by Lilly Wilder
But, Reeba already knew something. She suspected something. That much was obvious, ever since that night when Mina stumbled onto them in the woods and, yet, she hadn’t mentioned it to anyone. So far, she had done everything in Mina’s favor. She behaved as a real friend would: keeping secrets, being there, helping out. Maybe opening up to someone here would be a good idea.
“Here, see for yourself,” Mina finally said, deciding to risk it.
It wouldn’t be the first, and probably not the last, risk she took while here, so she figured, why not. Obviously Reeba wanted to find the book, too, and keep it safe, so they shared the same cause. That alone was enough to make them look out for each other.
Reeba took the piece of paper and quickly read it.
“What does this mean?” she wondered.
“I have no idea,” Mina shrugged her shoulders. “I had a weird encounter with the bully twins in the bathroom today, maybe someone is warning me about that.”
Mina doubted that was what the letter referred to but it was a plausible cover story.
“Oh, crap!” Reeba pressed her palm against her lips. “What happened?”
“They thought I was hitting on Raphael.”
“What?” Reeba frowned, “but he came over to you. I was there. I saw it with my own eyes.”
“I know and I told them that but they didn’t believe me.”
“Those two are really horrible,” Reeba shook her head, “I would just stay away from them if I were you. I mean, I try to do the same, just don’t look in their direction, don’t address them, don’t even breathe loudly in their presence, and they might leave you alone.”
As Reeba was giving her monologue, Mina gazed at her sadly. Was that really how things functioned in this school? There was a reign of terror? Mina hated the idea. She wanted to show those two girls what it really meant to get your ass kicked but that was too much of a distraction right now. She couldn’t allow herself any distractions. She needed to focus on the upcoming meeting with Dante and, before that, the Witches’ Sabbath on Halloween.
“You should really try and stand up for yourself,” Mina advised her. “You can’t live your whole life in fear.”
“Oh, it’s just for now,” Reeba tried to explain. “I’m sure things will be better when we leave Zeadore Academy.”
“Don’t you get it?” Mina continued. “There will always be bullies out there. There will always be something or someone you are going to be scared of. The point isn’t to constantly keep out of sight. You should stop being afraid.”
“Easy for you to say,” Reeba looked down.
“Why?”
“You aren’t afraid of anything. That night, you were in the woods all by yourself.”
“You were there, too.”
“But, I was there with the rest of the girls. We were there together. You saw the light and decided to investigate on your own, in the dark. You couldn’t have known it was us there. It could have been something horrible, something deadly.”
“But, it wasn’t,” Mina smiled. “It usually isn’t as bad as you imagine it. Your fear makes that something seem more powerful. I think the twins are so scary, exactly because no one wants to stand up to them. So, they have this fear working for them. As soon as you tell them no, I’m not afraid anymore, they won’t know what to do. Trust me.”
“Is that what you told them in the bathroom?”
“Um, well…” Mina scratched the back of her head.
While that was exactly what she wanted to tell them, she couldn’t. It was too risky getting in trouble over those two.
“No, I didn’t.”
“Why not?”
“I’m the new kid. I just want to be left alone. Finish my time here and continue with my life.”
“See?” Reeba’s eyes flared. “That’s exactly what I want. What we all want. Is it still cowardice?”
Mina wasn’t sure. Was it better to just stand back or stand up? Right now, she couldn’t decide.
“Listen,” Mina suddenly said, “I’m sorry to cut this short but I was planning on going to the library. I’ve got this history project I still haven’t finished and I want to get it done tonight, if possible.”
“Oh, sure thing,” Reeba replied, looking a little disappointed.
“Was there anything you wanted?”
“No, just…” Reeba looked down again. “I just wanted to hang out, but it’s okay.”
Mina felt bad. No matter how much she’d been pushing this girl away, Reeba always kept coming back, offering friendship and understanding.
“Listen,” Mina replied, feeling like it was about time she showed Reeba that she wasn’t a cold hearted person, even though that was what she led everyone to believe, ”how about we hang out tomorrow, after school?”
“Really?” Reeba’s eyes shone with hope.
“Absolutely, we can go grab a coffee from the machine down the hall, then come back here and talk some shit about the twins. How about that?”
“That’s great,” Reeba nodded enthusiastically. “It’s a date!”
“There you go,” Mina smiled, grabbing her history books and shoving them into her backpack. “Walk me to the library?”
“Sure!”
