July First, 1776

Colony of Virginia,

Charlottesville

Dear ?,

I am Marie Lest. I am 16 years old. My parents named me after Marie Antoinette, a French queen. I need to think of a name for you.

Yesterday, my brother, Artemis Lest, read the newspaper like he does every morning. But yesterday morning, there was something very interesting. By the way, Artemis is 18 years old.

The exciting news was that the Declaration of Independence will be signed on the Fourth – three days away! I am not sure if it is spelled "ence," "ince," or "ance." I am not that high in my language arts.

As for learning, Artemis, my sister, Holly Lest, who is 13, and I learn language arts – reading writing, spelling, and grammar. That was a commas-in-a-series. I learned it in grammar. We also learn simple arithmetic – adding, subtracting, simple multiplying, and simple division.