THE JOURNEY HOME

CHAPTER 6: PEARL II

The next day, Ophelia seemed gloomy as she went to class. Pearl wondered what the matter could be but didn't want to ask Ophelia because it may involve her in ways Pearl couldn't manage at the moment given her current situation. So, instead of facing the problem, she tried to make Ophelia happy by distracting her from whatever was on her mind.

Later on that day, she saw Ophelia beaming so much that she wondered if she hadn't imagined her friend's earlier sour mood.
'What's gotten you in such a good mood?' Pearl asked.

'Just this!' Ophelia proudly placed a sheet of paper before Pearl's face and she saw 75% written boldly on it. Her professor had been generous. She observed the course, biology, Ophelia had never been particularly strong there. No wonder she was gloomy, she had probably been worried about this.

'Wow, that's impressive' Pearl remarked. Ophelia then went on to add that they had a new professor, a substitute and that she had invited her to her office due to Ophelia's 'exemplary performance' Ophelia radiated joy and pride as she spoke. Pearl had a soft smile, she was genuinely happy for her friend.

Pearl escorted Ophelia to her professor's office. When they were just outside it, they realised that it was locked, so Ophelia walked a little farther down the hall to where a mirror was located to check if she was presentable. Ophelia meanwhile stayed directly outside the office, intending to alert her friend should the professor show up while she organized herself.

Another student, Pixie walked up to her. Pixie had short black hair and very rogue lips which stood out against her pale skin. Pixie was a well-known gossip and she was there for much the same reason, to collect the latest scoop. Rumour had it that there was intense chemistry between the substitute and the mathematics professor.
'I caught him staring at her for a full minute' she whispered to Pearl, though there was no one near enough to eavesdrop. Hearing about the math professor, Pearl perked up,  he was her favourite. He was a quiet man, who shuffled about and often stammered when he had to speak to anyone about anything he was unsure of. He was highly non-confrontational and sometimes reminded her of Ophelia. But whenever he spoke of subjects he was familiar with and loved, his voice would ring with a timbre that drew you in. He had a sound mastery of numbers and once in a while, the philosopher within him would emerge. He had no wife to speak of, so sometimes students would create wild scenarios of him with another professor, this time it was the substitute biology professor, Mrs. Rose.

'She's beautiful, isn't she? I'll say they're a good match' Pixie played with her curly hair as she spoke.  Mr. Arthur stood in the hallway, a little away from where they waited outside her office.
'Here she comes now' Pixie watched with rapt attention as the professors locked eyes and Mr. Arthur dropped his keys, he frantically dived to pick them up and visibly shivered as he scurried to open his door. The beautiful lady, with her hair in a ponytail, walked up to him, helped him open the door and he, a shaky mess thanked her profusely, stammering and avoiding her eyes. His tall, slender frame humped over looking down at her shoes as he entered his office and closed the door.

Pixie let out a small squeal of delight and exclaimed 'How romantic'. She then ran out with the latest scoop of the unlikely matchup. Pixie had taken his mannerisms for nerves. But Pearl saw something different, fear. The biology professor came closer and her eyes widened as she identified the face before her.
'You!' She half exclaimed.

'Ophelia, you may come in' returned the lady who had nearly pummeled her the night before, it had taken her a while to recognize her due to her change in apparel and appearance, but it was her, without a doubt.

Ophelia shot Pearl a glance that evidently said don't be rude.
She walked into the office leaving Pearl to wonder about the unfolding events.

Pearl stayed outside the office for a good while pacing up and down, wondering what Mrs. Rose could be telling Ophelia. After some minutes, Ophelia came out.
'Pearl, I haven't introduced you to Mrs Rose'

'Hello Pearl, do you remember me? We met just yesterday' Mrs. Rose replied coolly.

Of course, there was no way for Ophelia to know they had seen each other over the night. This was supposed to be their second meeting, Pearl played along.

'I remember now, I haven't thanked you for that. I felt a lot better after you checked up on me, thank you' she replied.

'Don't mention it, if you need anything, my door's always open. I'll be watching out for you' Mrs. Rose added with a smile and a wink. Pearl took that as a threat.

As she wondered what had happened to the previous biology professor, Mrs. Rose's hand landed on her shoulder.
'Can I speak with you for a moment?' then turning to Ophelia, she said 'Ophelia, you go on'.

Pearl's heart constricted, she tried to beg Ophelia to stay with her eyes but the unsuspecting Ophelia went on with an 'Alright ma'.

'What have you done with the former biology professor?' Pearl asked immediately.

'I told you there would be consequences to your actions' Mrs. Rose's response came. 'Don't worry she's fine but she won't be getting up anytime soon' she assured.
'Now I have an after-school activity that I want you to volunteer for and to take very seriously'

'And what would that be?' Pearl feared the worst.

'I want you to work at the library'

Pearl knew the old librarian, Mrs. Harry so she was taken aback by what Mrs. Rose said, what was the relationship between what was going on with her and that unobtrusive lady?
'Why?' She asked

'You'll see, tell her I sent you ' Mrs Rose answered.

Pearl didn't see herself as having much of a choice so she went out to meet Ophelia and explained her choice of volunteer job. Ophelia couldn't understand why Pearl would volunteer to work at the library. Pearl was usually very pragmatic and a volunteer job that seemed to have no benefits to her whatsoever just didn't seem like the kind of thing she would do but Ophelia let the matter drop nonetheless.

So, that very day, while Ophelia took the path that led her home, Pearl went to the library.
On entering the library, the familiar smell of old books met her and she breathed it in, content to be there again. Pearl saw that Benjamin was also there. That wasn't out of the ordinary though, he always was. He was reading a book when she walked in and looked up with delight with those spectacular yellow eyes at her arrival. He rose from where he sat, a towering figure with broad shoulders and dark brown hair.

'I have a new one for you', he said as a way of greeting. Pearl was accustomed to the library, she was one of the few regulars, she always had a quest for knowledge so she and Benjamin got along very nicely.
Benjamin preferred more strange and obscure books though, while Pearl loved the occasional scare, but would rather have a good taste of history, or a documentary of some unknown culture, those were the kinds of books that piqued her interest.

'I'm here for a different reason' she voiced, 'Is she in?' She asked after the elder librarian.

'Yes, why?' He replied

'I want to volunteer' she said with a small smile. Her declaration filled Benjamin with no small measure of glee. After years of trying to convince her to volunteer, he had all but given up and now here she was volunteering of her own volition.

'That's great, and you're not the only one too!' Benjamin exclaimed and pointed to the corner where another lady, sat before a table, her head buried in a book.

Pearl felt a bit sorry for him. His obvious excitement belied the loneliness that he had to face as the only volunteer. She went over to speak to the other volunteer.

'Hi' she waved in front of her, the book obscured Pearl's view of her face, and there was no response.

'Hey', Pearl tried again. This time a nerdy-looking lady reluctantly put down the book before her and looked up. Her features were breathtaking, curly blonde hair, and deep green eyes hid behind gold-rimmed glasses. The quality of her beauty was reminiscent of royalty, it was like meeting a princess in real life. 

'Hey,' she replied brusquely, obviously not wanting to leave her book to converse.

Pearl tried to keep the conversation going.
'I heard we'll soon be working together'

'I doubt it' came the curt reply 'They only need one volunteer' she said then smirked. Pearl felt instant panic. She didn't know she would have to compete for her position! And what more with an older, more mature lady who most likely didn't have the encumbrance of college.