"Then, Jay chugged a whole can of beer in thirty seconds", said Tabitha.

She was working her shift at the Baked Potato, and there weren't that many customers.
She was on sandwich orders and Bolin was on waiter duty, but he snuck away for a few minutes to talk to Tabitha.

"Wow, that's crazy!
Those days of parties and beer guzzling are long gone for me", said Bolin.

"Really?
Why?"

"The first year of Uni is usually more relaxed than the others.
First years have the energy to have fun."

"And what, second and third years don't?"

Bolin shook his head.
"We run on coffee and broken sleep schedules.
We don't have time for fun."

"Hey!
You took my order twenty minutes ago! I only asked for a panini", called out a customer.

Tabitha checked the counter, where all the orders were taped down.
She tried to skim through the order slips.

"Oh God, what's taking so long!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I just need to–"

"How hard is it to look for my order?"

Bolin approached the man, holding his hand out.
"Sir, may I see your receipt for the order num–"

"Are you f*cking kidding me?", he interjected.
"I'm hungry!
I could go to any cafe, but I somehow chose the one that has an idiot like you working here."

"Oi!", exclaimed Tabitha.
"He's just trying to make the process quicker for you.
There's no need to shout at him."

"I didn't ask for your input", frowned the customer.

Tabitha raised an eyebrow.
She placed a hand on her hip.
She tried to calm herself down, but every second that she looked at the man's smug face, just seemed to increase her rage.

"Sit your a** down or get the h*ll out!", she snapped.

The man's eyes widened.
It was clear no one had ever spoken to him like that, much less an eighteen year old.

"What's going on here?", asked Venn. "Everything's good, I hope?"

"No, everything is not good", whined the man.
"This child shouted at me!"

"Oh cry me a river!", frowned Tabitha.

"I want her fired."

"No, please don't–", started Bolin.

"I'm not talking to you", said the man.

Venn looked at a seething Tabitha, then at a worried Bolin.
After a few seconds, he looked back at the man.

"We have a three strikes and you're out policy here, so we will not fire her, but rest assured, her behaviour is not something we encourage here at the Baked Potato."

"That doesn't assure me at all."

"Sir, would you like a free coffee?
And fifty percent off your next order?", offered Bolin.

Venn gave him a subtle nod, followed by the faintest smile Tabitha had ever seen.

The man huffed.
"That's the least you can do, but sure. And I want my chicken panini now."

Bolin rushed over to the sandwich making station, and got the man's panini out.
He quickly and neatly wrapped it up, placing a small sticker on the front with the cafe's logo on it.

"Here you go, Sir.
I'm very sorry for the delay."

The man snatched it and stormed away, making sure to scowl at Tabitha as he did so.

Tabitha rolled her eyes.
"I hope you get salmonella", she mumbled.

Venn turned to Tabitha, and crossed his arms.
His eyes darkened, and there was an intense look of disappointment and anger on his face.

"What are you playing at?"

"Me?
I didn't do anything!"

"Snapping at a customer?
What on Earth made you think that was ok?"

"He was being mean to Bolin–"

"It doesn't matter.
We get rude customers all the time. That's why it's even more important that we hurry up with their order so they can get the h*ll out."

Tabitha frowned.
"It's not my fault, I–"

"You work for the Baked Potato now. That means everything you do represents us."

"I-I didn't think about it like that."

"As punishment, I'm putting you on the night shift on Saturday.
Trust me, working the night shift on Saturdays is the worst."

"But why are you punishing me?
It's–"

"She understands, Venn", interrupted Bolin.
"Sorry for taking up so much of your time."

Venn nodded.
"Right, well... just think next time."

Bolin waited for Venn to be out of earshot, before turning to face a confused Tabitha.

"You don't wanna anger Venn anymore than he already is right now."

¤¤¤

"And then he had the audacity to act like I was the one in the wrong!", vented Tabitha.

Jace was organising the cupboards, after someone had left the cereal packets open.

"That sucks", he said.

"Right?
I really need this job, but I'm already in hot water with my boss!
And all I was doing was sticking up for Bolin."

"Isn't that part of being an adult though?"

Tabitha furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"What do you mean?"

Jace added a few more grapes to his bowl, before walking over to the table, and sitting next to Tabitha.

"Well, loads of adults have to follow rules in their job that they don't really want to.
You know, they can't lash out at their boss, even if they have the best intentions for it.
They have to hold their tongue."

"I don't know if I can do that", said Tabitha.

She reached for a grape, a small gasp escaping her lips when she touched the frozen grapes.
She popped two in her mouth, before sighing heavily.

"I get it.
You like to speak your mind right?"

