Little Nobody (open)

[bubbles]

It was just after two when Tabitha hugged her dad and gave her dad a quick peck on the cheek before heading out the door. Her parents were super protective, and Tabitha was very close with them, but she was also a very independent girl. She walked to the garage and opened the lock, turning the key as she did so very often. She walked over to her mother’s old bike. She had one of her own that was much newer, but she loved the vintage look of her mom’s old bike, the pink paint falling off here and there. She set her books - a collection of Edgar Allan Poe’s works and Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging- in the little white woven basket hooked onto the front of the handle bars and pushed it out of the garage. Once the garage was locked back up, Tabitha climbed on and headed down the driveway, toward a peaceful afternoon of reading.

Tabitha pedaled her bicycle peacefully down the sidewalk on her way to Starbucks as she thought about the world around her. Most people her age would probably be at the beach or planning summer parties or vacations. But, here she was, slowing down her bike as she neared the Starbucks, getting ready for her time to be able to sit back, relax, and read. Tabitha immediately pulled her bike up to one of the tables outside and locked it up before heading inside to order. She paid for her apple juice and blueberry muffin and headed back outside to her table. Once settled down, Tabitha pulled out her book of Poe, as her brother so fondly called it and sat back, starting in on “The Tell-Tale Heart.”

[addison lynn montgomery]

Addy couldn't understand why her parents thought that she needed more friends. She had Riley, and that was enough for her, but unfortunately, it wasn't enough for her parents. They were sick of her just lazing around the house and reading. In their opinion she should be outside being active and socializing, not locked in her room reading chapter after chapter. Sighing, Addy hopped on her bike and started to ride aimlessly. Her parents wanted her to do something other than read and that was what she was going to do. As she rode around town, Addison quickly became bored. There wasn't much going on in Pebble Cove, but then again, there never was much going on in town.

Wrapping her fingers around the brake handles, Addy squeezed them and brought her bike to a stop in front of Starbucks. After taking care to lock up her bike, Addy went inside and ordered a small iced coffee and a bagel. She had missed lunch, so the bagel would make up for it. As she waited for her order to be filled, Addy started to play with a loose strand of hair absentmindedly while taking a look around the interior of the restaurant. It wasn't very full, but there wasn't any reason for it to be full. It was a nice, warm, and sunny summer day, everyone was probably hanging out at the beach, trying to stay cool.

Grabbing her order from the counter once it was ready, Addy paid and walked outside to where there were some tables with umbrellas to shade customers from the sun. At one of the tables, Addison noticed a girl with a book in her hands. From the cover, Addy could tell that the book was a collection of Edgar Allan Poe's work. Smiling slightly, Addy approached the girl, "Wonderful writer, wasn't he?" She said as a way to start conversation. No one she knew from school would choose freely to read Poe, so she knew that this girl had to be different.

[bubbles]

Tabitha was finishing up “The Tell-Tale Heart,” shivers running through her as she did. Edgar Allan Poe may be an absolute genius when it came to writing, but he was also an absolute genius in sending shivers down Tabi’s spine. She took another bite of her muffin, halfway through it now and turn the page to begin “The Pit and the Pendulum.” Before she did, however, Tabitha looked around the little café. She really liked coffeehouses. She was never much for Starbucks when it first moved in as it always seemed to be the place the preps went to. But as time went on, she saw more and more types going in and out; preps, punks, musicians, businessmen, etc. After a while, she gave it a shot, and found out the outdoor café was the perfect spot for her to spend her time. Although not quite a regular, she was getting pretty close to it.

As Tabitha’s eyes began to read the first few sentences, someone approached the table where she was sitting. Tabitha jerked suddenly when the girl spoke, causing her to drop the book and almost fall out of her chair. She let out a sigh of relief once she had settled back down and picked back up her book, murmuring a barely audible ”Sorry” as she looked at the girl for the first time before looking back down again, scolding herself for being so fragile. She gave a sheepish sort of smile as she addressed the question. ”Yeah, brilliant, but scary.” Tabitha looked back down before realizing that the girl might want to sit down. She hesitantly looked back up. ”Um… do you, wanna, um, sit down?” she asked her timidly, unsure of what she might do if the girl actually sat down and started to talk to her.

[addison lynn montgomery]

Addy hid her smile as she watched the girl jump and almost fall from her chair. "I never read his stories at night just in case I get a little too spooked." She said, taking the seat that was offered. From what she could tell, this girl was different from other girls that Addison had known. She was willingly reading Poe's work and enjoying it! Maybe this was someone that she could be friends with, Addy had similar interests if her reading was anything to go by.

Placing her iced coffee on the table after taking a small sip, Addison removed her bagel from the bag and started to remove the wax paper wrapping from it. "I don't think I've seen you around before. Are you new to town, or am I just that unobservant?" Addy asked, hoping that her answer would be the first one. She would feel horrible if she had never noticed the girl sitting in front of her. Usually, Addy would notice people and make it a habit to learn names, but there could have been one that she missed. After all, she's only human! "I'm Addison, by the way. I haven't met many people who enjoy reading like I do."

[bubbles]

Tabitha watched wearily as the girl sat down. She was suddenly even more nervous, if that were possible. She was like some scared little rabbit; ready to jump away at the slightest of movements. “Yeah, same here,” she mumbled below her breathe, but hopefully loud enough for her to hear. Tabitha was a super-quiet, uber-shy girl who never really talked to people outside of her best friend, Marigold, currently living in Europe, and her family. So, this girl talking to her now was something Tabitha often preferred to be prepared for. It wasn’t that Tabs was some socially awkward person who couldn’t make out a full sentence, she just hadn’t had a lot of close friends since she was just a little girl.

Tabitha smiled slightly as the girl mentioned not recognizing her. This wasn’t anything new to Tabitha. “Well, I, uh…” Tabitha didn’t want to offend the girl, she seemed really nice, but the truth was, Tabitha had lived here her whole life; since the day she was born. “I’ve… prett-pretty much li-lived her my whole life.” Tabitha mumbled. Tabitha wanted to tell the girl it was probably more Tab’s fault than the girl’s; that it was probably more the fact that she stayed low and to herself than the girl possibly being unobservant.

“I’m. Um. Taabb-Tabitha.” Tabitha shook her head like she was dumbfounded kid. Gah, she hated herself for being such a dweeb. She tried to recover herself. “I absolutely love reading.” Tabi’s voice started to go up on the end, almost like he was turning it into a question. She wanted to say more, but was afraid to. She wouldn’t know what to say in the first place, or if she would accidentally say something wrong and mess herself up.