Changing Prudence (EDITING - ON HOLD)

Chapter 12

Rue was so tired when she got back to her dorm that evening. They had stopped at the nearby Mc Donald’s on their walk back to their rooms. Their parents had left shortly after that since her dad had a meeting early in the morning. They had topped up Rue’s credit card a few weeks ago since they knew she was responsible enough not to blow it all at once, so they just left with a good luck hug and a huge speech of how much they would miss their children, making them promise to stay out of trouble.

Cole had promised to take Rue to visit the forest the next day and she couldn’t wait. She hoped there would be a quiet place somewhere there, where she would be able to practice using her powers. But right now all Rue could think about was the beautiful library. One of the books she had picked up particularly caught her attention. It had been one of the few books she had picked up that wasn’t in the science section but the history and heritage section. It was the binding that had caught her attention; it was the old type thick with no title on the front cover. She had turned the hard cover over to see the title of the book that looked out of place in the corner of the academic books. The hand written title intrigued her so she had brought the book back to her dorm with her.

She pulled the book out of her bag and sat on her bed propped up against the wall, it was all written in cursive handwriting like an old diary, she read this book until there was a knock at her door. She knew it would be Cole since he said he would come and see how she was finding it later in the day. She was glad she finally had a room that he couldn’t just barge into.

She opened the door and was about to walk back to her bed, since she had no need to tell Cole he could come in, and took a double take. It wasn’t Cole at her door. A girl who looked around her age with slightly frizzy, curly long brown hair and a baby face, stood at the door wearing a slightly confused expression.

‘Hi. Sorry I was just expecting someone.’ Rue laughed at how weird that probably looked to this girl. She should probably be more careful when opening the door in future; it wasn’t just her family now.

‘Hi, it’s alright. I’m glad I am not the only person who came this early, I got here just as you went through your door so I thought I would come and say hi. I’m a few doors down in room twenty one.’ She took a breath, Rue thought she seemed a little nervous. ‘Sorry I haven’t even introduced myself and I am telling you where I live.’ She giggled.

‘No worries. Come on in. I promise I’m no mass murderer. Besides I haven’t introduced myself and you already know where I live. I’m Rue by the way.’

The girl walked into Rue’s room, she didn’t bother looking around since it would just be the same as her room. ‘Nice to meet you, I’m Regan.’

‘So what brings you here before the flood of other students?’ Rue thought Regan was a good person to get to know that way she will have at least made one friend. Even that would be an improvement from last year.

‘Same reason as you I guess, I wanted to get settled in before the rush, and I like to be organised, I don’t live far from here so it wasn’t too much of a task.’ She laughed nervously, as if waiting to be judged on what she had just said.

‘Yeah, pretty much the same reason. My brother Cole comes here, this is his second year so he showed me round the most important places today, it’s absolutely lovely round here, have you been for a wander round yet?’ Rue was trying to make Regan feel comfortable and accepted around her. She had a feeling that they could be good friends.

‘Oh, that’s a coincidence. My brother is in his second year here too, he said he would show me round in the morning. He said they had an amazing library and the forest is just magical!’ She talked about her brother with such enthusiasm and love and thought that must be the way she talked about her brother.

‘Yeah, it really is... The library anyway. I spent hours in there today. Cole said he would take me to the forest tomorrow to show me the parts where no one goes. We have a forest back home and that’s our little place if you know what I mean.’

‘The closest forest to us was forty minutes away, so we only ever went there when our parents decided to go for a walk, so like, twice a year.’

‘That’s a shame forests are a great place if you’re looking for an escape.’

‘I know right, they’re just so peaceful and the best place to let your mind wander, all of the creatures and wildlife there are just wonderful.’

Rue was really intrigued by Regan, she was so much like herself. ‘So what are you studying then?’

‘I’m studying Bio-Chemistry. I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do at university, so I just decided to combine my two favourite subjects.’

‘Really. Wow, this is a small world!’ Rue pointed to her microscope. There was a quick knock on the door, Rue stood up to let Cole in, there was no way it could be another random person. ‘I am studying Bio-Chemistry too.’

Rue and Cole flopped onto her bed. ‘Regan, this is my brother Cole, Cole this is Regan. She is studying Bio-Chemistry too.’

‘Nice to meet you,’ Cole gave a huge grin and an exaggerated wave to Regan. ‘You don’t waste time getting to know people do you.’

Regan gave a nervous laugh again. ‘I know right, I just saw Rue come into her room as I was going to my room, she looked nice so I thought there was no reason not to try and make a friend.’

Rue suddenly realised that Regan was getting nervous around Cole, and noticed the slight blush that was creeping up her cheeks as she was speaking to him. ‘You know, Regan is studying Bio­-Chem’ too, and her brother is in his second year here.’ She hoped this would make her feel a little more comfortable around Cole.

‘Really, your brother isn’t Beck by any chance?’ He arched his eyebrows, he knew her face looked familiar.

Her face shot back up to his in amazement. ‘Yeah, you know him?’

‘Should hope so, I shared a room with him all last year. Good guy, very messy though, that’s why we all have separate rooms this year, I couldn’t stand the other’s messy habits, they couldn’t stand my needs for a tidy environment.’ He smiled and rested his hands behind his head. He couldn’t help feel an odd interest in the girl sat opposite him, and he suspected Rue could see this.

Regan and Cole carried on chatting about their siblings, while Rue sat leaning against the wall trying to look into their thoughts. She knew Cole was intrigued by Regan, and that Regan was very nervous around Cole.

‘What is it about this girl that I can’t shake from my mind? I know she looks familiar and I know the reason for this is her brother is one of my closest friends. I know I shouldn’t feel drawn to her. I just can’t help it.’