The World Is Your Oyster

Chapter 1: A Cascade of Books...

The hand was a soft olive-brown, that had years of knowledge spread across it. The fingers were adorned with rings splattered in vibrant colours that looked as if they had been collected from around the world. The hand was holding a book. The book was old and worn and read "A History of Empires in the Middle East". Lizzy looked upwards. The woman was wearing a silky cream blouse. A thin silver chain attached to what looked like a globe, its colours shiny and bold, hung around the lady's neck. She smelled exotic; like spices, peaches and fir trees. There was a curious, inviting smile plastered on her face. Her long brown hair was pulled back with a clasp, and strands of hair brushed her ears, which were adorned with a set of pearls. Her grey eyes looked amused, they sparkled with excitement. 

"Hello, can I help you young lady?" she asked. 

"Oh, right, my name's-" Crash. A pile of books came cascading down to land dramatically on the woman's head. She picked up the books and placed them on the table next to them. Lizzy glanced upwards to see three young men laughing and running across the balcony above.

They were standing in the middle of the Bodleian Library at the famous Oxford University. Lizzy, a girl of only thirteen, was often asked why she spent a lot of her time in a library full of scholars. Lizzy's father was Chairman of the Board of the university, which allowed her to come and go as she pleased, although it sometimes baffled the scholars when she out of nowhere joined in on their complex conversations. When she joined their conversations, the scholars found her to be a most intelligent person, with a love of learning and a thirst for adventure, which she truly was. Lizzy spent nearly every afternoon and weekend at the library; it was her favourite place in the world, a giant room full of ancient texts and bursting with knowledge to be found. 

Every other girl in her year spent their weekends shopping, taking selfies in very little clothing or just doing what everyone else was doing. Lizzy's mother always seemed a little distant, and her father was always working. She had no siblings, but wished for a younger brother or sister. So instead of hanging around people her own age or staying at home, Lizzy caught the tube most days to the Bodleian Library, where there was always an interesting scholar of history or mathematics or economics to speak to. Some of the girls at school made fun of her for not being trendy, and being what they considered a "nerd". At first, their words had stung. As time passed, Lizzy tried to ignore them, but it still bothered her that they repeatedly made fun of her for not being what they called "trendy". She wished she could escape from the boring and judgemental society she lived in. She longed for adventure. She longed to camp in the darkest forests, to see the Northern Lights, to ride on camels through Arabia and haggle prices for trinkets. Lizzy was infinitely disappointed by the people around her. The only interesting people in her life were the scholars she met. Sometimes, her father hosted special dinner parties which she joined, and there she could converse with some of the most interesting people in the world, who seemed to have been everywhere and to know everything. 

Her parents did not understand her. When she tried to tell them how horrible some of the girls at school were, they simply said: "Lizzy, we have sent you to one of the best and most expensive schools in the country, and you mean to tell us that you are unhappy there? You know what, maybe if you spent less time in that library, and more time hanging around people your own age instead of scholars, then you might be happier."

"But I love the library, those girls at school are just uptight and awful, and don't understand what it is to actually want to learn." She would say.

"Well, I don't know then Lizzy, I really don't understand you." Her mother would say.

"Yes Lizzy, you have everything you could possibly want, and still you want more. I have no idea what there is that I can give you to make you happy." Her father would say.

"I don't want you to give me anything, I just want you to understand me, and I want those girls to leave me alone!" She would shout before storming out of the room.

Lizzy slipped out of her daydream and returned her thoughts to the intriguing woman standing in front of her. 

"I think they meant to do that." She remarked. The lady looked over at her. 

"Oh yes, they most certainly did," she replied with a scowl, "They seem to think they can outsmart me, by tripping me over in the corridors and unceremoniously dropping books on my head."

"Do you have any idea why?"

"Of course, I was lecturing at a lecture they were attending, and when they continued to talk over the top of me, I told them off, I was rather stern, I guess, and since then they have seemed to find it funny to make a mockery of me." 

"Rather immature." Lizzy replied.

"Now you where going to tell me what your name was."

"Oh, yes, my name is Lizzy Grosvenor."

"A wonderful name. Mine is Ruth. Ruth Montgomery."