The Ties of Family (RotG Fanfic)

Chapter 46

Several OCs will appear in this chapter and a few future chapters. Sorry if it is not to your liking.

It all seemed so strange, so surreal. Ten years back, were someone to tell Jamie that he was going to be in a college, actually pursuing a bachelor's degree, he would laugh in their faces. Jamie had never thought he would actually make it to tertiary education, considering his family's early financial state and his dreamer characteristic; he always thought he would be a drop-out. But there he was, thanks to a lot of things and a lot of people. Mrs. Warren had insisted on sponsoring him, ignoring all the talk about financial help from other sources, after realising that he could actually 'do something'. His other friends had also left Burgess, but where they went, he wasn't so sure about.

Jamie walked out of class, exhausted after a whole day of books, queues, freshmen and orientation, thinking of the 'temporary home' he was going to head back to. The whole day had gone by with him not speaking to anyone. Jamie was okay at adapting to new environments, but at the moment, awareness of the fact that he was miles from home and all alone frightened him a little. Another one of the many reasons his aunt had decided to cover all expenses. As he walked along the sidewalk, towards the bus stop, as the ubiquitous bikes zipped past him, his mind wandered over to the subject of his aunt, whose husband and daughter were long dead and gone. He couldn't help wondering if she felt obliged to help the Bennetts out as they were her only living relatives.

Jamie reached into his bag and pulled out his copy of his book and stared at the beautifully illustrated cover bearing the title and his name along with Sophie's. It was what had gotten him there. Mrs. Warren had been quite impressed with both of them, though like everyone else, she had questioned the source of their ideas and advised them not to dream too much. Jamie thought it was ironic.

Ten minutes later, he got off the bus and headed to the house that would be his home for the next four years, dreading what he was going to find there. He had stayed there the previous night and had heard one person whom he didn't greet nor see. He had been warned he would be sharing with at least two others. Not feeling quite sociable at the moment, Jamie hoped whoever they were had not yet returned.

The living room was in total darkness. Good. He crept in and shut the door quietly before hurrying upstairs. He heard sounds coming from one of the rooms, sounds which sounded rather familiar. Curious, he crept closer to the door, hoping whoever was behind it wouldn't hear him, and recognised those sounds. Video games. So, he was living with a gamer. Jamie retreated to his own room and locked the door.

The room had one window that looked out onto the street and as it was on the second floor, also provided a distant view of the college. There was not much furniture in it, save for a desk, which stood in a corner of the room next to a standing lamp, a bed, located near the window and a cupboard next to the desk. Not quite satisfied with the arrangement, Jamie had taken pains to push the bed forwards and shifted the desk over to the window. He was going to write there. And he didn't want to look up every few paragraphs to face a blank wall. Plus, the view was a pretty good one.

He heard the door of the other room open and close and the sound of footsteps across the landing. He dumped his bag on his bed and sat down at the desk, staring out the window and watching a few joggers hurry past. He was just thinking about joining them to stay in shape and head outdoors instead of staying cooped up in his room, writing or reading, when there was a loud knock on his door.

"Who's there?" he called. He felt an urge to tell them to go away, but it would give them a rather bad impression of him, and he would probably spend the next four years with a hostile housemate. Perhaps it would be best to get to know them.

There was no answer. But they didn't leave either. Jamie was about turn back to the window when a small voice on the other side of the door said, "Do you think you can open up?"