Several OCs will appear in this chapter and a few future chapters. Sorry if it is not to your liking.

It all seemed so strange, so surreal. Ten years back, were someone to tell Jamie that he was going to be in a college, actually pursuing a bachelor's degree, he would laugh in their faces. Jamie had never thought he would actually make it to tertiary education, considering his family's early financial state and his dreamer characteristic; he always thought he would be a drop-out. But there he was, thanks to a lot of things and a lot of people. Mrs. Warren had insisted on sponsoring him, ignoring all the talk about financial help from other sources, after realising that he could actually 'do something'. His other friends had also left Burgess, but where they went, he wasn't so sure about.

Jamie walked out of class, exhausted after a whole day of books, queues, freshmen and orientation, thinking of the 'temporary home' he was going to head back to. The whole day had gone by with him not speaking to anyone. Jamie was okay at adapting to new environments, but at the moment, awareness of the fact that he was miles from home and all alone frightened him a little. Another one of the many reasons his aunt had decided to cover all expenses. As he walked along the sidewalk, towards the bus stop, as the ubiquitous bikes zipped past him, his mind wandered over to the subject of his aunt, whose husband and daughter were long dead and gone. He couldn't help wondering if she felt obliged to help the Bennetts out as they were her only living relatives.

Jamie reached into his bag and pulled out his copy of his book and stared at the beautifully illustrated cover bearing the title and his name along with Sophie's. It was what had gotten him there. Mrs. Warren had been quite impressed with both of them, though like everyone else, she had questioned the source of their ideas and advised them not to dream too much. Jamie thought it was ironic.

Ten minutes later, he got off the bus and headed to the house that would be his home for the next four years, dreading what he was going to find there. He had stayed there the previous night and had heard one person whom he didn't greet nor see. He had been warned he would be sharing with at least two others. Not feeling quite sociable at the moment, Jamie hoped whoever they were had not yet returned.

The living room was in total darkness. Good. He crept in and shut the door quietly before hurrying upstairs. He heard sounds coming from one of the rooms, sounds which sounded rather familiar. Curious, he crept closer to the door, hoping whoever was behind it wouldn't hear him, and recognised those sounds. Video games. So, he was living with a gamer. Jamie retreated to his own room and locked the door.

The room had one window that looked out onto the street and as it was on the second floor, also provided a distant view of the college. There was not much furniture in it, save for a desk, which stood in a corner of the room next to a standing lamp, a bed, located near the window and a cupboard next to the desk. Not quite satisfied with the arrangement, Jamie had taken pains to push the bed forwards and shifted the desk over to the window. He was going to write there. And he didn't want to look up every few paragraphs to face a blank wall. Plus, the view was a pretty good one.

He heard the door of the other room open and close and the sound of footsteps across the landing. He dumped his bag on his bed and sat down at the desk, staring out the window and watching a few joggers hurry past. He was just thinking about joining them to stay in shape and head outdoors instead of staying cooped up in his room, writing or reading, when there was a loud knock on his door.

"Who's there?" he called. He felt an urge to tell them to go away, but it would give them a rather bad impression of him, and he would probably spend the next four years with a hostile housemate. Perhaps it would be best to get to know them.

There was no answer. But they didn't leave either. Jamie was about turn back to the window when a small voice on the other side of the door said, "Do you think you can open up?"

It sounded familiar. Jamie got to his feet and slowly walked over to the door, hesitating before unlocking and opening it. His jaw dropped.

"Monty?"

"Jamie! I knew it was you!"

Jamie couldn't believe it. Standing before him, large as live and real, was one of his closest friends. And he thought he was going to spend the next four years all alone! However, the coincidence seemed rather creepy...

"You didn't say you were coming here!" Jamie tried to say something instead of just staring and trying to figure if he was hallucinating.

"Well, you didn't ask!" Monty strode past him and into the room. He hurried over to the window. "Wow, you've got a nice view! All I can see from my window is the next house and it's super huge trash can at the side."

"Why did you come here?" Jamie asked.

Monty turned away from the window and back to Jamie. "A distant cousin of mine, who is the same age as us, and for whom today was also her first day, is here as well. They think I'm an unsociable person, so they decided I should go somewhere with familiar faces," the bespectacled boy explained, shrugging. "You?"

"Mine's a long story," replied Jamie. "Familiar faces? Why didn't you go with the others, then? You know, Pippa, Claude, Caleb and Cupcake? I heard they've gone to places pretty far away from Burgess."

Monty flopped down onto the bed and adjusted his glasses. "Yeah, and my mom didn't want me to go too far." He paused. "Play a game?"

Jamie shook his head. "Not today, Monty, sorry. Perhaps the weekend. And also, do we have other housemates?"

Monty shrugged. "No idea, but I shouldn't think so. Haven't seen anyone since yesterday, though I did see the lights on in your room and heard a lot of scraping sounds, like someone was moving the furniture about. I was just feeling rather homesick and preferred not to introduce myself or anything yet. But it turned out I don't need introductions!" He grinned.

Jamie sat at his desk, turning to face his friend. Seeing Monty there, things seemed to be a little better. Perhaps he wasn't all alone. It helped to have a familiar face around. "What about this cousin of yours? Where is she staying?"

