"So then, I told my mom that I'm not going to stay in Bath for my whole life," Julia droned on as we found our seats in the dining hall, "I was afraid that if I didn't tell her that, I would be stuck there."

In a span of two hours, I've found out that my roommate was from Bath, she had about five siblings and she was the youngest, making her the hardest for her parents to send off. She has this dachshund whom she got as a birthday present from her older sister, the hyper dog almost did his dump on all of her class notes and she had about nine goldfishes in her whole life.

Too much information? Tell that to her, not me.

"How about you?" she questioned, showing pure curiosity, "Where do you live? Have any pets? Siblings?"

And the spotlight was suddenly on me. I nervously tucked in a stray piece of hair and attempted to tackle her multiple questions, "Well, I live in New York..."

"New York?!" she suddenly squealed, catching the attention of the girls sitting near us, "You live in the big apple?"

To be honest, I have never understood the huge hype with NYC. Sure, it was the land of so many opportunities, but after being there since birth, I was honestly used to the long traffics, rowdy noise during one in the morning, the daily rush through the subway, and just the overall rough atmosphere.

Compared to that, this place was like a paradise of peace. Living in an apartment complex at the heart of the city contributed so much to my restlessness. It was the city that never sleeps, and my neighbors took that title to heart.

Our building didn't have a no-party rule, so almost every night, someone either above, below, or anyone on my floor was throwing one.

Everything moves fast to the point that someone behind you on the sidewalk will give you an annoyed huff if you were too slow on walking for him.

"You live in New York?" a girl suddenly questioned. She must have been alerted by Julia's sudden outburst. She gave a polite smile and sat down on one of the unoccupied chairs, "I've always wanted to stay there. I mean, there's the opportunities in London, but I have always wanted to branch out my writing when I get older."

"Sienna's a published author," Julia said with pride, before I could even tell her not to say a word about it.

Now this was the point when I wanted to slap my hand on her mouth. I've had this mantra that the last piece of information I would give to an acquaintance was my job. I don't want people to befriend me just because I managed to print something to the world.

I've managed to shed down my friends list because it took some time to learn who was really there because they liked Sienna as a person and not that they wanted to be with Sienna Clark, the author.

The girl's eyes widened, "Really? What's the name of the book?"

I have always hesitated to say the title of my book. It was a bit corny and cliché, something the fifteen year old me thought of, but before I had time to take it back due to pure embarrassment, it was too late. Well if we were being real here, majority of the authors out there are somewhat bashful when it comes to the titles of their works.

It was really something else when you say it out loud. When we write it, it sounds so perfect but the moment it's actually vocalized then I would want nothing but for the ground to swallow me whole.

But I was being stared at like I was in a police interrogation. So I said the title and when I did, her eyes widened in excitement.

"Wait, every single girl in school read that," she gaped, "That was one of my favorite books, I can't believe that you wrote that."

Was that supposed to be a compliment?

She saw my expression and she scrambled around to correct herself, "I mean, I would have never thought I would cross paths with the Sienna Clark."

Same reactions that my classmates from high school had. When I told them that I was getting published, I was met with squeals and congratulations. I was suddenly placed in this high pedestal after remaining so lowkey during my whole stay in the school. The new attention was definitely uncomfortable at first but as time passed, I started getting used to it.

But of course, there were still some rare moments.

You know what it feels like to be talked about by a bunch of your juniors while you innocently sit there in between yours friends? It's incredibly awkward.

"I'm Meg," she smiled, "I should have introduced myself first so apologies."

"Sienna," I said just for the sake of formalities, before I gestured to my roommate, "And this is Julia, we're from 3K."

"We're on the same floor," she informed gleefully, "I'm from 3B."

I was not really keen on getting too close to many people. I know the same old story, once you graduate, you might possibly never hear from each other again. Add the fact that I live in a whole different continent from them.

My only goal here was to get rid of this block, get a degree, and pack my bags then head back home where I'll live the fast life again. Mom's waiting for a book and my uncle's waiting for another amazing story. With his mind games, I don't know if I can survive being under his watch, but hey, I'm starting to get desperate.

Kristy told everyone to get our plates from the long table found on one side of the room. Before I could even stand by myself, Julia was already dragging me along as Meg followed right behind us.

I learned that Meg's roommate was actually a year ahead of us so even though they got along, she already had her own group of friends. That was basically her indirectly asking if she could join the two of us. Just from her form and tone of voice, I got that decoded easily.

And Julia quickly took the bait, "You can come with us anytime then."

Meg showed us a grin as she nodded, expecting those words. People were so easy to read, all you have to do really was look.

