Letters From the Inside

  John Marsden was in the second year of a law degree at Sydney University when his life suddenly changed. Sitting in the Law School cafeteria one afternoon he watched as the doors opened and a tidal wave of final year students washed in for their evening classes. One look at the tsunami of men in dark suits convinced John he was in the wrong place.

  He left law school that same day, never to return.

  It took him ten years and many false starts to find a job he liked, but in 1979 he began a teaching career at All Saints College Bathurst, where he enjoyed the contact with people, and the creativity, that teaching offered.

  Teaching also introduced John to teenage fiction. He admired the works of authors like Paul Zindel, Robert Cormier and Patricia Wrightson. In 1988 John entered this field with his novel So Much To Tell You. Since then he has published twenty-eight other works, including fiction, non-fiction and picture books.

  Also by John Marsden

  So Much to Tell You

  The Journey

  The Great Gatenby

  Staying Alive in Year 5

  Out of Time

  Letters from the Inside

  Take My Word for It

  Looking for Trouble

  Tomorrow. . . (Ed.)

  Cool School

  Creep Street

  Checkers

  For Weddings and a Funeral (Ed.)

  This I Believe (Ed.)

  Dear Miffy

  Prayer for the 21st Century

  Everything I Know About Writing

  Secret Men’s Business

  The Tomorrow Series 1999 Diary

  The Rabbits

  Norton’s Hut

  Marsden on Marsden

  Winter

  The Head Book

  The Boy You Brought Home

  The Magic Rainforest

  Millie

  While I Live

  A Roomful of Magic

  Incurable

  The Tomorrow Series

  Tomorrow, When the War Began

  The Dead of the Night

  The Third Day, the Frost

  Darkness, Be My Friend

  Burning for Revenge

  The Night is for Hunting

  The Other Side of Dawn

  First published 1991 in hardback by Pan Macmillan Australia Pty Ltd

  1 Market Street, Sydney 2000

  Copyright © John Marsden 1991

  The moral right of the author has been asserted.

  All rights reserved. This publication (or any part of it) may not be reproduced or transmitted, copied, stored, distributed or otherwise made available by any person or entity (including Google, Amazon or similar organisations), in any form (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical) or by any means (photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.

  National Library of Australia

  Cataloguing-in-Publication data:

  Author:

  Marsden, John, 1950-

  Letters from the inside / John Marsden.

  9781742611488 (pbk.)

  For secondary school age.

  Friendship – Juvenile fiction.

  Pen pals – Juvenile fiction.

  Juvenile detention homes – Juvenile fiction.

  A823.3

  EPub format: 9781743346112

  The characters and events in this book are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Cover design by Seymour Designs

  Macmillan Digital Australia: www.macmillandigital.com.au

  Visit www.panmacmillan.com.au to read more about all our books and to buy both print and ebooks online. You will also find features, author interviews and news of any author events.

  DEAR TRACEY

  I don’t know why I’m answering your ad, to be honest. It’s not like I’m into pen pals, but it’s a boring Sunday here, everyone’s out, and I thought it’d be something different . . .

  DEAR MANDY

  Thanks for writing. You write so well, much better than me. I put the ad in for a joke, like a dare, and yours was the only good answer . . .

  Two teenage girls. An innocent beginning to friendship. Two complete strangers who get to know each other a little better each time a letter is written and answered.

  Mandy has a dog with no name, an older sister, a creepy brother, and some boy problems. Tracey has a horse, two dogs and a cat, an older sister and brother, and a great boyfriend. They both have hopes and fears . . . and secrets.

  CONTENTS

  Cover

  About the Author

  Also by John Marsden

  Copyright page

  Acknowledgements

  Dedication

  February 11

  Feb 18

  February 26

  Feb 28

  March 10

  Mar 13

  March 17

  Mar 20

  March 27

  Mar 29

  Mar 31

  April 3

  April 6

  April 12

  Apr 15

  April 17

  Apr 20

  April 26

  Apr 27

  May 1

  May 4

  May 8

  May 12

  May 15

  May 18

  May 22

  May 29

  May 31

  June 4

  June 13

  June 20

  June 26

  June 29

  July 3

  July 6

  July 13

  July 18

  July 20

  July 30

  August 1

  Aug 10

  August 15

  Aug 19

  August 24

  Aug 28

  August 31

  Sep 4

  September 10

  Sep 12

  September 17

  Sep 18

  September 24

  Sep 26

  October 1

  Oct 3

  Oct 5

  October 8

  October 10

  Oct 12

  October 21

  Oct 23

  October 29

  Nov 8

  November 14

  Nov 18

  November 22

  Nov 26

  November 25

  November 29

  Dec 3

  Dec 6

  December 6

  Dec 10

  Dec 11

  Dec 12

  December 14

  Dec 14

  December 18

  Dec 19

  December 19

  Dec 20

  Dec 21

  December 21

  Dec 25

  Dec 26, 3 a.m.

