ribbons 🎀 ~ Vassili Schneider (on hold until summer)

Part 2

September 1963, Lille, France - Lycée Faidherbe

Antoinette had no intention of staying up later than she needed to tonight, but it seemed her friends had other plans.

It was now past curfew and much to her dismay, they had welcomed themselves into her and Nadine's room.

Tonight was not a night for her to have fun, rather she needed to focus on her work. Her afternoon classes had unloaded a ridiculous amount of assignments on her and she was now worried if she would have enough time to put some effort into her application letter before bed.

So, in summary, not a night to have fun, and it certainly did not help to have her friends attempt to persuade her to join them and cause unnecessary distractions. Not tonight.

"Antoinette! Come on, work on it later," Nadine started, "there's only half a bottle left!" Nadine looked at her friend with drunk, pleading eyes to which she smiled but shook her head, "Not this time, sorry," she turned back to her papers, not before catching a glimpse of Louis and Mathieu who had begun to wrestle.

She looked back down at her work, stretching out her cramped hands. Only one last worksheet before she could go back to her letter.

Her brows knitted together when she noticed the reference materials to which she had previously forgotten to pick up from the library. Biting her lip in frustration, she turned around again.

"Have any of you picked up Candide yet?" she asked

"I'm surprised you have that much confidence in us," Léa commented, brows raised.

"Isn't that for next week?"

"You mean next class?"

This seemed to come as a shock to nearly everyone in the room. Nearly.

"Do you not pay attention?" Theo questioned in an arrogant tone, hitting Louis over the head which was reciprocated.

Antoinette stood and headed for the door.

"Where are you off to?" Louis asked, pausing violence towards his 'new' wrestling partner.

"To pick up the book," she answered matter-of-factly.

"Toinette, it's eleven, the library is very much closed."

"I can still get in."

"Never could I imagine risking getting caught sneaking out and breaking into the library for school." Léa laughed.

"It's not like I'll get caught," she mumbled before leaving the dorm.

-

Antoinette could hear the sound of her flats echo much louder now that the halls were empty. Her arms littered with goosebumps from the cool hair and her flowing behind her with her fast pace.

She halted once she felt a hand on her shoulder, but the fear subsided when she was faced with a bored-looking Theo.

He had a cigarette held loosely between his parted lips, a relaxed posture with his other hand stuffed in his school blazer that had seemed to have gotten slightly wrinkled, and post-wrestling tousled hair that fell over his brown eyes that looked down at her with a tired expression.

She let out a breath, "Hi,"

"Hi," he responded, letting go of her shoulder to take out the cigarette.

"Your dorm is not this way," she laughed, slightly puzzled as to why he had even brought himself this far. It wasn't like he didn't know the place to get lost.

"I thought I would go for a path that would give me a longer walk," he sighed letting a cloud of smoke out to his side.

"and of course, I wanted to stop by the library." He looked back at her eyes, to which she smiled with knitted brows.

Antoinette picked up her pace once again, Theo walking now by her side, "I didn't know you were so assiduous to our book," she started, still confused as to why he had come.

"Maybe I just have a strong admiration for today's lesson,"

"Which part?"

He paused, "Why don't you remind me what we learned again."

Antoinette laughed, she looked over at him to see his gaze already fixed on hers. "I thought you were paying attention, seeing as you were so moved by today's lecture," she teased as she stopped in front of the heavy oak doors of the library.

With one strong push, she opened the doors.

"It's unlocked?" Theo asked,

"Why would any student want to go to the library after hours? Except for us, of course."

-

It had been some time since they had made it to the library, and Antoinette was searching the shelves as Theo followed close behind her.

Theo glanced at her before putting out his cigarette, "I think I was so moved that the lesson has all left me like a dream," he started, bringing her back to their previous conversation and breaking the quiet harmony that was once shared.

"Do you want me to summarize?" She asked, not moving her eyes from the books. It had begun to smell like honeysuckle again without the shield of the smoke.

"Yes," he breathed.

Antoinette turned her head back towards the boy, tilting her head before tracing her fingers along the spines of the books, "Candide, written by the philosopher, Voltaire in 1759. The narrative that he writes artfully critiques the optimism that we try to pass off as a virtue."

"And what were some of his critiques?"

Antoinette began listing all her thoughts as if she were reciting an essay but he didn't listen, he just stared at her instead.

He had already finished the book before dinner, but he wasn't going to tell her that.

Instead, he just watched as her face tinted a light shade of pink, how her voice would get slightly quieter when she felt less confident about the idea or comment she was presenting, how she tucked her hair behind her ears as if it brought her more concentration, how her round, open eyes looked right into his, how-

He looked away. She had just finished speaking when he did.

"And to think you haven't read the book yet," he teased.

This made her skin go one shade darker pink, "Maybe not, but I typically listen in class," she countered, with a shy grin.