October 1st 1:00pm.
The halls were filled with hundreds of bodies all pressed together to make one big mass. Eleanor glided through the crowd, trying desperately hard not to bump into anyone. After her first week back at uni, she felt better settled in, yes it had been hectic, having to rearrange her dorm room and finding her notes ready for lessons, but she felt better and back to the normal routine she had experienced for a year prior. Wandering down the steps to the canteen she happened to wonder if things would be different for her this year, maybe less drama and a lot more happiness would come her way, last year had not been the best for her and she had spent most of it wondering how she'd ended up in the situations she had. However now was not the time to dwell on the past, now was the time to eat with her friends.
She only had a few friends who she really hung out with, she wasn't exactly social at the best of times and her confidence had left her in recent years, but they stuck with her and made her feel welcome and open up.
From a small distance away she could make out her loud-mouthed companion, the soft curls in her rich chocolate afro and the bright colours she wore daily stood out amongst the crowd. Eleanor smiled to herself as she walked closer to the figure of a pretty girl with a small face and big eyes. Tanya. The bubbliest girl you will ever meet, very outspoken and loud, but kind at the same time. She had not seen her in a while before they had met again at university, she had known Tanya since she was a small child but they did not get on well and did not reconnect until college. " bitch where have you been" screamed Tanya as she gripped the tall girl in a bear hug " i have been stuck in lessons actually learning, where have you been hmm?" "oh you know me out and about, but I did actually manage to get a hard start on my work so it's ok". As Eleanor sat down with her friend she noticed a few other familiar faces join them "oh hello you to love birds where have you been frolicking?" Tanya yells as a small girl with brunette hair and a tall boy with sharp angular features joins the table, the boy wraps his arms around the girl as they sit down and she snuggles into his embrace, a pang moves through Eleanor, she wishes she had someone like to comfort her whenever. "It's been a while since we've all hung out hasn't it" the laughs as he leans forward to address the other girls ''yes Jem it has because you always leave us for Tessa'' says Eleanor as she laughs at his indignant face, "yeah you too should never be left alone" Tanya joins in. the atmosphere is soft and calming, as Eleanor melts into the chatter of her friends.
"Afternoon class, get sat down and ready to take notes" a soft-looking woman with stern face bark as her students walk into the classroom. Hit with the calming scent of books, Eleanor takes her seat by the window. Casually she glances through the glass at the city below, densely populated with multiple people of all backgrounds, she starts to daydream, the words of Miss Noel fade into the background. She focuses on the sight, the sounds and the smell through the window before she is abruptly removed from her daydream by an impatient voice, "Miss Goldstone are you fully with us or off in your own world today?" speaks Miss Noel smirking slightly "sorry I got distracted it won't happen again". Turning back to the board Miss Noel continued to address the class and carrying on. Eleanor faced her desk and pulled out her pen, thinking and thinking, they were supposed to be writing sonnets but her mind was blank, blank like a clean slate, 'great, bloody writer's block' she thought to herself as she fiddled with her pen and paper, scribbling down some crap that wouldn't help her later. After an hour and a half the bell rang, 'thank god' she thought. Quickly she raced down the stairs from the English department, hurried through the foyer and out onto the campus, slowing down she began to walk back to her dorm ready for a good long nap, she didn't have lessons until Thursday, and that was another Monday over so time to relax and work on her sonnet so she didn't fail. Walking through the park, the trees, beginning to turn crisp and brown, almost autumn, another season gone, summer had slipped away with joyful memories and good times, now autumn was coming and then winter. Maybe things would change with the season.
Shutting the door behind her, Eleanor made her way to the fridge, pots and containers labelled with her housemates' names cluttered the fridge. After finally locating her stuff she waltzed into her room throwing her bag to the floor and slumping on the bed. Taking out her phone, she scrolls through her Instagram feed idly, barely registering the images before she swipes to the next, she does this a lot, mostly to pass the time zoning in and out with her mind far away. 'Bing' the familiar noise of the Snapchat notification snaps her out of her daydream, blinking slowly she taps it intrigued as to who is messaging her, who wants to take an interest in her other than her friends 'Roman Wood?' the name rings a bell but she can't place the face, opening the message, she becomes a little surprised "hey" it says, not the most shocking message in the world but from someone you've never met before it is a little odd. "Hi" she replies wanting to test the waters, he replies back a few minutes later,
"How are you?"
"I'm okay how are you?"
"I'm good, just my girlfriend is pissing me off"
Girlfriend?? Why is he talking to me if he has a girlfriend, weird but I'll bite? Intrigued as to where the conversation may go she continues, partly to want to know the gossip.
"Why is your girlfriend pissing you off?" she asks curiously about what he might reply with.
"I want to break up with her, she's not what I want in a relationship anymore"
" oh I'm sorry about that, what do you want in a relationship"
Hours past spent talking to him, he was surprisingly nice to talk to, and as she turned off her phone after a few more hours she felt calm and fulfilled having met someone new.
