I shuffle through the library, carrying a stack of dark textbooks, the last experience with textbooks still fresh in my mind. Setting the books down on a tiny desk that looks like it could topple at any given moment, I check my phone for any new messages from Beth. There's only two, both asking to make plans for dinner. However, one is from my mother. She wants to meet me for dinner at exactly the same time. Great.
A thud in the shelves behind me tears my eyes away from my phone. A girl has fallen on the ground, and she is. "Need some help?" I ask. She looks up at me, as if awestruck that someone would help her. She reaches for my hand and I hoist her up to my level. She is not as tall as me, like most people are, but she is tall for a girl. She glances around the now-deserted library, her eyes darting around the room and jerking her head wildly around. The bell rings. Sixth period has already began. Her hand is still in mine. Before I knew it, seconds had passed. I look at her with a look of worry and confusion. I tilted my head to the side, hoping she would realize what she was doing.
"Don't you see it?" she asks, her eyes gazing so deep down inside me I began to feel self conscious, I begin to feel scared. What if she can? What if all those science fiction novels I've been reading are real?
Oliver Forman. Stop getting off track. There is a pretty girl holding your hand. Take it in. Remember every little detail. You can do this. Just don't screw up. Again. My little self-pep-talk rips me away from wherever I was in my head and into reality. "Uh..." I could only imagine I was showing my confusion more and more. "See what?" Her hand jerks back from mine, and she awkwardly rushes to pick up her books. She turns back to face me.
"Well, thanks for your help, uh...?"
"Oliver," I say. She starts to walk away. Why didn't she tell me her name? "This is the part where you tell me your name."
Her cheeks flood with a deep red blush. I can only imagine I look the same."Oh, um," she paused. "It's Rhea. Rhea Lancaster." She turns to run away, far away from the awkward situation. When she finally leaves, I tell myself I will take a break from physics class today. I need to think about what just happened.
She stared at me as if she understood.
