VERY RAW DRAFT, TRYING TO ESTABLSIH INTEREST

Lou bundled down the stairs, struggling against the weight of two suitcases jam-packed with almost every item of clothing she had ever owned. Her parents and sister Treena were lined in the hallway awaiting het presence, their faces painted with delight.

"My baby ,off to college" Josie snuffled through a mound of tears, Lou continued to struggle with the bags as her mother enveloped her in a vice-like hug the likes of which she had never experienced before.

"Ow! Mum! You're hurting me!"

"Sorry dear" Josie released her daughter and they all scurried outside, everyone began to get teary-eyed ,even Bernard shed a tear despite his disguised worries about the now dismal income of money into the household.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Lou said almost sensing her father's monetary bereavement "I can always get a course closer to ho.."

"No,don't worry dear we'll manage,we always do, us Clarks are made of sturdy stuff" Josie said not wanting to worry her " Now come on hurry up your going to miss your bus, you don't want to be late"

Lou said her final goodbyes and turned to walk the 158 steps she'd been walking her entire life, but these steps felt different, frightening almost, because she knew that each step after those 158 would be new steps, steps away from the safety and comfort of the little town she had grown so accustomed to. As the bus' doors slammed shut Lou knew she had made the right watched as everything she had ever known, good and bad, became nothing but a speck in the distance.

After 2 hours on a bus, an hour on the train and 4 1/2 minutes staring at a woman's yellow and cobalt butterfly stilettos (which she was now determined to buy the second she saw them) she had arrived at Euston station. Lou became rather taken aback once she arrived stepped off the platform, in her quaint little home town she knew almost everyone's name, every face was a familiar face, now every face she saw was almost a blur, everyone was rushing here or there all in a world of their own leaving Lou stuck her own tiny world oblivious of what to do next. Lou suddenly remembered the note she had written for herself, she sunk her hands desperately into each compartment of her coat until she produced her lifeline.

Dear Lou,

You're probably standing on the platform wondering what you do next aren't you? You need to get out your underground pass and go to "CHANCERY LANE STATION" then walk down the road till you see the college. Don't even think about getting back on the train and coming home, this is what you've dreamed about since you were 5,remember what Mum always says "us Lou's are made of sturdy stuff"

Love Lou xx

***(JOURNEY CUT SHORT ADD)*** Finally reaching the college doors Lou was exhausted, her face was reddened and her muscles ached, she almost through the bags down at the entrance and was escorted into the main hall where she could meet her fellow classmates, this was a more home-like feel for Lou, everyone was smiley and talkative. It was like there was 40 clones of herself in the same room. After the meet and greet those who were staying at the college were escorted up to the accommodation, this was the part Lou was most excited about, getting her own roomie, they'd stay up all night and talk about shoes and boys and...Lou's train of thought was interrupted by an apology from the professor, "sorry Lou, it appears you're our odd-one-out, for some reason we always take an odd number of students", Lou let out a minuscule sigh and shuffled into her 1 bed dorm. The professor left her to it and she began to unpack her array of vibrant clothing, from rainbow heels to her bright yellow raincoat which made her look like Paddington bear, Lou then picked up her phone and called home,she'd never been away for this long and wanted to here some familiar voices.

Treena picked up the phone and they talked for hours

"so, meet anyone interesting yet"

"no, not really" Lou laughed "oh, wait I did meet this one guy on the tube, his name was Will,Will Traynor"