Mar 28
Wednesday, 15.25
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Wednesday, 15.25
Twelve years later
"Rosie! Are you ready?"
"Coming..."
"Thanks for including me in your plans. I really appreciate it, Lennon."
"It's fine! I think you're really cool- Oh, and Rosie?"
"Yeah?"
"Call me Lenny."
"Hi, hello?"
"Huh? Hello?"
"Rose, right?"
She nodded.
"I'm Lennon. We go to the same classes."
"Yes! Hi!"
"What's up?"
"I was uh..." She looked around too ashamed to admit she was spending recess in the library so she wasn't reminded how lonely she was. "Just browsing."
"I see... So, are you free later? Would you like to hang out after class?"
"Yes, sure!"
"We can meet on the corner at 3pm and go for coffee and a snack. What do you think?"
"Sounds great!"
"Ok! See you later."
"See you!"
Five months in, and she hadn't properly met a single classmate. Yes, she had been introduced to the class and she had talked to some of them when they had to do group projects but she hadn't had the chance to actually talk to them, let alone make friends.
It didn't help she was quiet and shy, and probably the other kids perceived her as a snob. But it wasn't actually her fault, she hadn't had the chance to be friends with people her own age since... ever.
The last time she had been in a classroom was after she finished second grade. That's when her grandfather abdicated and her uncle had taken over Brules, when things started to shift really badly for the country and Tudor had to step in time, and time, and time again. That's when Ava chose to reduce her workload to be able to travel as a family, back and forth between home and Brules and support Tudor who reluctantly started to run the country behind the scenes.
Rose didn't particularly hate it, that's all she knew and she had gotten used to it. But now she was 17, and turning 18 in a few months, and her parents had decided she should have as much of a school experience as she could. She was surely going into college - hadn't sent her application yet but she was managing her options, and maybe Ava and Tudor thought it would be best for her to have a closer experience to classrooms and assignments to properly adjust to uni. Or maybe they needed a proper reason to settle down for good back home and set boundaries.
Either way, she had a few more months to kill until she graduated. Was there a real need to make friends or even do any type of effort besides group projects?
"Good morning my love!"
Saturday, 10.30 am