Saxon McCormick, 17, moved to the remote village of Crestcastle, located in the beautiful Scottish Highlands. Ever since her mother perished in an apartment fire, Saxon felt like she needed a chance to escape the busy city life, so called up her pat...
The actual walk to the main village was short but walking on the cobbled paths meant it took time. Still, Saxon was glad she was doing it on foot since she could stop whenever she wanted to admire the view. It was still unbelievable that this was her home.
As she was staring intently at Castle Gealach, she saw some movement in one of the windows- nothing much, just a flicker past a lit candle, then it went. She suddenly felt very self conscious about her watching and scurried on with haste.
The actual town was beautiful. It was yet another cobbled path, lined with quaint little cottage shops like bakeries, art exhibitions, cafes, even a bookshop.
She let out a breath that swirled in front of her. Remembering the cold in the air, she stuffed her hands in her pockets and started walking down the street.
She could have spent hours appreciating the window displays, but was interrupted by the sound of some people down the other end of the road. She spun to face them and saw a substantial group of 5 or 6. Not wanting to draw attention to herself, she quickly slipped in the bookshop and basked in the warmth.
The man at the till nudged his glasses down his nose to look at her with a friendly smile. She liked him already.
"You're up early! Are you here on holiday?" He asked.
"Oh no, actually, I've moved here. In with my grandma." Saxon explained, rubbing her hands together under one of the dimmed light.
"Mrs McCormick?" He took a guess, and surprised, Saxon nodded. Then again, it was a small place.
"Ah, she's a good friend of mine. She attends book club here." He flicked a page of his chunky novel over and studied it intently. Saxon drifted towards the shelves and ran her fingers over the gold embellished spines.
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"Enjoying it?" Mr Stauber, the bookshop owner questioned.
"It's one of the best books I've ever read." Saxon ran her finger over the book she'd bought an hour or so ago. He had offered her a seat in one of the bookshop's armchairs, and she had agreed happily.
Suddenly, both her and Mr Stauber's heads turned to the front door as the bell chimed.
A boy walked in, one arm full of shopping bags.
"Ah, Agan! Good to see you again. Family let you off shopping duty today?" Mr Stauber seemed familiar with him. Saxon, however, fidgeted in the chair and avoided eye contact with him. The one thing she was awful at (other then controlling her short fuse) was social interaction with kids her age. Ever since secondary school, it'd been a running theme in her life.
"Unfortunately not, Mr Stauber." The boy laughed.
"But you've been allowed to pay me a visit?" The shop owner enquired as if it was a rare occasion.
"You know my book allowance- one a month." Agan placed the shopping bags down and wandered over to the bookshelf with a speedy urgency. Saxon's eyes followed him across the room. The first book he took off the shelf was called 'The First World War'.
"I ordered that one on your request." Mr Stauber smiled.
Fishing out a few notes and coins, Agan paid and went to sit down in one of armchairs near Saxon who's eyes flickered to the floor involuntarily.
"I haven't seen you around before." He commented and she felt the symptoms of her social anxiety fall upon her.
"I've just moved." She tried to explain quickly.
"That's cool. I'm Agan. Nice to meet you." He gave her a smile, showing off his very bright white teeth.