"Pretty far from here, actually. I'll probably not see her at all, as she has a pretty tight schedule, so I don't get the whole 'familiar faces' thing." Monty got to his feet. "Well, I'll leave you in peace, since you look really worn out."

#

"I don't think this is a good idea, Monty," Jamie said, as they entered the gym housing the indoor pool on Saturday. Monty had suggested they both go for a little swim that weekend, and at the same time, he had to hand a wrongly-addressed parcel from his mom to his distant relative.

"Why not? I know you're not exactly a good swimmer, but a few laps can't hurt, can it?"

Jamie surveyed his surroundings. There were about ten people in the gym, most of them dressed in swimsuits, chattering. No one was in the pool. As Jamie watched, a girl fell in with a loud splash and a scream and began thrashing about, much to Jamie's horror. He was appalled when a group of swimmers began whooping and snapping photos while the girl struggled. No one in the gym seemed to care. Acting on instinct and impulsively, Jamie jumped in and grabbed hold of the girl, like how he had seen lifeguards on television, and pulled her to the surface.

Everyone was silent. All eyes were on them. Jamie released the girl upon noticing that she was staring at him with a rather weird expression. She treaded water, perfectly fine. "What was that for?" she asked, her tone gentle.

Jamie was dumbfounded. "You were... drowning?"

There was the smallest hints of a smile on her face. She gestured at the group of swimmers who had been cheering earlier. "I was just... it was merely... it's just for a photo."

"Right." Jamie awkwardly swam out of the pool, completely humiliated. He was soaked to the skin and dripping from head to toe. He brushed past Monty and out of the gym. On his way out, he bumped into a tall, rather intimidating man. Judging from the whistle hanging around his neck, Jamie guessed he must be a coach of some sort.

"You, boy!" he barked. "What happened with you?" Without waiting for a reply, he went on. "Did you get into the pool in those clothes?"

Jamie reluctantly looked up. "Yes, sir," he replied. "But I..."

"You do know it is against the rules and regulations, no?"

"Yes, but..."

"Coach Irving!"

Jamie turned at the sound of Monty's voice. He hurried out of the gym, without the parcel, which Jamie assumed he had delivered. The coach broke into a smile.

"Good to see you, Monty." His smile then turned into a frown. "Is Kendra in there? Is she training? If she isn't, she'll..."

Monty took Jamie's hand. "Yes, she is, coach. As hard as ever. Now, I need to take my friend back..."

Coach Irving's glare snapped back to Jamie. "I almost forgot. You..." he began, but Monty interrupted.

"Don't worry about it, coach. He just tried to save someone whom he thought was drowning. Turns out they were just fooling around," Monty hurriedly said.

Coach Irving nodded curtly and brushed past them into the gym. Monty dragged Jamie to a corner, attracting the stares of several students passing by. "What did you were you think?" he asked, incredulously.

"How would I know she was just fooling around?" Jamie protested. He buried his head in his hands. "I feel so humiliated."

Monty patted his back. "You know, I've got a piece of news that might humiliate you even further, but I'll only deliver it with your consent."

"Just say it. I don't think this can get any worse."

"That was my cousin. And she's a strong swimmer who owns a national record."

Jamie wished Death could just come and get him at that moment. "That did make it worse," he hissed. "Anyway, let's get back before I mess up again."

Jamie spent the whole Saturday contemplating on what he had done that morning. He was just trying to help after all. If the girl had really been drowning, he would've saved her! But then again, he should've known there was something up with all the other swimmers cheering. He continued staring out the window, the view providing a sort of solace, but at the same time, he wondered how he was going to face those ten people again should he see them around on campus. And they might not keep it to themselves.

As he watched the joggers jog past, he noticed a familiar figure. It was that swimmer! She paused outside the house and happened to glance up before Jamie could turn away. Noticing him, she went up to the front door and a moment later, the sound of the doorbell resonated throughout the house.

"I'll get it!" Monty said, hurrying downstairs.

"No!" Jamie half-yelled, but his friend was in the process of unlocking the perpetually locked door. "Oh, hi, Kendra! Nice of you to drop by!" Jamie heard Monty greet the girl. "And about earlier, you have to forgive Jamie, he..."

Jamie appeared at the bottom of the stairs. Monty's cousin turned to him and smiled. "Don't worry about today, er... Jamie, is it? It's fine, everyone understood why you jumped in... They'll keep it to themselves. I... made sure of that."

"Um, thanks," Jamie responded, quite tongue-tied. Monty's cousin didn't look in the least bit like him, but he did mention she was a distant relative. She was dark blonde and had a rather nice smile which lit up her brown eyes. She took a few steps backwards.

"Well, I have to go," she said and Monty nodded knowingly. He watched as she sprinted off down the sidewalk.

"Off on a four-mile run and the rest of her busy schedule," Monty said, shaking his head as he closed the door, before turning to Jamie, beaming. "Well, Bennett, after one week of being anti-sociable, I think you just earned yourself a new friend!"

More about this OC later, but here's something: I probably won't be able to update anymore, for some time, as I'll be taking my finals in a week. The next update will probably be somewhere in October, 8th or 9th, because that's when my finals end. I'm so sorry, but thanks for all the support!

Also, I've written two RotG one-shots, 'The Overland Boy' and 'Dark Lights' which you can check out (if you want to)! Thanks again!