Phoenix

Oddity

For the girl known as Gillian Conners, normalcy was not a strong suit. You could tell through many ways. If you looked into her eyes—which bore a strong resemblance to marbles and were a honey-gold color—you could see the wisdom that wasn't common to those her age. If you looked at her hair, which was deep blue and blended nicely with her naturally black hair, you could see the artist that hid behind its trellises. If you knew her, perhaps you could tell that she wasn't your normal girl. Perhaps by the lack of any relationships in her life—be it platonic or romantic—despite it being her freshman year in college. Perhaps by how she lived alone despite having a family. Perhaps you could tell it if you looked at her wrists. But whatever the case, her relationships or her condition, the point remained that she wasn't the average sort.

Over the thousand-mile trek to her new college, Gilly—a name her friends would call her if she had any—found herself taking in the sights. The world around her was like searching up nature pictures on Google and reveling at the diversity of it. She'd lived her life in the city of Boston and hadn't been able to afford a trip elsewhere. This was a new world to her, and that made her uncomfortable. She took it all in, her hand hovering over her sketchbook, not sure what to draw of all the scenes. She found herself glancing down, looking at the half-finished doodles that she had done before moving to another. Somehow, they all fit together like puzzle pieces, despite being almost different worlds of nature and man-made. It was odd, and her whole sketchbook was like that. However, one could find it endearing.

But Gilly wouldn't know that for herself of course; she wasn't one for reflection on the past. Looking back was like being pierced by a blade by the jagged memories that reside in her past. The memories seemed to slide and catch against one another, slipping like earthquakes that brought forth mountains to the peaceful savannah that was her mind. Her past was something she did not enjoy looking back upon, and she had thrown away everything that could possibly trigger a memory of it. That is, except for her sketchbooks. Although she never reflected upon events past, she found it comforting to know how far she'd come in her eighteen years.

Ridding herself of mementos of the past was the reason, possibly, as to why she was sitting in the grubby backseat of a taxi instead of a car belonging to a family member. Despite the offer her aunt had sent her, she had preferred to be completely self-reliant, telling herself it would hurt less on her inevitable betrayal. With the taxi at least—despite her trust in her aunt—she didn't know what had happened there, and that provided comfort. Gilly never was one to fear the unknown, choosing instead to revel in it.

For all her embrace of the unknown, Gilly did know of her odd demeanor and the judgmental looks she was sent. She knew that most eighteen-year-olds did not live in an apartment their aunts paid for because they couldn't stand to live with their parents. She knew that most people weren't familiar with completely supporting themselves. She knew that most people hated her for being that way, but, then again, when had anyone's opinion mattered to her?

The taxi came to an abrupt halt, and Gilly dug in her pockets, searching for the cash she knew she had somewhere. Finding it, she pulled it from her pocket and put it into the waiting hands of the taxi driver. Without much grace, she climbed out of the cab, tucking her pencil behind her ear, grabbing her sketchbook, and slamming the door shut. The door to the trunk popped open and she lifted it, grabbing her few belongings. Speeding away from the cab, she was glad to be free of the horrible-smelling place. The taxi drove away with a speed to rival her own.

Gilly looked around, taking in the brick buildings clustered around the lawn. Students lounged under trees and on the grass, women flirting shamelessly and guys showing off to their friends. She wrinkled her nose and caught the scent of the place—about just as bad as high school, save for the smell of freshly cut grass and peanut butter that seemed to hang around the place like fog. She mentally recoiled—she hated everything about peanut butter, although that may have been biased due to her deadly allergy to it. Whatever the case, she was ready to leave before she had to smell that horrid thing any longer, despite the whole campus probably reeking of it.

However, her plans were abruptly shattered when a blonde woman appeared in front of her. Gilly backed away, startled and eager to be rid of the overly cheerful appearing woman. "Hi! Welcome to Barden University! What dorm?" the woman exclaimed cheerfully. Seriously, how can anyone be this cheerful? Gilly grumbled internally.

"Er." Gilly thought for a second before sharing the name of the dorm that had slipped her memory. The woman gave her directions and she was on her way, ready already for the silence that was sure to await in her dorm.

Despite the horrid smell and too cheerful people, Gilly found herself somewhat enjoying that place. It gave her a clean slate—she was a thousand miles from her family. She wasn't in a large city anymore, but a college town where the only sounds that never dulled were those of her peers and nature—not angry drivers, and no sounds of a brawl while she tried to sleep. It was almost peaceful.

Here, she was surrounded by nature, which had been a constant companion to her despite her city-girl origins. Nature didn't care where you were from or who you were. It was just...there. The birds lived their lives, the squirrels, had their own rules. They cared not for you, just went on with their lives, which, for Gilly, was so much better than the people who never shut up with talking about their opinions of her. Gillian had always been odd, but that hadn't always been a bad thing. The part of herself that she kept under lock and key in a safe that no one could crack was safe when she was with nature. And that's exactly how she liked it.

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Author's Note--

Hi! Welcome to this new story. I hope you're enjoying it so far. A quick note that this is set in the Pitch Perfect universe, but most of the characters are my own. However, it can be read without having seen the movies--only the epilogue. Updates will be on Wednesdays (despite it being Thursday). Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Critiques are accepted and appreciated, I only ask that you be polite. Have a good day!