Behind the Screen (a Tom Hiddleston Story)

1. Emails

Kate was a girl of average looks, with an average house and an average job. She often found herself sipping at a freshly made cup of camomile tea on a weekend. Her Sunday afternoons were usually very monotonous, light reading and watching Countryfile was about as wild as it got; with the occasional date with her ironing board.

Her latest achievement was slightly more interesting than her weekend schedule. A novel which she had started writing a year or so ago was finally complete and set to hit shelves in a couple of weeks' time. Having a brother who was somewhat classified with celebrity status had spurred her PA to advise her to pen a book under a pseudonym. Not just because she wanted to keep a bit of anonymity, but she also wanted to know how much attention it could pick up without people buying it just because she was the sister of Chris Evans; American actor and director.

It had taken her a while to work out what she wanted to do with her life; university hadn't really been her cup of tea. Staying up late at night, alone in her shoebox of a room wasn't exactly what she had been hoping for when she sent off her applications. The day she graduated was the biggest sense of relief she had felt since leaving high school; not exactly what you expect to hear from a student these days, but life doesn't always go the way you'd expect it to.

Her inability to cease using her brother as a comparison might have been because she constantly felt slightly under par. He had been winning awards for acting since before he could write his own name, so he was naturally an intimidating presence when their careers were in consideration. Ultimately, she just missed her home comforts; it's the little things that she liked being able to do. Things like sitting at home watching TV with her family and her cat, or just being able to shower in a bathroom that wasn't covered in hair and unknown substances protruding from the plughole.

The social scene didn't quite meet her expectations either. She had been attending a badminton social on her first week of term. It was one of the only societies that she had shown any real interest in. It was a sport she found surprisingly relaxing; it took her back to her polkadot days. To those summers where she and Chris had nothing better to do than idly smack a shuttlecock over a washing line whilst having panda pops on tap. She figured that a sport that once provided her with much amusement, might just provide her with a little bit of sanctuary. Putting on her best set of Nikes and leggings, she made her way to the sports hall which was only a five-minute walk away from her halls of residence.

It was a move that she almost instantly regretted. The people whom already occupied the courts couldn't be further from her idea of a good crowd. She didn't like to admit to being judgemental, but everyone was on the odd occasion; they just weren't honest about it. She played one game with a girl whose mobile was seemingly attached to her left hand, making for a rather slow, laborious one sided game. She had placed her racket back in the large black bin and headed for the door. She sat herself down on the small brick wall outside, and took her phone out of her back pocket. No notifications, as per usual. She averted her gaze from the screen to find a group of girls had sat across from her on the grass verge. She couldn't help but overhear what they were saying. The girl with blonde hair and glasses was reaching into her bag for what looked like a sandwich, the other two had dark hair and were sharing around a packet of Chewits.

"I literally can't believe what a dud these societies have been."

"I know right?" One said; the adhesiveness of the sweets making it hard for others to comprehend what she had just uttered.

"What was it that guy said to you when we tried to escape the first time?"

"Stick it out for a bit longer, I'm sure you won't get he wont bite you again." They all threw their heads back in fits of giggles. She noticed the blonde grip her right arm and roll her eyes.