The two girls walked over to the library building, chatting about this and that. They didn’t mention the twins, or the Witches’ Sabbath, or anything burdensome. Instead, they chatted about usual teenage topics and, for the first time in a long while, Mina felt like just another regular teenager, with regular teenage worries. It felt good to be normal.
Chapter 10
When Mina walked into the library, she had to make a conscious effort not to gasp loudly. It was the biggest library she had ever seen. There were endless rows of books and that was only the first room. Apparently, there were ten and most were twice the size of this one.
The place was well lit, by numerous lamps scattered throughout the place. It was perfect. You could just sit down somewhere, get cozy and read, without your light bothering anyone else, who might prefer a darker corner.
The floors were wooden and, occasionally, the boards would creak when Mina stepped on them. The polish had disappeared on most of it from the years of use. The shelves also looked old but sturdy. They ought to be, when they had to accommodate so many books.
Mina looked around. She had no idea where to even start looking for history related books. There were a few people, students like herself, seated and reading. She didn’t want to interrupt any of them. She herself hated being interrupted, she’d always lose her train of thought. Instead, she was looking for the librarian. She expected an old woman, with a high bun and with glasses hanging off a pearl necklace. Maybe a little makeup. Dressed like a librarian. Apparently, that was a thing.
“Can I help you?”
Mina was startled, as she saw no one around her. She turned to the left, then to the right. Nothing.
“Psst! Over here!” a voice whispered, and only then did Mina realize that someone was talking to her through a row of books.
She got closer and peered through the cracks. Suddenly, an eye popped out of nowhere. Then, another eye. It was a pretty nice set of green eyes, too.
A few seconds later, Mina heard approaching footsteps and then a guy jumped in front of her. He was dressed in a white shirt and loose fitting pants. His sleeves were rolled up casually. His strong jaw bone grinned at her, revealing a set of pearly whites. He looked like he’d just shaved, not even a faint sign of a beard anywhere.
“Did I startle you?” he asked.
“No,” she shook her head but she was lying.
Her heart was beating wildly. Only, she wasn’t sure exactly why.
“I saw you enter and then you just stood there, like you didn’t know where to go,” he explained, in a voice that seemed to belong to a completely different century.
Mina remembered those cold winter days, when their mother would turn on their old radio
, which used to belong to their grandmother and they would listen to a voice read ghost stories on Christmas Eve. That was exactly the kind of voice this guy had. He would tell you scary things to make you jump in the dark but you knew that it was just a story. His voice soothed you into believing that once the story was over, there was nothing you should be afraid of. He lied.
“That…” she started, then paused for a second, “is exactly what happened.”
She smiled a little nervously, having no idea why. She didn’t really like being helpless and, now, that was exactly what she was, not knowing where to go or what to do. She hated the role of damsel in distress. She never played it well.
“Well, what are you looking for?” he asked.
“The librarian, I guess,” she told him, not wanting to depend on him for help.
“She’s out at the moment. I’m looking after the place.”
She eyed him strangely. A student looking after this ancient, valuable library? Yeah, right.
“You are?” she asked, frowning.
The disbelief in her voice was almost palpable.
“Yes,” he nodded, enthusiastically. “I’m the librarian’s assistant, sort of.”
“Never heard of such a thing,” she murmured.
“Psst!”
Someone from across the room warned them to be quiet.
“Sorry,” they both replied simultaneously.
“Come,” he pulled her by the hand and she immediately felt how warm it was and how perfectly it slid into hers.
She followed him obediently, until they got out of the first room, through the second and entered what appeared to be a small office. He closed the door behind them. The smell of old books and worn out paper hung in the air. She loved it.
“Here, we can talk here,” he told her.
“That’s all fine but I just need the librarian so she can show me where the history section is.”
“I just told you that she isn’t here, but I’d be happy to help you out,” he grinned.
There was no malice or impatience in his voice. He just seemed genuinely happy to help. Those dimples in his cheeks were proof of that.
“Fine,” she snorted. “It doesn’t matter. Just tell me where the history section is.”
“It’s in the sixth room,” he nodded, preparing to sit down at the small desk in the corner. “It’s down the main hallway, to the right, past the water fountain, through the fourth room, then up the stairs but not the winding ones, the ones in the corner that lead straight up, then right, then the second room on the left. That’s the sixth room.”
Mina listened to all this, then swallowed heavily. It seemed easier to find the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow than room six.
“Anything else?” he eyed her, as if she was already supposed to be out of there.
“No, just…” she sighed heavily, glancing at the door, then back at him.
“You need help?” he asked.
