London Calling

Chapter 1

4 hours. I had only been in London for 4 hours and I was already feeling the city. I looked out of my hotel window and I saw the marvelous Elizabeth Tower from a far. I looked down and saw people sitting outside these cafes, having coffee. I turned around and saw the letters L-O-N-D-O-N on the wall and I squealed. I am in freaking London.

For the last 18 years of my life, this was the first time I was living all by myself. And to add more to it: all by myself abroad. My parents were hesitant at first about sending me to this beautiful city, but my persistence and pleading made them say "yes" eventually. I did get a little scared though. I was about to go on a journey in a place I had never been too. Yeah, I had seen London in pictures and in the movies but that was just it. All I knew was that it had beautiful parks in the middle of the city and majestic buildings everywhere. Well, I guess it was a make or break it situation. It was either I was going to get scared living independently or I was going to embrace the experience. I chose the latter.

I threw myself on the hotel's fluffy bed and scrolled the pictures in my iPhone. I swiped pictures of my family, of my friends, of California, and I suddenly felt weirdly upset. Don't get me wrong. I wanted this. I did make this happen but something inside me still felt sad about leaving home. Because surely, I was going to miss my parents, my little brother Rocky, and my best friend who I had been in love with since 7th grade, Andrew.

You guessed it right. I was in love with my best friend and he didn't know about it. Because he had a girlfriend and I was his oldest friend. It was a one-sided love and it can be tiring at times but that was just how things were. I was an idiot who was in love with a friend and I had been living with that for years.

I couldn't remember anymore when I started having this little crush on him. All I knew was that he gave me butterflies whenever we were together and his protectiveness showed me how much he cared, which was probably why I fell for him. Honestly at first, I was thinking twice about leaving because I knew I'd miss waking up to the sound of his voice. No, we don't live together but he was my living, breathing alarm clock. Our houses were just a few steps apart and our bedroom windows were facing each other. It was so close Andrew could probably jump over to my room from his. Anyway, our morning routine went like this: He'd open my window using a stick and then he'd start shouting until I finally woke up. Yeah, I'd probably miss that.

A part of me didn't want to leave him but another part of me had also been craving for an escape. Being with Andrew made me happy. But being with him and his girlfriend, Amanda, ripped me to shreds. And you know what? They were together every single day for the past 18 months. And if I wanted to stay sane, I had to get away.

I pushed myself up and grabbed my Nikon camera. It was just a little over 5 PM and the sun was still bright so I geared up and headed down. The receptionist greeted me hello and I smiled back. I was so excited about where I was going but when my feet finally stepped outside the hotel, I didn't know where to go. Right now, the only place I knew how to get to was London Arts Academy, which was a 30-minute walk from the hotel or a 10-minute cab ride.

I also couldn't wait to move in to my flat. I thought I could move there immediately but Mr. Simons, the flat agent I had been exchanging emails with, asked me if I could stay at a hotel for a day. He said there had been a mix up with the schedules so I couldn't move in until tomorrow afternoon. I thought it was no big deal since it was only a day so I agreed. Too bad though, I was also looking forward to finally meeting my roommate! Mr. Simons said Ellie was also a student of London Arts Academy. I had been wondering what she might look like or how she was in general. Would she be a high-fashion English girl? Is Ellie short for something? What course could she be taking at the Academy? Could she be into photography too? Will she like me? I hope she does!