Surfacing - Book One in the Swans Landing Series

Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

“I hate the library,” Sailor muttered as Dylan and I followed her through the heavy double doors.

“Big surprise,” I said.

Sailor paused, letting her gaze scan over the books and other students gathering at the tables. “It’s too quiet in here and it smells funny.”

“It’s fine,” Dylan said, steering her toward a table in the far back corner, away from everyone else. “Come on, we don’t have much time to get our work done and I don’t want to spend my lunch hour in here.”

We had been assigned to research the history behind some of the books our English class had read so far during the school year. I was at a disadvantage, since I hadn’t read all of the same books that they’d read in Swans Landing. I’d only managed to read a couple of the books that had been assigned at my old school during my mom’s illness, so I had a very limited list to choose from. I’d chosen The Crucible, which I had read simply because it was short, and so my research was on the Salem witch trials.

Sailor swept in ahead of me and threw herself across the chair next to Dylan at the table. She shot me a satisfied smirk, but I rolled my eyes as I sat down in the chair across from him.

The sound of Elizabeth and Jackie and their friends laughing behind us echoed through the otherwise quiet room, causing Ms. Perez, the librarian, to come over and shush them.

“Some people shouldn’t be allowed in the library.” Sailor shot a hard scowl over her shoulder toward them.

“I agree,” I said as I opened my notebook. “So could you please leave?”

Sailor snapped her own notebook open and then got up to stomp over to the computers.

“Nice,” Dylan said. “You actually ran Sailor off.”

“Not very far. But at least it’s an improvement.”

“Can’t you two try to get along? You might find that you actually have a lot in common.”

I snorted. “Like what?”

Dylan opened his copy of East of Eden, the book he had chosen. “Let’s just say that Sailor can kind of relate to where you’re coming from.”

I waited for him to elaborate, but he bent over the table, making notes in his scrawling handwriting. “Which means?” I prompted.

Dylan tapped his pen on the edge of his notebook as he bit his lip. Then he shook his head. “You’ll have to ask Sailor if you want to know more.”

I stood, letting out a short laugh. “I don’t want to know that badly.”

The library had two rows of computers, with the main circulation desk set in between them. Sailor had claimed a computer at one end of the left side row, while on the opposite side Elizabeth, Jackie, and several other kids from the class had taken over most of the computers. The right side row of computers buzzed with activity as they talked about their research or else tried to copy off of each other. Ms. Perez stayed busy keeping that side as quiet as possible.

No one looked toward Sailor. No one spoke to her. And no one sat in the row with her.

The only computer still available on the right side was on the end, only two seats down from Elizabeth. Neither option seemed very appealing, but at least on the left side I could sit all the way at the other end, as far from Sailor as possible. Which was exactly what I did.

I pulled up the library’s catalog and typed “Salem witch trials” into the search box.

“Ms. Perez?” Jackie asked in a loud voice. “Can you help me find this book? I don’t understand where it is.”