“Probably…” she said as quietly as she could, “a little.”
“Then go and if you get lost a little, I’ll come and get you,” he replied but there was a smile on his face that revealed he was really enjoying this.
“Can’t you help me?” she finally asked. “Just take me there?”
“I could, sure,” he nodded, “that’s exactly why I’m here, you see. The librarian, Miss Potts, couldn’t be in two places at the same time. Helping students with books at her desk and showing them where each of the rooms are. So, I volunteered to help, seeing I spend so much time in here anyway, might as well be useful, right?” he smiled cheerfully.
“I guess,” she gave a half shrug.
“And, that’s exactly what I offered to you, but then you acted like a real bitch, pardon my French, so now, I’m actually torn between helping you and leaving you to wait for Miss Potts to return, and it actually might be a while, so you might have to either wait, or try your luck on your own. But, if you do get lost, make sure not to shout too loud, you might disrupt the others…”
“Do you ever shut up?” she interrupted him.
“See? There’s that bitch I really don’t want to help right now,” he replied as nicely as he could, then opened the drawer, got some papers out and started stamping them, and filling them out.
He wasn’t paying attention to her any more, even though she was just standing there, by the door, like a statue.
Mina felt her cheeks burning. No one had ever dared talk to her like that. He wouldn’t if he knew who she was. For a second, she wanted to show him that he couldn’t disrespect her like that, unless he wanted to open a serious can of whoop ass, which she was more than happy to deliver. But, she had to calm down. This wasn’t the time or the place. She had to keep her cool.
She took a deep breath and swallowed, even though she felt like her throat was parched. She figured there really wasn’t a need to be all bitchy to him, when all he did was offer to help, but that was how she was. In her line of work, she had to show them she was a force not to be tampered with and she could only do that if she was a bitch. Sometimes, she didn’t even know if she still remembered how to be nice to someone who wasn’t her brother.
But, that feeling of anger wouldn’t let go. She was pissed. He thought she couldn’t find the place on her own. She’d show him.
“Thanks for nothing,” she hissed, then slammed the door behind her.
As she walked down the hallway, she tried to remember his directions. Was it left? And then the water fountain, then right? Then up which stairs? Her mind was a well of information, all of which was merged into one big mess she couldn’t untangle.
“Shit…” she whispered to herself, standing by the fountain, looking at four different directions.
A part of her wanted to go back and just ask for help. After all, how difficult could that be? Deep down, though, she still believed that asking for help meant she couldn’t handle herself on her own, like that would mean that she was letting her brother down, letting herself down. She’d never go back and ask for help. Not after the guy called her a bitch.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around. She could just ask whoever that was for the way to the sixth room. She watched as a figure emerged out of the darkened end of the hallway. To her complete and utter surprise, it was that same guy, carrying a stack of books. There was a smug look on his face, those dimples were there, his lips grinning.
“This is as far as you got, huh?” he asked, exhaling loudly due to the weight of the books in his hands.
“I stopped to take a look at the fountain,” she replied, trying to sound calm.
“Oh, right,” he nodded, passing by her.
A few steps later and he stopped. He turned around and saw her still standing there.
“Why are you still standing there? Follow me,” he said.
“I don’t need your help.” she snapped back.
“Of course you don’t,” he nodded, “I need yours. I need to get these books to room six and a few of the doors are quite heavy. So, maybe you can follow me and then when we get to those doors, you can just open them for me?” he asked.
He sounded so sweet and almost apologetic that she couldn’t do anything but smile. She even felt a little embarrassed about treating him like shit but not embarrassed enough to say she was sorry.
“Sure,” she smiled, taking a step towards him.
As they walked up the stairs, she walked behind him. For a while, neither spoke. She didn’t mind. She wouldn’t know what to say, really, especially after such a bad start. However, even though she didn’t talk, that didn’t mean that she hadn’t noticed how good looking this guy was.
“I’m Renwick, by the way,” he said, once they got up the stairs and he continued leading the way.
“Renwick?” she repeated that name.
It sounded familiar. Why did she know it? Then, it hit her. That was the second guy the twins warned her about and here she was,
following him into the darkness of the library. Oh, boy. Could things get any worse?
“Oh, crap…” she muttered to herself.
“What was that?” he asked, turning to her.
“Nothing, I said I’m Lucy,” she replied, louder, trying to hide her face in the collar of her shirt.
A few more minutes passed and, finally, they were standing in front of a door, numbered 6.
“You mind?” he asked, eyeing her, then the door.