"Can I just eat upstairs?" I frowned, looking down on the plate.

Kristy overheard my words and she gave me a concerned look, "Why? Are you feeling poorly?"

Glancing towards the two girls that was now occupied in their own world as they walked back to the table we were previously sitting at, I released a sigh. They haven't even noticed that I was no longer following them.

Here's the thing – I'm not used to making new friends. Maybe I've gotten so familiar with the ones that I already have that I haven't actively made an effort to meet other people in a very long time. It was a bit sad but I guess baby steps were the best way to go.

Turning back to our dorm mother, I softly nodded, "My head kind of hurts."

"Perhaps that's the jetlag," she concluded, feeling up my forehead to check if I had a fever, "I'll let you eat up there, but don't let it become a habit."

"Thank you," I smiled gently before I turned and walked out of the room.

I never meant to be a social pariah but I was seriously not in the mood to catch up with whatever pacing they planned to have with that conversation. Besides, I had to keep up with the writing thing.

Before the day ended, I should have to created at least an outline or pitch so I could send it to mom to see if it had any potential.

Or you know what, I'll send it to my uncle instead. While mom might be a good literary agent, she was more biased by seeking a story that sells, not something that had essence.

Speaking of my dear mother, I haven't even called her yet. Uncle was still in the process of getting me a new phone that could work her so up until then, all she will get from me is a message on Facebook.

Placing my food on the side table, I sat on the bed and opened my laptop. I clicked my tongue at the slow internet that this dorm house provided as I stared at my email inbox, waiting for it to load.

While it did, I opened up the file that contained the first chapter and did a read through, checking if everything was alright. Something I've learned from writing while on the move, it was there was a huge chance that none of your sentences made any sense.

The amount of times my editor told me about this was too high.

Grabbing the apple that was on my plate, I took a big bite as I proofread through the chapter. Once I was satisfied with the document, I went back to the web browser and typed in my uncle's email address before attaching the file.

'Read through this please, Uncle Levi, I need some feedback. –Sienna'

Pressing send, I bit my appl againe before opening a new file to type up the second chapter.

My fingers hovered over the keys as I thought of a title. The talk about my writer's block with my uncle came into mind and I smiled, tapping down on the letters.

The Fallen Tree.

Although I did mock the idea, I took Adam's advice. Write life as it happens, like a journal of some sorts. However, mine was in a novel form. I'd just draft it out and then change whatever is needed to be improved on once I have a clear direction for the book.

Suddenly, the door clicked open to reveal Julia with Meg right behind her, "Told you she'll be here."

There goes the peace and quiet.

"We were surprised when we realized that you weren't behind us," Julia said, sitting down on her bed, "What's wrong."

"Jetlag," I lied, unblinking as I gave her my excuse.

"Oh," she nodded in understanding, "We thought about touring the university tomorrow, lessons start on Monday so it would be good if we knew our way around."

Looking back down on the screen, I found that my uncle managed to reply so quickly to my message. Opening the email, I held back a sigh of relief when I saw the words.

'Sure. Why don't you visit us tomorrow? The family wants to see you.'

Turning back at them, I plastered a disappointed expression, "I'm sorry, but my uncle who lives nearby wants to see me tomorrow."

Her shoulders slumped as she frowned, "What time is your lesson on Monday?"

"Eight," I answered and I noticed Meg light up.

"Me too," she chirped, "Let's go together, I'll wait for you."

I was scared to get too close to them. I would see them day and night, I could only imagine the tears I would shed when I have to leave. I remember when my friends back in high school left one by one for college – each would have their own farewell party. There was a week wherein we were up until morning every day, getting drunk and saying goodbye.

I was a bit assured because I knew we would all be back together for the holidays but them? I wasn't even sure if I was going to be back here after I graduate.

While again I wasn't so sure about making new friends, I was more terrified of leaving them into dust.

"Sure," I forced myself to reply.

Taking a deep breath, I saved the file and closed my laptop before placing the half eaten apple back on the plate, "Look, it had been a long day for me, I think it's better if I go to sleep."

"You're not eating your food?" Julia questioned, eyeing the whole meal that was left untouched.

Glancing towards it, I shook my head, "I'm not hungry."

That was the end of the conversation and I tucked myself into bed when they decided to head onto Meg's room since they didn't want to keep me up with their conversation. I felt completely different from my usual self and it was making me beyond uncomfortable. Maybe all I needed was a good night's sleep, my body had more than enough after flying for about twelve hours.

