Chapter 3

The day was cool in the Pollock Residence. The birds chirped as they were flying past the large tall trees in the garden. Mr and Mrs Pollock had both went away on a business trip. They hired extra security in their premises but would allow both their children, Ted and his twin Tamara to have friends over. However they were a bit strict. None of those friends were allowed inside the house, they could only be outside. The twins knew the rules but only one of them obeyed them. Ted was the disobedient one, he would throw countless parties inside the house whereas his sister would go out to visit Monah at her house instead of having her at the Pollock Residence. 

Monah had only been there because of Ted, but only in secret. None of their parents ever saw her at their home. They neither approved of their children dating anyone since they wanted them to focus on their schoolwork alone.

Ted was swimming about in the pool. His blonde hair glowed even better in the water than when it was dry. Because of his long legs, the water ended on his neck. Tamara walked over and kicked the water aggressively, she knew that Ted did not like that. 

"What do you want?" The angry twin asked. 

"Did you know that Monah got accepted at the Regency Academy too?" 

Ted rolled his eyes. 

"So what? I don't care." He shrugged. 

"Well I just thought you should know that your ex will be in your face all the time. What are willing to do about it?" Tamara asked. 

Ted continued swimming as if he hadn't heard what his sister had spoken. 

"Michelle is my new girlfriend. I'm only concerned about her. So please do tell your friend Monah that I've moved on and so should she." Ted pressed. 

Tammy was annoyed. She kicked the water again. 

Her twin was agitated worse than before. 

"What now?" 

"Is Michelle going to attend the same college as us?" 

Ted raised an eyebrow

"Yes. She will. Is that a problem?" He asked. 

Tammy exhaled heavily. 

"You could change college. You know that right?" 

Ted stepped out of the pool. He took a towel and began to wipe off the water from his wet body. 

"I won't change school to make Monah comfortable. She brought this on herself." He pressed. 

Tammy opened her mouth wide in shock. 

"Did you even love her?" She asked.. 

"If I didn't love her, I wouldn't have brought her here at the house. You know how mom and dad are. I took some hard risks for her." 

"Risk? I think you just wanted her body nothing more. But because she let you down, you became angry with her. I can't believe you're my brother. You should be ashamed of yourself!" 

Ted began to laugh. 

"Stop acting all innocent. If you were as good looking as me, you would have done the same." He pressed. 

Tammy stood and watched as her twin walked away from her looking ever proud. 

She felt a slight guilt. If only she had told Monah from the beginning that her brother was applying at Regency Academy. But Ted had begged her to keep that a secret and she thought it was because he was trying to surprise Monah. Not knowing that he had bad reasons behind his secrecy. If only she knew. Tamara thought to herself. 

A month passed, all the first year students, including Monah and her friend Tamara, were to be allocated to their different classes. Monah packed all her clothes and her teddy bear to keep her company whenever she would feel like she missed her father. Mr Spencer was glad to see her daughter taking such an initiative to start her life and not allow Ted to put her down. 

"I'm gonna miss ya, kiddo." Said Ben. 

Monah wept a little. 

"I'm going to miss you too, dad." She said in a low voice. 

Suddenly a mini car parked outside their home, Tammy walked out excitedly. 

She began to knock at the door. Mr Spencer welcomed her in. 

"Is Monah ready?" Tamara asked 

"Ask her.." 

Monah dragged her large heavy bags 

"A little help here.." she cried. 

Ben grabbed the heavy bags and placed them at the boot of the car. 

The two girls jumped excitedly before leaving the house then hopped into the minicar. 

Mr Spencer waved the two girls goodbye as they drove off. 

The student residence manager Lily introduced herself to the students. She allocated them according to what their parents had arranged for them. Tamara and Monah were surprised when they were to get different rooms. 

"But this is not right." Said Tamara

"Your parents wanted you to get the best room. Spacious and big." Lily replied. 

"Can't I share it with my friend?" Monah asked.

"Unfortunately no. Your scholarship doesn't cover that amount of money for a room. The good news is that you wont be alone. You'll share it with someone." 

Monah was taken aback. 

"Share it with who?" She wondered. 

"I'm still not sure yet. Three people have applied for the room. You'll get the answer before the end of the day." 

With that said, Lily walked off. Swaying her hips from side to side. 

The two girls were disappointed. 

"At least we will visit each other. Let's go and I'll show you to my room." Tamara said excitedly. Monah followed her, cheerfully. 

The two passed many rooms, others were separated by tiny fences while others were separated by some tall trees. The area was called Linwood cottage. 

It had about 20 tall flat apartments in total. Tammy's room was spacious and she didn't share her room. It had one queen bed, a table, a couch, a stove and a refrigerator. 

The walls were all painted in white. The tiles were a mosaic and brown coloured. But neat and attractive. 

"Wow your room is a dream." Said Monah. 

Tamara chuckled. 

"Its terrible. My room back home is nothing like this. I guess all the student rooms are this boring. I'll try to bring some colour to it." 

The two girls laughed. 

"I wonder what mine looks like." Said monah. 

"Let's go and check it out!" Tamara insisted. The two girls quickly went their way. 

The morning arrived, Monah's anticipated roommate had not arrived still. 

To the teenager,it was a relief. She was certain she would probably stay alone the entire year but she was wrong. She looked at her timetable which had been sent to her through email days before she could even step foot in Seattle. 

Monah was strolling through the college campus, enjoying the warm sun on her face and the sound of birds chirping in the trees, when she suddenly saw something that made her stop in her tracks. She saw Ted walking hand in hand with Michelle. 

Monah's heart skipped a beat as she watched them, feeling a mix of anger, sadness and a hint of jealousy. She had thought that Ted would at least do a decent thing and change schools since he could afford to. Michelle was as tall as Ted. Both of them had blonde hair. The only difference was that Ted had grey eyes while Michelle had blue. 

Monah felt like a frumpy old maid as she didn't have a stylish outfit on like the one Michelle had on. A matching denim jacket and jeans. While she wore a black dress with orange floral print on it. 

"Hi." Monah said, in a low voice. 

Ted and Michelle simply ignored her greeting and continued to walk. 

Monah felt ashamed, why did she even greet them? She wondered. 

The young lady took deep breaths, trying to act nonchalant. She told herself that she didn't care about Ted or his new girlfriend, but deep down, she knew that wasn't true. She had thought that they were special, that their love was something that would last forever. But now, it seemed that she was just another notch on Ted's belt.

As she walked away, Monah couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. She had thought that she was moving on, that she was ready to start a new chapter in her life. But now, she felt like she was stuck in the past, mourning a love that was lost. She wondered if she would ever be able to move on, to find someone who could love her for who she was, flaws and all.