-Ezra-

I need to write home soon, so I decide to do it after two weeks of school. I sent an initial email after getting here so my siblings would have something to read, but I didn't promise super fast emails after that.

I write it in the afternoon, while Josh is at football practice. I don't need him knowing any of the details of my personal life-- I wouldn't share those to my best friend.

TO: abramovfamily@gmail.com

FROM: ezra.a@gmail.com

Hey guys!

I miss you all-- especially you, David and Illa. You might be gremlins, or imps or whatever, but I love you guys. It's lonely without you.

I hope you guys are all okay. My new roommate is fine. He's not super nice, but I have other friends, Mark and Tommy, who are really cool so I don't care much what Josh thinks. :P

Tell me what you're up to-- I want to feel like I'm there even though I'm not. New friends, games outside, all of it. And no matter how kosher the school keeps the kitchen, nothing will ever compare to home-cooked food. Tell me how it tastes. I miss the challah bread already. I'll probably eat a whole loaf on my own when I come home for the holidays, haha.

Anyways, I have homework to get to. I just wanted to shoot you guys an email while I was still thinking about it.

I love you all.

Ezra

I send it and then shut my computer, grabbing my math notebook so I can get to that first. Math is my least favorite subject, right behind history, then science-- English is a far, far first for my favorite school subjects. Words are easy. Time, logic, and numbers are not.

Josh comes back from whatever he was doing (probably hanging out with football guys, now that I'm getting to know his habits) and plops down on his bed.

He glances over at what I'm doing. "Homework, really? Can't you do that at breakfast or something?"

"I could, but I don't have much better to do," I say honestly. "And if I do it now, I won't have to at breakfast and I'll be less stressed."

"Nerd," he says under his breath.

I level a cold look at him. "Kinda. So what?"

"Nothing. Whatever."

"That's what I thought." I turn back to the math problems and continue on them. I'm not necessarily bad at math, I just don't like it and it makes me want to tear my eardrums and eyeballs out with a rusty spoon.

He grumbles incomprehensibly to himself as he pulls out a book and just reads, leaving me alone (thank goodness).

Once I'm done with math, I struggle a bit with history (I just think it's really freaking boring) and then complete science so that I can finally, finally move on to English, where we're writing personal narratives. I love writing narratives, but personal narratives are harder because I don't find my own life very interesting. I try to think of something I can write about and make it sound interesting to even myself.

"Hey... you know what you're writing your personal narrative about?" I ask Josh, out of curiosity.

He gives me a weird look. "I have a couple ideas, why?"

"Just having a hard time coming up with what to write about. Might do my earliest Hanukkah memory."

He digests that statement for a moment. "You celebrate Hanukkah?"

"Yeah. My parents are kinda strict Jews. I mean, this is one of the only prep schools anywhere near our house that keeps a kosher kitchen, which is why I go here." I shrug. "So... yep. Never celebrated Christmas, but Hanukkah's a lot of fun and I love spending time with my family over the holiday so... it's not a huge loss." I decide on that idea for my narrative and start formatting an outline.

Josh stares off into space. "Huh."

I leave him to his thoughts, so that he can just stew. He'll get it through his thick skull eventually. And I will write a killer personal narrative.