  Dec 31

  Jan 8

  Jan 14

  Jan 18

  Jan 21

  Jan 22

  Jan 23

  Feb 11

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Thanks for ideas and stories to: Daniel Barrington-Higgs, Kyla Davies, Marta Dusseldorp, Damien Morris, Damien Nevins, Richard Wardill, Michele Williams.

  Special thanks to my ‘language consultant’, the legendary Sam Armytage.

  For Mary Edmonston

  February 11

  Dear Tracey,

  I don’t know why I’m answering your ad, to be honest. It’s not like I’m into pen pals, but it’s a boring Sunday here, wet, everyone’s out, and I thought it’d be something different.

  Um, what do I say now? I know what I won’t do, and that’s tell you my star sign, favourite group, favourite food, all about my sister and brother and the usual junk. If that’s what you want, don’t bother answering
this letter, OK? That’s not me.

  So, I’ll just tell you whatever comes to mind, for example. . . um. . .

  (1) The last time I cried was when I saw an old movie called How Green Was My Valley, in black and white at 2.30 in the morning last Monday, on Channel 7. I was a mess.

  (2) Right now I’ve got $78.31 in the bank, $12.60 on me, my sister owes me $5.00, and a friend at school, Rebecca Slater, owes me $6.00. Total: $101.60.

  (3) I’d love to get a tat, where no-one can see it, and it’d be of a cane toad, ’cos they’re so cute, but I don’t have the guts to do it.

  (4) I’ve got a dog, or at least there’s a dog who lives here with us. I don’t think you can own an animal. He hasn’t got a name, which drives everyone crazy. It’s not that I’m against names, although I don’t like them much. It’s more that I can’t think of a name for him. So everyone keeps suggesting names, like Toby (my sister), Onion??? (my friend Cheryl), Mick (my father) and Idiot (my brother).

  He’s only about a year old. He was dumped near the RSPCA shelter and we got him from there. He’s nearly all white, with a bit of black round the head. I think he’s a mix of Border Collie and twenty other things.

  I was going to call him Gilligan, ’cos he’s my little buddy, but it doesn’t sound right.

  Do any dogs or animals live with you?

  Well, I’ve told you four things about myself, four amazing facts. And a lot more besides. And I’ve written a long letter. Hope you answer, after all this work! Bye!

  Mandy

  PS: How come you have a post-office box? I thought they were for big companies.

  Feb 18

  Dear Mandy,

  Thanks for writing. You write so well, much better than me. I put the ad in for a joke, like a dare, and yours was the only good answer. There were three from guys, real perverts, pretty funny but disgusting. And a couple from little kids. It was exciting though, getting them all.

  You asked if I have any pets, sorry, if any pets live with us. I have a horse, two dogs and a cat. The horse is called Kizzy, the dogs are Dillon and Matt and the cat is Katie. So you see, they all have names. Why don’t you like names?

  You also asked why I gave a post-office box as the address. Well, that’s my father’s company. He owns a transport company, with lots of semi-trailers. They do mainly interstate work.

  As for me, I’m in Year 10 but I hate school. The only good subject is Art. I play a lot of sport though, and I’m quite good at basketball and high jump. (I’m pretty tall, as you can guess.)

  I don’t know what else to tell you. I hope you keep writing though. It’d be fun writing letters to someone without ever meeting them. Prescott’s a long way from Acacia Park. I’ve never been to Acacia Park or anywhere down that line. Does anyone read your letters or can I write anything I want?

  Please write,

  Tracey

  February 26

  Dear Tracey,

  What do you mean, does anybody read my letters? You must be joking. I’d nail them to the roll-a-door if they tried.

  Well, I suppose my brother would if he could, or if he thought of it. It’s OK though, he can hardly read as it is, so no problem.

  It was quite exciting, getting your letter. I get about one letter a month. My grandmother writes occasionally, and a girl called Jacinta who I met at a writers’ camp, and a boy who’s at boarding school, a friend of a friend. So letters in my life are like sunflowers in Alaska.

  I do write a lot of letters for Amnesty but not too many of those guys write back. Funny, that.

  Was G. D. Y. the only magazine you put your ad in? Do you read G. D. Y. every month? Is that the only time you put an ad in? I’d love to see the letters you got from the dirty old men, or dirty young men, whichever they were. Send me some, OK? I still think it’s funny I wrote to you, but I’m enjoying this. I read G. D. Y. most months but I’m too much of a tight-ass to buy it: I have a friend, Cheryl Tsang, who gets it, and I read hers.

  S’pose I’d better tell you a few boring facts about myself. I’m in Year 10 at Acacia Park High. I’m 15, turning 16 on October 19. I’ve got a sister called Katrina — she’s in first year arts at uni, and she’s a good bird, more like a friend than a. . . blah blah blah. . . you know how it goes.

  I’ve got a brother too, named Steve. He’s 17.

  Katrina’s not living at home any more. She moved out at the start of last year, when she got accepted into uni. But then she deferred. She was waitressing at a Hungarian restaurant for about half the year, then she went overseas for a couple of months, then she came back and worked in pubs. She’s still working in a pub three nights a week. It’s the Stripes and Stars, in Sinden, if you ever feel like a rage — just go there any Wednesday, Thursday or Friday night, ask for Katrina, tell her you’re a mate of mine, and you should at least get a free beer — and no ID! It’s a definite advantage having a sister in a job like that, although my parents don’t think so — they don’t like her working there.

