Goddess of Room 124

Chapter 1

Author's Notes: I have absolutely never written this many words for a chapter. Ever. I've also never felt this strong of a drive to stop kidding myself and actually write something down. It's an idea that has been floating around my head for a little while. Now, I'm going to admit, I've been trying to come up with many other plot ideas; however, this generic one seemed to stick a little better.

Anyway, it would be amazing if someone would sit down, read this, critic it, and tell me whether or not it would be good enough to continue. I love collective criticism, but if you make me upset and tell me all of the reasons why I suck at writing, I'll keep writing just to annoy you. On top of that, I'll actually finish the story and feel good about myself. So, ha. But, in all seriousness, I would love to receive tips and corrections to make me a better writer.

My name is Doodle Bandit and this is my first novel. Read on, good luck, and "may the force be with you" (Lucas).

Disclaimer: Anything you see here that you recognize as a brand or product is obviously not mine.

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Every now and then, he would see her enter the bookstore, her long, brown hair swept out of her dark eyes. Her pink lips would always be curled in a determined smile and she knew exactly what book she was after. In the past six months, he had seen her pass through that door countless times. She always left with a single book, but days later, that one book was not enough for her growing library.

"One has never been enough for me when it comes to books," she said, handing him a couple of dollars for the paperback, "could you believe that?"

In his mind, he answered he could then proceeded to ask her to join him for coffee after his shift; however, he would only smile, nod, and hand back her nickels and dimes. He wasn't very good at talking to a pretty girl who happened to enjoy reading and staying at home instead of going to parties to drink. When she would walk out the door, the bell above would chime mockingly at him for letting this girl get away once again. Knowing her book addiction was the only encouragement that he had another chance to finally ask her out for that coffee, he remained content of the secret relationship he planned to have with this girl. He didn't know if she would say yes, but he was fine with a polite no, because he knew he would still see her roam around the bookstore on the corner of 7th avenue.

Walking home after a long and exhausting day, he was sure he saw the girl outside of the bookstore for the very first time. She was sitting on a park bench in the middle of the community park, eating something from a brown bag, and completely focused on the book in her thin hands. He so much wanted to approach the girl and say hello, but his nerves flooded and drowned his confidence and he quickly passed by to his apartment complex just around the bend. Someday, he told himself, I'll say real words to her. He briskly went up the flight of stairs to his floor with the idea of finally confronting her on his mind. His confidence levels were so high, but it was all too late. Maybe in the morning, he thought while entering his apartment.

Thinking back, he knew he was never good with women. Even in middle school, he couldn't breathe a word to the girls that asked him for a spare pencil or the answer to question seven. He would be obliged to help out; however, he would only silently hand them his only pencil or show them his finished worksheet, allowing them to copy all of the answers so they wouldn't have to talk to the wall again. In reality, not only was he afraid of the strange female creatures that surrounded him, he also greatly admired them and found it impossible to even be worthy enough to speak to one of them. In his eyes, every woman was a beautiful goddess perched up on the highest pedestal for every man to admire. There was no difference among these girls. He saw the same beauty of every single girl he came across of and each of them seemed to take a tiny piece or two of his heart. Nevertheless, he could still never find the words to say to any of them.