The Optimist

sixteen

Papa Crestfield on the side or above! He's a basketball player in real life, just to add background info! -Mo

Nadia

. . .

Jacob is slowly helping me improve, but besides since the awkward kiss, we've actually gotten a bit closer. Xena is making cheers about Rayan at games now, but Jacob says that's good for the both of them. I don't know how.

"So x+y equals what Nadia?" Jacob sits across from me in my second home: the library. I look at all the books in adoration, a whole stack next to my homework to go home after this study session.

"I didn't get that." I choke out, staring at the book to my left. Franny's Grandma, a hilarious novel, sits next to me, and as much as I want to run home and read it right away, I compose myself orderly at the library attempting confusing material with Jacob. He follows my line of vision and grabs the book, storing it under his lap.

I frown at him. "You didn't have to take the book." I grumble, eyeing another one. He takes that too. By now, I'm flustered from the boring work.

"But you did have to answer my question." He replies. I sigh and press my head into my hand, listening to Jacob. He realizes that I'm not listening as I stare at the book carelessly. The first book I grabbed, How To Be The Best Geek Ever, another hilarious teen novel, takes my attention from Jacob.

"Reading may be the key to life, but math is jus as important." Jacob says, dropping the pencil as he shuffles the worksheets around.

"You sound just like my parents." I tell him. Mom always tells me that reading is one of the best hobbies to have, but if I can't count than I'll end up working for someone else for minimal pay.

"It's true." Then his charming smile displays on his chiseled, tam n face. I don't smile back, suddenly remembering what happened last night. Dad fainted.

He's in the hospital with a gazillion IV's and medications over his face and in his arms. I remember Mom's words. "It's okay, you're okay." while using Nathan as a squeezing object for her stress. He kept glancing at me curiously while half his face was covered by Mom's upper arms as she rocked both she and him back and forth.

I laughed at Nathan's faces with every rock and-

"Nadia, are you going deaf? You keep dozing off." Jacob swoons in my vision and his voice repeatedly echoes in my head. I blink a couple of times and stretch my fingers. "Fine." I mumble and sit up straight. He looks over my face one more time, inspecting my glasses.

He smiles and pushes the papers to the side. "You know what, trigonometry is boring. Let's take a break, yeah?" He says, putting on a fake British accent. I laugh and agree immediately.

I almost die rushing to the General Fiction section of the library. My fingers scan over the numbers as my eyes inspect them closely. Jacob catches up behind me and stops.

"Hey." He breaths out, breathlessly.

"Hey." I reply without looking up. I'm close, I can feel it.

"Looking for a book?" He ask, pulling one from the shelf. He opens it, his eyes raising up and down as he reads the description. "This looks like a good book." I take one quick glance at it and shrug.

"Read it. Spoiler alert. She dies." I say. I'm pretty sure I shut down his mood as he puts the book back. The book, Little Bird, was a great book, but who knew the strongest character had to die? "Geez Nadia, I wanted to be surprised." He complains. I ignore him and continue searching for the book.

"Plus, Dawn's Setter is out. I checked it out" He mutters behind me. I halt immediately. That's the exact book that I'm looking for! He had it all along!

"No, Jacob! Give it to me." I beg, him something I never thought I'd be doing. "Please?" I smile. Who know he read novels? Maybe me reading them made him want to check some out.

He smirks. "I was just about to return it. But spoiler alert," he smirks, "Yandi ends up with Talior instead." Oh that little-

"Jacob!" Anger isn't even close to what I'm feeling. I'm infuriated. Jacob freaking ruined it! How dare him? Ugh! I huff out and storm across the library, Jacob following with a light smile.

"Oh come on Nadia! It's just a book!" He says behind me. An old lady shushes him and I giggle, stopping in my tracks.

"It's not just a book." I tell him. The librarian eyes us from her post behind the counter, but she smiles and tends to a boy, barely tall enough to hand her money for earphones. His name is Cedric, and he's always here at the library, either on the computer or reading a picture book.

He's going to have a bright future ahead, I can tell. His red and blue striped shirt rises up as he strains to hand her the moeny, revealing his tiny torso. "I don't like the way you're looking at him." Jacob jokes in my ear.

I step back and smirk at him menacingly, noting his terrible attempt at a Twilght reference. "You'll never be Edward." I tell him.

"But you'll always be a Bella." He replies. His runs a hand through his untamed Afro and grins. "Is that an insult?" I say, bewildered. Bella is very anisocial and pale and nothing but a pessimistic-

Wait. I am like Bella.

"Ah, finally realize it?" He takes a strand of my hair and wilts it behind my ear. I stuff my hands in my blue velvet coat pockets and huff again. We're not rich, but this jacket is stylish to me affordale for my parents, so I'm grateful for that. The temperature is dropping, after all.

"Whatever." I mumble and walk the opposite way, headed toward the computer lab separate from the vast library. I whiz past books that I've read, and I can hear Jacob behind me again, hot on my tail.

"But you have everything Bella does! The frown, the quiet-"

"Have you ever read Twilight?" I mutter. He shakes his head. "Too long, but the movies are wooow!" He says, referring to the last two movies.

The sexual scenes.

"You sound like Chresanto." I laugh, pulling a book from the kids section. Colors it's called, a book for babies with puppet extras to help them. Jacob takes the book and puts his finger through the first puppet.

"This wittle piggy hates eggs, but loves Nadia." He squirms in a baby voice. I roll my eyes and giggle again. Jacob is no library person. He puts his hand through the second pig, giving it life with his fingers.

"And this little piggy looooooves you!" His pitchy voice rises, causing the old lady from before to shush him again. I smack his chest and do the same. "Yeah, listen to the little old lady. Shut up!" I scold in a hushed tone. He pretends to wail and places the book back on the shelf.

"Hey, I wanna go to Cooney's." Jacob says suddenly. "It's healthy-"

"And full of grease." I mumble. The fries, I admit, are extremely delicious, but full of grease and calories.

. . .

I don't know how, but somehow Jacob got me to Cooney's and now I'm enjoying the fries with him.

But the sudden, "Nadia!" halts me. A certain male voice booms behind me and I jump. Uh oh..