Scripted Thoughts

Chapter 1: Moving In

Mom had left for work after the unpacking process, giving me enough free time to do all sorts of things on my own. I settled on going out on a bookstore and browse some books to at least ease my boredom. Slipping on my red hoodie, I headed outside.

* * * * *

I was glad Totally Booked was just a few blocks away from Rosewood High. Pushing through the glass door, I automatically made my way to the fiction shelf. Tracing a finger through different book titles, my eyes widened as I grasped onto the book that I was looking for.

"Nancy Drew... The Moonstone Castle Mystery.. Yeah, this is it!" I exclaimed happily

I've always been a lover of mystery novels, especially of the Nancy Drew series. I find it thrilling and exciting as unexpected plot twists are usually evident, making me want to keep reading in anticipation on what's about to happen next. At some point, I even considered in becoming a detective someday.

Ash Rockwell. The Mystery of Her Brother's Red Boxers. Yep, that doesn't sound so bad at all.

* * * * *

Glancing at the orange-pink sky from the glass panel wall, I realized I've been roaming around the bookstore for the past two hours. I checked my watch and it read 5:57 PM.

I groaned upon remembering my dorm mate will supposedly arrived today since the first day of school starts tomorrow.

Well, let's just hope that I'd make a good impression.

"You've gotta be kidding me." I muttered under my breath upon seeing the door half open.

Did my dorm mate forgot to close it somehow? That's just being careless.

I huffed, crossing my arms in irritation.

I swear to God if I can't even tolerate with an irresponsible dorm mate then I'm dropping out of this school.

I slowly pushed the door wider and was about to ambush my new dorm mate and strangle that person to death before I immediately stopped in my tracks. Sitting on one of the wooden desks was a girl with long chestnut brown hair tied into a high ponytail. She wore a blue denim jacket and a pair of jogger pants. I couldn't quite distinguish her features as her back was turned to me, completely unnoticing my arrival. Hesitantly, I walked closer and realized she was drawing something on her sketchbook. Squinting my eyes at her work, I was truly impressed at the professionalism of her rough sketches of a landscape of an Eiffel Tower.

"That's a really cool drawing there." I blurted out before I could stop myself.

The girl nearly jumped out of her skin as she slammed her sketchbook shut before jerking her head towards me, her vibrant green eyes flashed with mild surprise. She wore black framed glasses which made her look mature.

"O-Oh, um.." She was completely at loss of words and I could tell she wasn't much of a talker just like me as I watched her fingers twiddling with the pencil that she's holding, probably trying to ease the awkward tension. I waved my hands in front of me dismissively.

"You don't have to say anything. My bad for surprising you. I'm your new dorm mate by the way, to answer your question as to why I'm here." I said when I took note of her puzzled expression. She nodded slowly, avoiding to make eye contact as her gaze remained on her pencil. I raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

She reminds me so much of myself.

"I'm Meredith." She said monotonously, giving me a brief glance. I nodded in acknowledgement.

"Pleased to meet you, Meredith. The name's Ash." I said, trying to sound friendly to at least help her loosen up her shyness. It didn't work though as her expression remained stoic.

"Yeah." That was her blunt response.

* * * * *

I sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time as I'd occasionally give Meredith apprehensive glances. She was still working on her Eiffel Tower landscape and from the looks of it, she won't be finished anytime soon and it doesn't seem that she has an intent to start a conversation with me. I rubbed the back of my neck irritatedly as a whirlwind of endless possibilities swirled in my mind of how she'd react if I start talking to her out of the blue.

Regardless of knowing she has a shy persona, there's something about Meredith's character that is a little different from my past shy self. In elementary, I was quite submissive as I let people boss me around, resulting to myself getting bullied. I used to be very timid and polite, addressing people with kindness at that. Meredith's behavior on the other hand, was completely contrary to mine. She doesn't seem the type who would trust people that easily. In other words, she's not like a fish on the hook, caught up by a person's lies so easily. Judging from her guarded expression upon my sudden intrusion, it looks like there is an invisible wall around her, shielding herself from other people.

I sighed and shook my head, not wanting to dwell on the matter any further.

I shouldn't stuff my nose in other people's business.

I flipped to the next page of the book on my lap and shifted my body into an Indian sitting position. My body jolted in surprise when Meredith abruptly stood up from her chair.

"I'm going to the convenience store." She said dryly as she made her way to the door.

"Oh, um.. How about dinner? I can cook us some ramen." I said, looking up at her anxiously.

"No thanks." She replied almost immediately as she heads out of the room before I could say anything else. Pressing my lips together in a thin line, I slammed the book shut.

Having a dorm mate who treats me like an invisible being is gonna be harder than I thought.

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A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for taking so long publishing this chapter, I've been very busy with school stuff *groans internally* Anyways, I know this chapter was much shorter than the previous one, I didn't have the ample time to write very long for the past days. Regardless of that, I do hope that you still enjoyed reading it somehow. Look forward to the next chapter! :))

Btw, what do you guys think of Meredith?

Let me know through your comments below!

Word count: 2274