Project You

Chapter 6

Monday was the most busy college day, yet it was somehow also the slowest time of the week in the library since nobody wanted to work on any assignments on a Monday afternoon. Everyone was still pitying themselves over the weekend that had finished.

But I also think that procrastination was indeed a bitch.

There were exactly seven people in the library when I got here, still not having gone to my last class of the day and im eighty percent sure i'd be receiving an email for it any day now.

There were four girls and three guys in here. Two guys were together and one was reading whilst the other laid on his hands, every once in a while the guy reading would look to him and by the small smile on his face when he saw the other guy still laying there most probably asleep asleep, I knew the were probably dating.

There were three girls huddled together, one laptop and two books and in pretty sure they were helping the girl with the laptop for a paper that was due and she was probably late for the due date anyway.

The last was a guy and a girl sitting at the back, none reading, both writing and books on their desks, they were probably the same major, maybe friends, maybe lovers, I couldn't come up with a set answer for that one because neither of them seemed to touch or look at each other, except when they did speak, it looked like they had some unspoken thing going on.

Sometimes when I was bored and there was nothing left to do, i'd look at the people around here and make a little story of their lives, it was fun, interesting to see play out, sometimes I think I was right but im pretty sure I wasn't.

It didn't matter though. It was still amusing for a little while.

I ran my hands down my hair, looking to the time on the wall, then looking to the book on the table. I'd been reading Shakespeare's Macbeth, not because I liked William Shakespeare, because I kinda didn't, but because I kinda liked how Lady Macbeth was written.

I'd smiled every time she spoke, running the pad of my thumb over her words.

'Unsex me here.'

'Look like th'innocent flower, But be the serpent under't'.

Like most of every woman I preferred Jane Austen, just the betrayal and raw emotion in Macbeth was something that kept me entertained for a long time.

'He is a gentleman, and I am a gentleman's daughter. So far we are equal.' Pride and Prejudice. 'Give a girl an education and introduce her properly into the world, and ten to one but she has the means of settling well, without further expense to anybody.'

I adored Jane Austen's writing, her portrayal on woman and I hoped everyone else did too, her books were written long ago but Elizabeth Bennet was a woman of all time's, and so was Jane.

Someone cleared their throat as I read and I blinked away from the pages, looking up and my small lingering smile fell as quick as it came.

"Okay I get that you don't like me but wow..." Karsen drawls the last word out, shaking his head slowly and I rolled my eyes, knowing fully well I hadn't grimaced or frowned at him this time.

My face was definitely just neutral but he of course took that to heart.

Boo hoo.

"Look, its been a week Adrienne and I know you don't wanna work with me but can we just talk? At the very least just talk."

I blinked. Still just staring, the book was now closed in my hands but I was much less aware of the people and things around me as I looked up at him.

"-Or, let's just do the assignment." He added, hopeful but not as hopeful as when he'd said talk instead of let's do the assignment.

I didn't clear up on his little rant about how he thinks I don't like him. In all honesty, I had no feeling for him whatsoever, no hate nor care. We were neutral to one another, not even acquaintances, we were still bordering the line of strangers in my head.

He leaned closer to me, looking to the books I'd been reading before he looked to the clock behind him, "You get off at five, right?"

I don't really have a specific time to get off but five is definitely not one of those times on a week day.

I refrained a snort at the stupidity of my thought as I stood up and grabbed my book from the table, turning around and putting it into my bag before I walked around the wooden counter.

The librarian here didn't like being disturbed and after some time he'd told me that when I left I didn't have to notify him, I didn't really care because it probably meant he trusted me not to leave early too. 

So I just got up with my stuff and with the most reluctance i've ever felt in my entire twenty two years I walked to him, wanting nothing more than to have just walked to my car and driven home instead.

When I was in front of him and really looking at him i'd realized just how tall he was.

My head tilted back a little and I noticed a little cut over at the top of his head, leading up and disappearing beneath his hair.

"What happened there?" I asked dryly, eying the line and he touched it as if knowing exactly what I was talking about, "Football."

I rose a brow, and he continued, "I was drunk, and I hit my head on my locker."

My lips twitched. I looked away thinking but not saying, Shouldn't be playing football drunk Karsen.

We walked side by side out of the library, people greeted him at almost every corner and I ignored it, wondering if i'd have enough time to see nona this weekend.

Last weekend i'd been far too busy with tutoring and my assignments to even so much as leave the house to get food, instead I got delivery pizza and whipped up pasta's that my nona would've scowled at, all because of how i'd thrown it all together.

But I missed her.

My nona was one person who made everything a little bit better, and she did it without once talking, we sat in silence and even if we hadn't touched it felt like she was embracing me.

She was a support system to me, but she too was not close to her daughter, the same way her daughter was not close to her own daughter.

A cycle, a real fucking cycle that taunted me.

One day, if I had a child, I wouldn't be close to her either. And that scared me.

"Hey."

I looked away from the trees i'd been aimlessly staring at, looking over to the man beside me, to Karsen.

I nodded for him to continue since he seemed to have something more to say.

"Do you wanna go off campus to work or something?"