  God, this has turned into a long letter again. I’ve written this instead of doing my homework. Better stop and do Science at least. Oh help, just remembered there’s a French test tomorrow! Gotta go.

  Bye,

  Mandy

  Feb 28

  Dear Mandy,

  Thanks for your letter. Hope you passed your French test. And thanks for the info about the Stripes and Stars. Don’t know whether I’ll get there though. My parents are pretty strict. They still like us to do things together.

  I’ve got an older sister and an older brother too. My sister’s name is Skye and my brother’s is Dean. My sister is 22 — she’s a hairdresser and my brother is 20 and studying to be a doctor. I’d like to be a doctor. Actually I’d like to be a children’s doctor, but I don’t know if my marks will be good enough.

  My favourite activities, apart from sport, are water-skiing and horse-riding. And shopping. And raging. I like parties, pubs, discos, everything. And, don’t laugh, but I like poetry too. Reading it and even writing it. I’m not very good at it, but I like it.

  Yes, I do read G. D. Y. quite often. But that’s the only time I’ve put an ad in. I know those magazines are pretty dumb. But they have some good stuff. I like the letters and the medical page!!! And the ads and some of the articles.

  Do you like Dust and Ashes? I do. There was an article on them last month in G. D. Y. Do you know the drummer, Roy Lugarno? They said he’d been a street kid and got put in Ruxton for knocking off cars when he was 15. He’s done well, hasn’t he? You wouldn’t think anyone could be such a star after two years in Ruxton.

  You sound as though you don’t like your brother much. What’s wrong with him? My brother’s good. I can talk to him about anything, and he’s good when you’ve got problems. A lot of girls here don’t get on with their brothers, but I’m lucky I guess.

  Anyway, I haven’t got anything interesting to write about, so I’ll stop now. But write back, please.

  Bye,

  Tracey

  March 10

  Dear Trace,

  Didn’t get your letter till today, though you dated it Feb 28. What did you do, send it by rubber raft? Anyway, I’m answering straight away, so you’ll know I’m still alive.

  Everything’s quite slack at the moment. I’ve got some slack teachers this year, in English and History anyway. Maths and French we get heaps of work, and Science, some. I’ve been trying to figure out how to earn money. Got any ideas? I made a bit in the holidays, working Friday nights and Saturday mornings at Safeway, plus I babysat quite a lot, but God, I spend money as fast as I earn it. Cheryl and Rebecca and I are going to the Power Without Glory concert Saturday week; then I bought their new CD yesterday, Confessions, that’s about fifty bucks all up, just on Power Without Glory. Hope they’re grateful.

  What else is happening in my exciting life? I got 56% in that French test by the way, which is as bad as a fail, seeing nearly everyone else got in the seventies or better.

  Here’s Cheryl:
>
  Hi Tracey!

  Mandy told me how she started writing to you and how you’ve been writing back! I think it’s great! I love getting letters! Do you go to Prescott High? I’ve never been over there. How’s your love life? Get Mandy to tell you about Paul! He likes her but she can’t make up her mind. Tell her to get with him, OK? Bye for now!

  Cheryl Tsang

  Ignore all the above — Cheryl’s going through menopause or something. Paul is Paul Bazzani, who is nice but I don’t know if he likes me. Cheryl’s lusting after Paul’s brother, Mick, who’s in Year 12 — that’s the real reason she wants me to get with Paul.

  You asked about my brother — yeah, he’s a creep. I mean, he’s creepy. It’s bad at the moment, with Katrina not living at home and my parents working day and night, night and day. I’m at home with my brother more than I’d like.

  Oh well, better wind up. We’re in the library — it’s been another slack lesson. We’ve got Mr Prideaux for Geography and every lesson he either shows a video or we have a library period. Yesterday we had three videos — in English, Geography and Art. Might as well stay home and watch TV.

  Gotta go, everyone’s packing up. See you!

  Mandy

  Mar 13

  Dear Mandy,

  Sorry my letters take so long to get to you. Guess I keep forgetting to post them.

  I’ve been out riding my horse. He’s so nice, with such trusting eyes. He comes to the fence every time he sees me and stands there nibbling my shirt while I stroke him and scratch him. He’s getting a bit fat though, so I gave him a good long work-out.

  My parents drive me to gymkhanas at weekends. They like doing it and they say they’re proud of me, ’cos I’ve won quite a few ribbons and trophies. It’s hard, but it’s worth it. I’d love to ride at the Olympics or something like that.

  How’s it going with Paul? He sounds nice — I think you should go for it! I’ve been with my boyfriend for three months — his name’s Casey Winter — he’s gorgeous looking and really kind and loving but I don’t know how much longer to keep it going. Three months is a long time! I don’t want it to get too serious, although he does.

  I don’t know what to suggest about earning money. My parents give me heaps of pocket money, plus they pay for my clothes and everything — my father says he wants me to look nice. So I don’t need much money.