Quoting Nolan

«Look Of Otherness»

«Quoting Nolan»

- Chapter One» Look Of Otherness-

Sitting alone, face discreetly hidden behind an adventure novel, Austen watched the people of St.Tide live their everyday lives. Like the inner wallflower she was, her opinions adapted with every move they made and every word they spoke.

Austen was always a curious one, about life beyond herself and way beyond the small seaside town of St.Tide.

She was a genuinely interesting girl. For someone with such a bright and wonderful aura and appearance, you wouldn't expect her to go so unnoticed.

Austen's also a victim of routine. One of which, she wished, no.. she knew, she'd one day sprout the courage to shed. But for now, it'd do her just fine.

The routine was simple, easy and relaxed. Quite characteristic and devoted. Although it seemed so plain and bland -which of course it was- it provided her with every thing she'd need during the day.

1) wake up § eat breakfast

2) shower § dress

3) do chores

4) library

5) lunch

6) whatever picks your fancy

7) dinner

8) homework

9) television

10) bed

With the exception of school, this was her routine. But seeing as it was currently two days into the summer break it qualified as pretty "easy peazy lemon squeezy." And Austen had already covered everything up to step four, that's almost half the list complete.

Don't get me wrong, Austen's an organised girl, but she wishes to be the opposite. Perhaps, it may even surprise you that her room is the definition of a 'skip'. With anything and everything littering the floor, Chester draws, bed and desk and the posters and pictures that lined the walls and all.

It's not a condition, it's not weird. It's just how it is.

Austen knows what it's like to feel carefree and wild. Hence why she craves the feeling to return. But, alike many other kids, her parents confessed their dying love for each other and went their seperate ways. That kinda changed her, not completely, but slightly. She wasn't broken, hell no, she wasn't even chipped, she was just- cracked, a little bit.

Her mother wasn't exactly pleased with the separation either and custody over Austen caused quite the ruckus, and so she found her own way to fix it.

The wallflower way. As she liked to call it.

She quietened down, she calmed down, she kept to herself and she grew up. She took care of herself, learnt to depend on herself and created the routine.

It's depressing to say she's been following that same routine since she was thirteen. And even before that perhaps too. But in all honesty, it's fair enough.

Her father once told her, "It takes more courage to endure something, to wake up and face it, live it, day after day after day, than it would to try something completely new." I guess Austen just ended up following that bit of advice a little too profusely.

But even so, that never stopped her curiosity, that never stopped her mind dancing wildly with colours, that never stopped her eccentric imagination from taking a detour from reality, it just.. kept it on the low profile.

Which takes us back to the present time, 11:32 am to be exact, in the local St.Tides library.

Austen has been coming here for as long as she can remember, reading comedy after horror, horror after romance, romance after mystery, mystery after adventure. The list goes on. But everyday, she'd take a good twenty or so minutes, to just- stop and listen.