Tabitha nodded.
"I've got a bad temper too.
My Mum always said she felt sorry for my future boyfriend, because I'd just bite their head off every time we argued."

Jace shrugged, leaning closer to her as he spoke.
"I don't know... I like a girl who's got some fire in her."

A coy smile appeared on Tabitha's face, and she brushed a few strands of hair away from her eyes.
She placed another grape in her mouth, this time savouring it, and maintaining eye contact with Jace as she did so.

"You know what I like to do when I'm angry?", asked Jace, swiftly standing up, as if he didn't trust himself to be that close to Tabitha.

"What?"

"Dance."

"I'm not a dancer though."

"It's not so much about the dancing, it's more about the feeling.
Art is a powerful tool.
You're a writer, aren't you?
Maybe try doing something with that?"

¤¤¤

A few hours passed, and after devouring her plate of biryani—which Anvi cooked for the group, Tabitha rushed to her room and locked the door.

Jace's words kept repeating in her head. She dreamed of being able to make art the way that Jace could.
She caught him dancing in his room a few times, when he made the mistake of assuming he was home alone, and left his bedroom door open.

He moved effortlessly, each movement acting like a brushstroke for the bigger picture he was creating.

Tabitha tried to remember the last time she used her writing to make a statement.
The only memory she could think of, was when she wrote a poem for her friend who was being bullied.
She wrote it from the perspective of the bully, and stayed up for hours every night, trying to find the right words to say.

Tabitha reached for her phone, and scrolled through her contacts.
Her thumb hovered over one number, as Tabitha hesitated.
After a few seconds, she took a deep breath, and decided to bite the bullet.

"Hello?
Jay?"

"Hey."

"It's Tabitha, from our
'Exploring Creative Writing'
class."

"Oh... yeah, I remember.
Wasn't expecting your call, sorry."

"Oh, no, uh, I'm sorry... is it weird to call?
Should I have just texted?"

"No, no, it's alright!
I've gotten so many messages from people in my other classes.
It's nice to actually hear someone's voice."

"I get what you mean.
Anyway, are you free?"

"Like, to meet up?"

"Uh, it's more of an over-the-phone thing."

"I'm intrigued.
What's up?"

"I've just had an idea for a small project.
What's your schedule like this week?"

¤¤¤

Sutton, KJ, Jace, Luka and Anvi waited outside the Baked Potato.
Luka had received a text from Tabitha, telling them all to meet her outside the cafe.
KJ leaned against a lamppost, his hands shoved in his pockets.
Anvi walked over to him and smiled softly, before standing next to KJ and resting a shoulder on the lamppost. 

Sutton opened a packet of dried apricots.
She always packed snacks.
She slapped Jace's hand away when he grabbed some apricots, but that didn't stop him from taking a few.
He offered one to Luka, who just shook his head.

"Why do you think Tabitha wanted us all here?", questioned Luka.

"I think it's something to do with the man she was telling us about.
You know, the one who complained?", replied Jace.

"She's not gonna fight him, is she?", asked a worried Sutton. 

Jace shook his head.
"No, 'course she isn't."

Just as Sutton was about to respond, Tabitha came into view, with Jay and a few other people behind her.
Jay had a huge banner in his arms, and was whispering something to Tabitha, that made her smile.

"Tabitha, hey!", smiled Sutton.

Tabitha's eyes widened when she saw Sutton.
Her eyes landed on KJ, then Anvi, and finally on Luka and Jace.
Her nervous half-smile was replaced by a bright smile, as she looked at her fellow roommates. 

"You all came?"

Sutton nodded.
"Of course, that's what friends do."

Tabitha smiled.
She noticed Jace's expression.
It wasn't one of surprise, but in fact, the exact opposite.
It was like he knew she'd find a solution to her problem.
He winked at her, before grinning, and Tabitha had to look down so he wouldn't see her blushing.

Sutton furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, and looked back at Jace, then Tabitha.
Before she could question what was going on between them, Tabitha turned to the boy next to her.

"Uh, this is Jay.
He helped me with this."

Jay waved, a small smile appearing on his face.
"How's it going?"

"We've been working on this a lot", said Tabitha.

"That's great, but what is... this?", asked Luka.

"Right, uh, well... we sort of put together a little poetry recital thing", explained Tabitha.
"It's just going to be out here."

"A poetry recital?", questioned KJ.

Tabitha nodded.
"Yeah, I... I wrote a poem kind of, like, explaining how I felt about... well you'll see.
I just really wanna get this off my chest."

"I can't wait to hear it", said Jace. 

A girl tapped Tabitha on the shoulder. She nodded to her, and Tabitha nodded back, before giving her a small smile and turning to the group again.

"That's my cue."

