by J. Saman
I like the idea, I guess, but I don’t have much plot to it yet and that’s where I’m falling short.
Class ends and I pack up my stuff after not taking a single note about anything Mr. Hot-and-Sexy said. My plan is to go to the library in an attempt to capture divine inspiration from the surrounding great works of literature, hoping they’ll bleed themselves into my soul and help deem me a writer. That was sort of poetic, right? Yeah, not so much.
“You ready?” Nina asks, standing next to me, adjusting the heavy strap of her bag on her shoulder.
“Yup, but I’m headed to the library.” I stand and we both walk down the wide steps that lead to the classroom door.
I can practically feel her eye roll. I’ve never been one to go to the library and that’s not because I don’t work my ass off, because I do. I’m a straight-A student, but I tend to do my work sitting on my bed, or at the breakfast bar on a stool in my kitchen. The library and I only meet when I have to find something that I cannot access online, which isn’t all that often.
Every book I need for my English classes I can usually access on my Kindle or I already own.
I read. A lot.
“Fine.” Nina looks over her shoulder at me with a smile as I reach her and we begin to walk side by side out of the building. “I’m headed to the gym anyway, and I know how you feel about that place.”
She’s picking on me. I do exercise, but I like to run outside, even if it’s cold.
“You mean the meat market?”
“Yes,” she winks. “I’ve gotten more dates from that place than the bars.”
I snicker as I open the heavy glass doors to the building so we can exit into the bright mid-January sun. “That’s because you’re practically naked when you run on the treadmill.” She shrugs unapologetically. “Whatever works.” She throws me a mischievous look that makes me laugh.
“You’re shameless.” I shake my head as we stall, standing in front of the building before we part ways.
“That I am,” she says absentmindedly as her eyes scan the quad watching as people pass us. “You around later?”
“Should be. I’ll call you when I’m done.” I take a step and give her a hug, which she immediately returns.
“Sounds good,” she says as she pulls back, her hand going back to the strap on her shoulder. “Later.” With a small wave, she turns and starts to walk in the opposite direction from where I’m headed.
“Bye,” I call after her before doing a 180 and heading towards the very old, very large brick building that is covered with ivy, exactly the way you’d picture it looking on a campus like this one . . . old. I wave hello and give a few nods to people I know as I pass before I climb more steps to reach the entrance. The door is solid oak and heavy as hell, so I have to use two hands to pry it open, trying to suppress a grunt as I do.
I flash my ID to the chick behind the counter who couldn’t give a shit, before walking through the spindles and heading straight for the stairs in the back that will lead me to the second floor. The first floor is the computer lab, coffee shop, and checkout. The second floor is home to the fiction books as well long tables where I can sit, set up my laptop and start writing. There are five other floors, but I’ve never been to any of them even once.
It’s quite up here, hardly anyone in this section since a lot of people tend to have classes around this time. Locating a table off to the corner, and away from the windows that will no doubt distract me, I toss my bag on the table with a dull thud. I pull out my laptop, before putting my bag down on the floor. Opening my laptop, I type in my password, pull up my manuscript document, and then sit back and stare at the words with no idea how to proceed.