The View From My Window

Chapter 1

Picture of Hazel Brown On The Side --->

Chapter one

Turn Left At The Next Intersection In Approximately One Hundred Yards.

The voice of the GPS had become an annoying monotonous drone over the course of the 5 hour long road trip to Oakville.

My eyes were heavy with exhaustion as I approached the red traffic light. I flashed a quick glance down at the GPS screen and gave a deep sigh of relief. Finally! I was only 5 minutes away.

I turned left, just as the robotic voice had directed. I had been following her instructions for so long now it felt as though my limbs would move on their own accord when an order was given.

Continue On For Twenty Yards Then Take The First Right

The pit of my stomach began to tingle as the thought of finally arriving filled me with excitement. Living on my own for the first time!

It has been a complete shock to me when I received my acceptance letter from the University of Oakville. Thanks to my mother forgetting to post my applications, I had to submit a late entry. How it had happened was totally beyond my understanding. So until about a week ago, I didn't even think I'd be going to university.

The following week had been the most stressful I'd had in a long time. All my possessions had to be packed and organized as soon as possible. I hardly had any time before the start of the semester and I had no idea where I'd even be living. All of the campus dorms had been taken, as well as every type of accommodation within a 10 minute radius of the university. So I settled with a converted apartment building on the outskirts of town, about a 20 minute drive away. Well at least it was cheap. I had spoken to the landlady on the phone a couple of times and briefly seen a few pictures of the place, but to be honest, I wasn't too fussy as long as I had a place to live.

YOU HAVE REACHED YOUR DESTINATION

I stopped the car. I was finally here! The feeling was a little surreal, I couldn't quite believe it. I unbuckled my seatbelt and got out of the car.

The house was huge, standing 3 stories high, with two large chimneys on either side of the roof. It was completely detached and standing alone, with no other buildings anywhere in the surrounding area. It had a daunting presence. Almost like a haunted house, with its dark brick walls and countless windows, like the eyes of a spider staring out at you. The dark wooden door was large and located directly front and centre of the building. There were two white Grecian-looking pillars standing in front of the door on top of which stood a small roof, sheltering the entrance.

I was taken aback by the grandness of the whole thing. Surely this 'thing' could not be student accommodation. It looked more like an old Edwardian mansion. Maybe in my tiredness I had taken a wrong turning. But I'm pretty sure I followed the GPS exactly. So this must be it.

I climbed the stairs leading to the front of the door and tapped the ancient-looking knocker a few times, having the strangest feelings that a butler would come to answer the door. I stood waiting but there was no answer. So I knocked again. Maybe I actually did have the wrong house? This place seemed deserted and was beginning to creep me out slightly.

Just as I was about to knock again, a woman came around from the side of the house and ushered me over. Hesitantly, I approached her.

"Hi, you must be Skyler!" she exclaimed with a cheery smile. "I'm Hazel Brown, we talked on the phone?"

Hazel Brown. I smiled thinking what a quirky name it was. But her quirky name perfectly matched her quirky look. She had brown slightly frizzy hair, brown gleaming eyes and her outfit looked as if she could be cast as a witch in a movie.