Love Blooms Amongst the Books

Chapter 1 : Fate Bounded By The Count Of Monte Cristo

It's hot and sunny outside. As expected of summer. Other people could be advancing on their romantic relationship or just hanging out with their friends, but here I am, stuck in this library, alone.

Well, it's not like I have any girlfriend or friends that I can hang out with. The saving grace is the fact that this place has an air conditioner to combat the heat.

I could be lazing around in my room right now, but I was forced to tend to this place alone because the other library committee member, Fukumoto Tsurataka, said that he'll be busy spending time with his girlfriend after being away from her because she's been attending an all-girls high school since last year. He said he'll cover the other half of summer vacation meanwhile I'll cover the first half. He even asked permission from our teacher to bring his girlfriend while he's on duty.

My work here is simple; I came by in the morning and open the library, then do a little cleaning here and there. After that, it's just sitting behind the counter until evening. Then I'll do some more cleaning and lock up the library. I usually arrive at home by bike at around 6:00 pm.
I

t's not the best way to spend my summer holiday, but because it's my duty, I'll try my best to fulfill it.

My days here isn't that eventful. Nobody even come here during the holiday, I don't get why I need to maintain it everyday. I usually just read books or novels all afternoon. Sometimes I'll just nap here and hope nobody comes in. But it seems like my uneventful days are about to end now.

As I was about to take a nap, I saw a beautiful girl clad in white dress and her long, dark hair waving behind the counter. I jumped up, awoke immediately, and straightened my posture and wore an awkward smile.

"Yes, how can I help you today?" I asked. "Umm... Can you please turn on the light there?" She said this while pointing to the corner of the library that houses all of the English novels. "Ah, Okay. Please wait a second." The switches for lights were located at the back of the counter, and I closed the light on that corner because even when there were people in this library, they usually don't go to that section because your average Japanese student lacks the ability to understand English. It's not like I want to brag, but my English comprehension skills are pretty good. This stemmed from the fact that I love reading English novels and sometimes I just straight up read dictionaries to find new words to add to my vocabulary.

Evening has come. It is my time to do a little cleaning and close this place up. But it seems the girl from before hasn't returned home yet. I approached her to remind her about the library closing.

I was probably half asleep before, because after further inspection, I realized that this girl were the famed Chisato Sagiri from next class. She's part of the flashy and outgoing group in my year. I get why; she's beautiful, stylish, and good at sports. No wonder people swarm her every day. I bet she doesn't even know me. We lived in a completely different world because of our sheer differences.

"Umm... I'm about to close this library, so can you please prepare to go back home now?" I asked politely. "Oh, I understand. Could you please give me a minute?" "Sure." She stood up and put the book that she was reading back on the shelf. I couldn't see what she was reading to be so absorbed in without caring about the time at all, and it would be awkward to ask her that right after I asked her to leave. I continued with my cleaning and lock the library up.

Well, that's another day of my summer vacation spent in the library. At least there's someone else with me today, even if she sat at the opposite side of the library and doesn't even acknowledge my presence at all. It's not like I care about having her attention or anything, but it's kinda sad if you think about it.

I woke up quite late this morning, but I still preparing myself to go to the library like any other day. After my arrival, I was quite shocked to see that someone was waiting at the front door of the library. This has never happened before, and I think I know who this person is even from afar.

My guess was right. It's Chisato Sagiri.

I was taken aback by her white dress, and her long, dark hair illuminated by the morning sun. She was so dazzling, my eyes felt blinded by her radiance. And her pure white glistening skin, as if she was coated by glitter. I would've mistaken her with an angel, if I didn't know any better.

"Ah. I thought you're closed today" she said. "If I can, I would" I said jokingly (which didn't came out as humorous I thought it would, judging from her reaction). We went awkwardly silent for a while. I knew I'm not suited for making jokes, I'll have my social skills (which is practically zero) to blame.

"Sorry" I said while looking at her. "Don't worry, ..." I realize she's scanning me, probably trying to find a name tag of any sorts. "Ameno Hoshizora from second year Class 1, nice to meet you". "Oh, I'm Chisato Sagiri, from second year Class 2. Nice to meet you too" she said while smiling brightly.

"So, are you the only library committee member here?" she asked, in an attempt to strike a conversation to break the silence. "No, there's another guy, but he's not available at the moment". "I see" she said as we entered the library.

I turned on the two lights on the front and the one on the corner back, predicting that she would continue reading the English book that she read yesterday. I wanted to ask her about what she's reading, but as soon as I look around her way, she has already disappeared from my vision. Looks like she's heading toward the English novels section, as I predicted.

I braved myself, as I walked towards her, just to ask her about the book she's reading. I see her being so engrossed in the book, I bet she didn't even realize that I'm standing beside her. "Ah, hey there" she said, finally noticing my presence. "Is something wrong? Why are you just standing there?". "Nothing, I just want to know what you were reading" I said, finally. "Oh, I was reading this English novel, the title is The Count Of Monte Cristo". I nodded, knowing full well that The Count of Monte Cristo is French, though this version that she's reading is the English translated version, so I'll give her the pass.

"But the thing is... I actually..." she fidgeted, and shying away from me. "You actually?"

"I actually... don't know how to read English" she hide her face with the book she's holding, I can't see her face, but I bet her glistening white skin are as red as tomato right now. "Then why are you reading that book then?" I asked, curious. "I'm interested because I saw my sister read it, like, nonstop. She would holed up inside her room all day to read this book. So I thought I would check it out a bit, I didn't know that it was in English..."

I was flabbergasted by her answer. "Wait, what's your score in English during our last examination?". She quickly hid her face behind the book again, "40" she answered. "THAT'S REALLY LOW!" I shouted (for your information, the average score is between 60-69). "Well, what's your score then?" she asked back. "91" I answered proudly. I can see the visible awe on her face, she looked at me with newfound respect, while boldly saying, "If you're that good, can you teach me English then, Ameno-kun?". I froze for a bit, my mind running wild, with the thought of spending the rest of my summer vacation with the prettiest girl (I think) in our school.

"Umm... Sure, no problem" I said.