His Tiny Dancer [COMPLETED]

VIII

~Wednesday, January 5th~

Walking by myself to lunch I feel my phone vibrate silently in my back pocket. I grab it and read the text from Olivia: "Busy night tonight, meet me in the library?" I smile to myself as I change directions, narrowly avoiding crashing into confused freshmen as I veer away from the cafeteria. I send a quick "Sure" to Olivia and make my way to the library.

Between my schedule with dance and Olivia's with tennis, neither of us have much afterschool time. So, to make up for that, when we have a day with a larger work load we spend lunch in the library instead. Of course we both have free blocks during the day, but when you're in all honors classes competing for valedictorian, you use all the time you can get. We usually spend our lunch here about once a week.

I enter the double doors of the expansive library and immediately spot Olivia sitting at our usual table, her nose buried in her chemistry textbook while her hand scribbles down notes next to her. I set my bag down next to the seat across from her and sit down, pulling out my agenda book.

"Hey Liv."

"Don't call me that," she mumbles, not looking up. I laugh, having called her that nickname just to get her annoyed. Ever since the show Liv and Maddie came out on Disney channel she has refused to let anyone - including myself - call her Liv. She insists that she is nothing like the character and that she wishes to have nothing to do with her. But of course, as her best friend it's my duty to annoy her.

I work on my calculus homework and by the time I'm done there are still about ten minutes left of lunch. I weigh my options for how I can spend my time. I could talk to Olivia, find something to do on my phone, study some of my material, or find a book to read from the library. Glancing up, I see that Olivia is still working - though she's moved on from chemistry an English assignment - so she won't be talking anytime soon. I need a break from schoolwork, so that leaves my phone or a book. I decide to go for the more scholarly option and stand to find a book to read in the many aisles of the library.

"I'll be back in a minute," I say to Olivia, earning a soft grunt of recognition as a response. I start wandering through the shelves of books, trying to decide on what to pick. I could try to find something new, or read one of my favorites over again. I spend all the time I can reading, even though it's usually not very much. Mostly I read romance novels - the really cheesy ones that make me actually have hope for finding true love one day. I don't like romance movies though, something about watching it all happen - usually with other people around - makes it so much more embarrassing to watch. It always feels so awkward when the characters kiss. Plus, when reading you know about the characters' inner emotions, which often make romantic moments even more romantic.

Walking through the shelves, I run my fingertips over the old book spines, quickly reading each title. I come across a larger old book, and picking it up I see that it's a dictionary. Of course I'm not going to sit down and start reading a dictionary, but this one is very old. I prop the heavy book on my knee and open to a random page. Slowly I turn the page, relishing in the soft crackling noise that the paper makes. I turn a few more pages before quickly and subtly glancing around me. No one else is in this aisle and I don't hear any voices so I decide the coast is clear. I turn one more page and bring the dictionary up to my nose, taking a slow sniff of the old paper. It smells musty, but in a good way. I put it back in it's spot on the shelf and decide on which book to look for, one I've read many times before but that still remains my favorite romance novel. I walk to the romance section in the back of the library and begin scanning the shelves, searching for the last names starting with "M." H... J... L... M! I quickly recognize the spine of my favorite book: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. Picking it off of the shelf I thumb through the pages. When I glance back up at the spot where the book was I am shocked to find a crystal blue eye staring back at me from the other side of the shelf.