Textrovert

Prologue

Iris tightly held onto her dad's hand as they stood in front of the school's gate. Her very first day of school. She was nervous, as most children would tend to be in that situation.

"I'll be back later," her dad said to her before letting go of her hand.

One of the teachers standing by the door greeted her with a smile. She led Iris to her classroom and told her to sit and wait with the other kids. Now that was the part little Iris dreaded the most.

She had never even talked to other children before. She had never befriended kids in her neighborhood, or spent time with her little cousins and nieces. She didn't know how to communicate with people other than her parents. She feared strangers ever since she was a baby. She always hid behind her mother whenever guests were in the house.

The next few minutes felt like years to her. She watched the kids play and have fun, running around without a care in the world. She felt isolated. Different than the rest.

But then one of the girls noticed her.

"Come play with us," she said while approaching her.

This was her chance. But Iris only shook her head no.

The rest of her kindergarten years weren't any different. She always preferred to be alone. Her teachers wouldn't let her stay in the classroom during break time, so she had to go to the playground. But she never played with the other kids. She would just sit and watch.

Her favourite part of the day was when they had to spend the last period in the library. The other kids always complained, but she loved it. The teachers would hand out different story books for each of the kids, and tell them they can switch with each other after they finish. And she always finished first.

But she never raised her hand like the others did. She wanted to switch with the ones that finished after her, but she was too nervous. So she always read, re-read, and re re-read the book in her hand until their time was up.

One day, her mom took her out to buy her clothes. They were walking hand in hand when suddenly a man walked towards them. Iris squeezed her mom's hand in fear. Her mom was confused at first, but soon realised that her little daughter was scared of strangers.

After the man passed them, she leaned down and smiled at Iris.

"Don't be scared, honey. He's just a normal man minding his own business. He didn't even glance at us."

That didn't assure Iris. Nothing could.

She made her first friend in third grade. She was sitting outside with her exercise book and a pencil while other kids were playing around her. She was doodling on the last page of her exercise book. She loved drawing more than anything. Being able to express things through sketches was fascinating to her.

"Hey there," a cute voice said to her and she looked up. A girl a little older than her was smiling down at her. "Are you drawing?"

"Y-yeah." Iris stuttered.

"Can I see? I like drawing too."

Iris nodded and the girl sat beside her. She showed her the sketch she'd been working on, and the girl gasped in excitement.

"Woah!" she exclaimed with a smile. "I wish I could draw like this."

Iris couldn't help but smile back.

"I'm Jael, what's your name?" the girl asked her.

"Iris."

Iris and Jael became best friends. They talked and laughed together, just the two of them. They would always sit on the spot where they first met, and draw side by side.

Two years later, Jael made a new friend at school and introduced her to Iris. The girl's name was Betty. She was over-weight so the other girls made fun of her all the time. They called her 'fat Betty' and she hated it. Jael and Betty were both k-pop fans and would always talk about it non stop. Iris didn't watch TV a lot, so she didn't know a thing about it.

And so Iris felt lonely once again.

The three of them remained friends for the next few years, but they had to start secondary school in different high-schools.

Iris hated being the new girl. But she forced herself to act normal and make new friends. But sometimes she would isolate herself from them so she can read or draw in peace. Fictional books were her happy and safe place. She would always be in some corner with her nose in a book as she immersed herself into a whole new world she found in it.

Anyone would take a look at her and think her life was dull and boring. Which it was. But she was content in her own little corner.

And when it came to social media, she found it easier to communicate hidden behind a screen. But it was still a struggle when it came to face to face interaction.

One by one, several years passed. She graduated and became a successful lawyer like she always dreamed to be.

But inside she was still the timid little girl she had been in kindergarten. And she was still the textrovert she had been in highschool.