Well, the jetlag stint turned out to be true because I woke up at the crazy hour of three o'clock. The room was now dark and devoid of any light due to the fact that Julia closed the curtains for the both of us. Speaking of which, the said girl was still sleeping soundly on the other side of the room.

Letting out a yawn, I grabbed my laptop and opened it, trying to see if could get some work done after getting interrupted last night.

When I accessed my Facebook, I saw that my mom has replied to my message.

'Hope you're having fun there. Don't forget to keep me updated.'

My gaze fell onto the food that I didn't eat for dinner. Reaching out, I took it and started munching on the pieces of chicken as I typed up a reply.

It was cold and a little bit bland. Oh look, just like my situation right now.

'Alright. I'm going to visit Uncle Levi later.'

Trying to sleep was useless so I just kept on eating my food. Looking at the upper right corner, I tilted my head to the side when I saw the three friend requests that were waiting for my confirmation.

One of them was Julia and another was Meg, they probably sent it to me last night when I was already asleep. I accepted both of them and when I went to check who the other one was, I paused.

Adam Nicholas.

Who was this guy?

I clicked on his profile and huffed when it showed that it was on private. That left me his profile picture and cover photo as my only reference.

When I opened it, the man in the picture was smiling brightly, his eyes being covered by a huge pair of black shades with the Hollywood sign behind him.

Even though I lived in New York, there wasn't a flight for me to go straight to England at the desired time my mother wanted. So I had no choice but to fly to California first before getting a flight to here.

I stared at his picture for a quick minute before I finally realized who it was. That cheeky grin belonged to the boy I sat next to on the plane.

The mystery of how he found me on this site was something I was really curious about.

Accepting the request, it gave me full authority to scroll through his profile.

Rubbing my hands like an evil mastermind, I was ready to do the usual investigation when a chatbox popped up. Gazing down on it, I was slightly surprised to see that it was him.

Finds me in social media? Check. Chats me the second I accepted his friend request? Check.

Was this the part where I should be fearful for my life?

Adam Nicholas: Hey, thanks for accepting.

Sienna Clark: No problem. How did you find me?

Adam Nicholas: There are not that many teenage published authors under the name Sienna. Also, it was on the file you opened earlier.

Sienna Clark: I thought I was being stalked. What are you doing up at this time?

Adam Nicholas: Jetlag, which I can assume is also the cause of your wakefulness.

Sienna Clark: Correct.

I bit my lip, there wasn't really anymore I could say but I wanted to keep the conversation going. I didn't want him to just go offline, it felt oddly normal to be talking to some guy I just met during a twelve hour flight.

There were no goodbyes with him because it was just online. Everything would be purely online.

Besides, he was like that gap between the empty period when I was up in the air – leaving him for uncharted territory.

Sienna Clark: So how's it going?

Mentally cringing at the too simple question, I tried to relax as I waited for his reply. Those three dots that signaled that he was typing was like a gun being pointed towards my head.

Adam Nicholas: Good. I'm moving into my new flat tomorrow.

Finally, we had a topic!

Sienna Clark: You're moving? Why?

Adam Nicholas: Going to uni.

Sienna Clark: I'm in uni too.

Wait, did I sound too eager on that one?

Adam Nicholas: Really? I don't want to get too excited though, we might as well be living on different sides of the country.

Sienna Clark: Then it looks like we just have to make do with chatting like this.

This was so uncharacteristic of me. Here we find out that three o'clock jetlagged Sienna Clark was not someone to be trusted. When I've gotten my coffee and then look at this, I was sure that I would want to smack myself right across the face.

But the fact that we won't see each other face to face was actually giving me confidence. He won't judge me, he won't see me overthinking, he'll just be reading what I will be writing to him.

And anything that allows me to use writing over speaking is good in my book.

In writing, you can think before you jot it down. You can pick up and eraser and do over if you made a mistake, you have control of your words before you hand it to the other person. In talking, you might as well blurt out your thoughts then instantly regret right after because you can't take it back, it was already heard by others.

And that's why I prefer that medium of communication more. It was reversible and you can control how you sound like.

-------------------

While not exactly 3am, it's currently midnight when I'm writing this author's note so excuse me if I'm barely making any sense. I remember when I first put this story up, I didn't have an author's note for every chapter and it was so uncharacteristic of me. I find it as a way to communicate with you guys.

So how was your week?

By the way, a 450 item test that had to be answered within 4 hours with no breaks whatsoever totally screwed up my mind. And guess what? I'm going to do it again next week. Oh I love college so much. Just a couple of months and I'm officially done with it. 

Back to this. Don't forget to vote, comment, and follow. See you guys next chapter on Wednesday!