"Go get 'em, Tabi!", smiled Sutton.

"You're going to be amazing", said Anvi.

"Yeah, and we'll be right here supporting you", said Luka.

"Good luck", said KJ.

Jace stepped closer to her, and placed a hand on her arm.

"You've got this", he whispered.

Tabitha smiled.
"Thanks."

Jay and the blonde girl, Cassie, held the banner up next to Tabitha.
It had the words 'poetry recital' written on it, with some designs drawn in black, green and blue biro.

Tabitha thought about bringing a megaphone or a microphone, but decided against it at the last minute. She was worried people would get annoyed and start shouting.
That was the last thing she wanted.

"Uh, h-hey!
My... My name's Tabitha.
I've been uh, writing a poem.
It took a long to write, mainly because it was coming from a place of anger.
I wasn't really channeling my anger... I was just letting it take over."

She pointed to Jay and Cassie.

"My friends here, they helped me organise all this.
It's just going to be me saying my piece then I'll get out of your hair.
But... if you like what I have to say, and maybe have something to say yourself... come over here with us.
We'd love to listen."

Aside from her roommates, no one stopped to listen.
The most attention she received was from passers-by giving her dirty looks. Maybe this was a mistake.

She felt a hand on her arm, and turned to see Jay.
He gave her a warm smile.
His freckles were much more visible. Tabitha didn't even know he had freckles.
Granted, she hadn't known him for that long, but it made her question how much attention she had been paying to others.

"Why did you help me?", asked Tabitha.

"What?
What are you on about?"

"You could've been studying, or having fun, but you helped me.
Why?"

"Ok, first off, hanging out with you was fun.
And... we believe in the message of your poem.
It's a f*cking important one that people need to get into their heads."

Cassie nodded in agreement.
"I just wish we had like a massive venue or something, so more people could hear it."

"Really?"

Cassie nodded.
"Really."

"You almost chewed my ear off when we first met", joked Jay.
"You talked non-stop about your favourite books.
Where's that girl now?"

Tabitha looked at Jay and Cassie, two people who had so much confidence in her.
She turned back around, and looked at her roommates.
Sutton, Anvi and Luka looked concerned, but Jace just waited patiently, as if Tabitha had just gone off for a lunch break.

She smiled sweetly at her roommates, before taking a deep breath.

"Where was I?
Right... my poem.
It's about how teenagers, and I'm talking fresh out of college, are expected to be mature and smart and ready for life.
We're really not."

"I put my top and jeans on back to front this morning", said Cassie.
"I'm a mess most days."

The roommates, Jay and Tabitha laughed.

"Exactly!
Well, here's my poem.
I hope you like it."

Tabitha cleared her throat, and took the notebook that Jay handed to her.
She flipped through it to find the right page, her nerves bubbling away the closer she got to it.
When she got to it, she saw a small note that Jay had scribbled next to the title.

TABITHA'S AWARD WINNING POEM!

She chuckled and playfully rolled her eyes.

"I know growing up is a part of life.
It's a tale told far more often than any fairytale.
The princesses are still in their mother's bellies when the teen is thrown out of the solace of high school.
It was a gruelling place, far more dangerous than the dragons the princes fought.
But it was a home.
A place where you knew what to expect and eventually, who to trust. 

Then, when the princesses are getting pricked by needles, reading books with the beast and eating poisoned apples, the teen is chest-deep in a world of crippling anxiety and exceedingly high expectations.
Hold your tongue.
You're not a kid anymore.
Grow up!

How can they grow up when, just a moment ago, they were children?

The teen does not find a prince to shelter them.
They are forced to take every bullet, stitch up every wound and cover every scar. 

Well, this teen will no longer cover her scars.
She will paint them in gold for the world to see."

¤¤¤

The next day, Tabitha and Bolin sat on a bench in the park, which was about a ten minute walk from the flat.
He handed her a hot chocolate he bought for her.

"Thanks", she said.

"So... I heard your poem."

Tabitha's eyes widened, and she lifted her cup too high, drops of steaming hot chocolate burning her cupid's bow.

"Ow–sh*t!", she winced.

"Oh, careful!
It's hot."

"No sh*t, Sherlock.
Wait, how did you find out about my poem?
Were you there?"

Bolin shook his head.
"No, someone recorded it.
Actually a lot of people recorded it.
It's doing the rounds on social media."

"What?
Wow, I... I didn't expect that."

"I thought it was really amazing."

"You did?"

Bolin nodded.
"You're very talented."

Tabitha blushed.
"Oh, I don't know about that–"

"I do.
What inspired you to write it?"

"Well, at first it was because I was angry about being punished for what that d*ck did to you", she explained.

"The rude customer at work?"

