Coffee and a Sketchbook

Chapter One

"Dorm 101, dorm 102..." I mumbled under my breath, wandering down the corridor with a look of concentration on my face. ..."dorm 103." It looked, to be fair, just the same as all the other dorms, but this was my dorm. The dorm I'd be sharing with five other fashion loving girls.

I knocked lightly on the door and stepped inside to find six beds awaiting me. On the first one bed, there was a girl sat scribbling furiously in a notepad. She didn't look up. On the second bed along was another girl who was texting.

"Um, hi." I said awkwardly. Girl #2 snapped her head towards me and grinned. She had jaw length blond hair and was wearing cut offs and a crop top. A pair of Converse were lying in a pile at her feet and there were clothes strewn all across her bed.

"Roomie! Hi. I'm Kayla. What's your name? I'm so stoked to be here." She gabbled.

"Uh, I'm Marina." I replied, offering her my hand awkwardly which she grabbed immediately, pulling me in to a hug.

"You're name's real cute. And your hair. Ooh! And your backpack. Lush!" She spun me around and studied it carefully, murmuring what sounded like materials to herself. I was too stunned to feel uncomfortable about being man handled.

"Thank you-"

"Don't mention it! Here, look. You can have the bed next to mine."

I placed my suitcase down on my bed and looked over at Girl #1 who still hadn't looked up from her notepad. "That's Alice." Kayla said. "ALICE!" She hollered in the girls ear.

"Huh?" Alice grumbled, looking up. Alice and Kayla were pole opposites. Kayla's hair was bleach blond and short, Alice's was platinum and cascaded down her back. Kayla wore minimal eye makeup with pearly pink lips whereas Alice's eyes were coated in thick, black kohl.

"Meet our new roomie." Kayla explained, gesturing at me. Alice waved awkwardly at me before returning to her writing. "Me and Alice knew each other before we came here." Kayla rambled. "From high school. We weren't bezzies or anything but her parents were friends were friends with mine and we went to each others parties and now we're here!" She said with a sigh. "I make stuff. Sewing, embroidery, knitting, you name it, I do it. And Alice is a blogger. Her blog has MILLIONS of followers." She beamed and rested her elbow on Alice's shoulder.

"Hundreds. And it's hardly a big deal." Alice corrected, picking up her phone and tapping a few buttons. "This is it." She passed me her phone, which was displaying a typical blog - with a twist. The header was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen, a skull bursting with swirls of colour, with the title 'Skolour' below it in bright red letters. Beneath that were rows and rows of fashion and beauty posts. '15 Ways To Wear A Scarf' 'How To Achieve The Iconic Smoky Eye' and the top post, 'Rothwell Diaries - Intro'.

"I'm drafting Rothwell Diaries #1 as we speak." Alice explained, gesturing to her notebook. I nodded in awe, passing the phone back to her.

"It's good, huh?" Kayla babbled. "She did a feature post on my creations and it got, like, a million hits. And I was like, Alice - you're a genius." I was really coming to like these girls.

"Knock knock!" Someone called from behind us. We all swiveled around to see who our next dorm mate was. In the doorway was the most stunning girl I've ever seen. She had ombre hair which was raspberry pink at the top, fading in to bubblegum blue at the bottom and reached her lower back. Her slouchy beanie hat was at just the right angle and complemented her denim skater skirt, white vest top and floral Doc Martins like a dream. I was, for the second time, in awe. Stylist for sure, I thought to myself.

"Hey guys." She said, lifting her satchel off of her shoulder and throwing it on the bed furthest from us along with her two suitcases. "I'm Macy. Mind if I take this bed? It's closest to the bathroom."

"Go ahead." Kayla said. "I'm Kayla. This is Marina and Alice." Macy gaped at Alice.

"Oh. My. Days. Your scarf!" She squealed. "It's so vintage, I love it."

"Thanks." Alice said. "I collect scarves. Kinda. I have about thirty."

Macy laughed. "You're like me and hats, sister!" They chattered on as there was another knock at the door.

"Come in." Macy called. The door swung open and standing there was a petite girl smiling awkwardly.

"Hey y'all. I'm India." Her style was so playful with her dungarees and sneakers and her colourful backpack.

"Macy." The girl herself said with a smile.

"Kayla."

"Alice."

There was a silence before I realised I should have been speaking. "Oh...Marina."

"Neat-o." She chirped, dropping her luggage on a bed and joining our group.

"Just one person to go!" Alice said. By this point, I felt very much at home. I listened to the constant conversation and engaged in it once or twice! But here's the thing. I was very socially awkward and found it hard to have a decent conversation with anyone but whoever I was comfortable with. So far, everyone in the room was talkative and charismatic apart from maybe Alice. So when the next person entered our door I prayed she'd be like me. My prayers were answered.

In walked a tall girl simply wearing acid wash jeans and a band tee. She wore glasses, but they were geek chic not full on nerd. She bit her lip awkwardly.

"Hey." I made myself say, and even though it came out wobbly I patted myself on the back. She looked over at me and smiled thankfully. "I'm Marina. You are...?" Before the girl had a chance to open her mouth to speak, Kayla turned around and spotted her.

"Hey look it's our sixth dormie!" She called out, dashing toward the door. Everyone crowded around - poor girl! "What's your name?"

I smiled encouragingly at her as she said quietly, "Opal."

***

I sat and watched the others for a minute, then lay back on a bed, thinking to myself. I'd waited so long to be old enough to go here. I knew we were broke and I knew I may not be good enough to get a scholarship, but I did.

Just like my mother told me I could.

I wasn't young. I was twelve. She sat me down in my room and told me things weren't going too well with her and my dad and she couldn't be cooped up in a relationship that was sinking.

"I have to fly free; to sail my own ship wherever it may take me." She'd said, her eyes sparkling with tears. "But remember. Whatever you're doing, years from now, whether you're in Rothwell or some place else, I'll be supporting you. Even if you can't see me. Even if I can't be around to prove it."

She was gone when I woke.

--

You've met the roomies, you've got to know their personalities, so who's your favourite?

I must say, I have a soft spot for Macy.

A little bit of a sad ending, but hopefully a fun filled next chapter awaits!

Comment, vote and fan if you want more (:

Natalie x