. :) You never supplied me with any answers, but you sure were a good listener!
I’m going to stop writing to you for now. Oh stop pouting! :) I’ll always feel your presence (that IS what I’m feeling, isn’t it?), but for now it would be best for me to write or, even better, to TALK to real people. I never wanted to share my feelings about my cancer with my friends and family, cuz I thought I was burdening them. Because of that, my friends stopped coming to see me. They thought I was shutting them out. They didn’t understand that I was trying to protect them. That almost happened with my distantstudybuddies, and I tried to shut out my parents, too. Mom and Dad never gave up on me, but it must have been hard for them. Now I understand that the people who love me want to listen to my feelings. People do want to help, and in the future, I will ask for it. Maybe. Lol.
Anyway, I felt way better about everything once I told my distantstudybuddies about being sick. It really unburdened me in a way I never thought possible. And I’m going to contact my old friends, tell them how I felt, and ask them to forgive me. Wish me luck!
I’ve been thinking of some of the things I can do now that the chemo and radiation are finished and I feel energized. There are things that I’d never considered doing before I got sick, and things that I put off doing til later. Now I know it’s stupid to wait, and there are so many things I can learn. Where to begin??
I guess I’ll start by going back to school. And then I’m going to join the choir and sing as loudly as they’ll let me. Who cares that I’m tone deaf!
Not me.
Love always,
Your mortal twin
A teacher for a number of years, and now a parent, Shelley Hrdlitschka is a reader, writer and vocal proponent of juvenile and teen fiction. Shelley lives in North Vancouver with her family, and presents extensively to children at area schools. Her first book, Beans on Toast, a juvenile novel set at summer camp, was soon followed by Disconnected, a suspense/adventure novel set in Vancouver. Disconnected was a nominee for the South Carolina Junior Book Award and also for the Surrey Book of the Year and was very well-received by teachers, librarians, booksellers and, of course, young readers. The sequel, Tangled Web, was published in 2000.
Dancing Naked, the story of a girl dealing with a surprise pregnancy, is an International Reading Association YA Choice, an OLA White Pine winner, an ALA Best Book nominee and was on the ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers list. It is also on the ALA’s Popular Paperbacks list and continues to be a teen favorite.
Kat’s Fall, released in 2004, is an ALA Quick Pick and an OLA White Pine nominee.
With three daughters, Shelley and her husband try to create “gender balance” in their home by sharing it with male animals— a dog, two cats and a guinea pig of indeterminate sex. Shelley is a member of various writing organizations including CANSCAIP, CWILL and the Children’s Literature Roundtable. She is an avid reader with an abiding interest in juvenile and teen fiction. Shelley’s astrological sign is Cancer, on the cusp of Leo, which she says makes her a crabby lion.
Shelley is available for media interviews, bookstore events, and school and library presentations.
Praise for books by
Shelley Hrdlitschka
Kat’s Fall
1-55143-312-5
$9.95 CDN • $7.95 U.S.
Darcy’s mother is getting out of jail. Ten years ago she was convicted of throwing his baby sister off a fifth floor balcony. Kat survived, but Darcy has spent the last decade raising his sister, giving her the love and support she has been denied by an absent mother and an uncaring father.
As he grudgingly re-establishes ties with the mother he thinks he hates, he is accused of a horrific act. It will take incredible strength—his own and others —to fight the charges, but he finds that truth is often an elusive concept and that trust and love are powerful allies.
“…in this riveting story, Darcy is such a well-drawn character that the reader feels his pain…” —VOYA
“…this powerful novel is both heart-wrenching and shocking…” —School Library Journal
New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age 2005 List
Dancing Naked
1-55143-210-2
$8.95 CDN • $6.95 U.S.
Kia is sixteen and pregnant. Faced with the most difficult decision of her life, she learns that the path to adulthood is a twisting labyrinth where every turn produces a new array of choices, and where the journey is often undertaken alone.
“…a heart-wrenching story…” —School Library Journal
CLA YA Honor Book 2002
ALA Best Books Nominee 2003
ALA Quick Picks for Young Adult Readers 2003
ALA Popular Paperbacks 2003
White Pine Award 2003
IRA YA Choices 2004
Other books by
Shelley Hrdlitschka
Tangled Web
Disconnected
Beans on Toast
Sun Signs Page 11