Tabitha nodded.
"Yeah.
I talked to my roommate, well, you know him—Jace."

"Jace!
What a great guy", he grinned.

Tabitha smiled.
"He is.
Anyway, he told me that holding my tongue is just a part of growing up.
That adults have to abide by certain rules.
That got me thinking about growing up in general.
I mean, how are we expected to be perfect adults all of a sudden?
We've only just finished college!"

"No one's expecting you to be perfect", said Bolin.
"That's what Uni is for.
You learn how to balance a heavy workload with schoolwork, and you challenge yourself by doing things you never thought you could."

Tabitha exhaled softly.
She looked down at her hands.

"I don't really know if that's why my parents wanted me to go to University."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm... well, my Dad would say I'm just rough around the edges.
I speak my mind and dámn the consequences.
I caused a lot of problems for them growing up."

"You did?"

Tabitha nodded.

"One of my cousin's, Zack, has a stutter. It was really bad when we were younger.
Someone in his class made fun of him, and I beat the sh*t out of them."

Bolin's eyes widened.
"Oh...wow."

"And one time, my friend was stressed out about an exam.
I made her stay out with me all night, to take her mind off things.
We were supposed to be home at seven, so she could get enough sleep before the exam.
We met this group of boys, and they were doing stupid stuff like
parkour—with no training.
They dared me to climb on someone's roof.
My friend kept telling me we had to go, but I was so desperate to prove that I wasn't a wimp.
I lost my footing and fell.
It wasn't that far, but I had definitely messed up my ankle.
She stayed with me at the hospital until my parents could come, and someone could take her home.
She was so worried about me, and that just made her nerves worse.
She did so badly in that exam."

"Did she ever blame you?"

"No.
But I knew it was my fault she was so stressed out before the exam.
My parents got into a huge fight.
Mum blamed Dad for me being so reckless.
She said he raised me to think I was indestructible.
They made up after, but things were tense for a while.
I just... I feel like my parents were thrilled about me going to Uni because it was, like, a solution to their problem."

"What do you mean?"

"They think Uni is like a quick fix, a sure-fire way to make me more grown up.
Like they're expecting me to be perfect when I get back."

Bolin's face softened.
Unsure of what to say, he reached out and placed a hand over Tabitha's hand.

Tabitha felt her eyes begin to water, as she relived all of those memories again. She pressed her lips together, in an attempt to compose herself.

"I love my family.
I'm just so scared that I'm going to let them down."

"Hey, hey... that's not going to happen", said Bolin.
"Look, I don't know your parents, but I don't think they want you to be perfect. I think they just want you to be in a good environment that will help you mature.
Most parents want that for their kids."

"But what if they do want me to be perfect?
What if I'm just too messed up to be the daughter they want?"

"You already are the daughter they want, Tabitha.
They just want what's best for you.
And you're not messed up so I'm going to need you to get that thought out of your head right now."

Tabitha chuckled.
She placed a hand on her head, and mimed plucking something from her head, before pulling it out and throwing it.

Bolin laughed, and patted her hand.

"That's the spirit!"

Tabitha wiped her face as she laughed.

"So, do you have any more poems written?"

"Uh, not really.
I had a lot of fun though."

"Well maybe you should write more! You've got a YouTube channel, right? Maybe put them on there?
You could talk about your writing process."

Tabitha screwed her face up in disgust and shook her head.

"Who's going to be interested in my work?"

"Me, for starters.
And your roommates."

"Mmm, I don't know..."

"It could be a good way to build a fanbase."

"And what if it's just you guys that watch it?"

"You won't know for sure unless you try."

_______

Hi.

This chapter went through a lot of editing. The initial idea for this chapter was one I changed slightly. This series has a lot of drama in it, but after watching a show from a few years ago, about Uni life, I realised that I wad focusing too much on drama, and not enough on the fact that these students are in their first year of University. Don't get me wrong, there will still be plenty of chapters devoted to just drama, but I want to try and focus on the University life aspect too.

Ok I know the poem is really bad! I wrote it, and I'm a little rusty when it comes to writing poetry. I used to write poetry, but they weren't particularly good poems. I just want to explain the last line "she will paint them in gold for the world to see." This line refers to Tabitha deciding to own her mistakes, and admit that she's not going to be perfect, because she's still learning who she is in the world.

Do you have any feedback, from a writing perspective? I'm not too happy with the way I paced this chapter, and I feel like I didn't use as much detail.

This chapter didn't feature the other characters that much, and there will be quite a few chapters that just focus on certain characters, but I hope you still find it interesting enough to read.

What are your thoughts on this chapter?

LeMystical-Puffle

ruesbennett

1-800-SHAWNHUNTER-

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