The Library War

by Cecily Wolfe

  She was beautiful, there was no doubting it. Other boys were asking to take her to that overhyped event, so he wasn’t the only one to see it, either. If he wasn’t careful, she might end up with a boyfriend, and he would be sorry that he had taken their time together for granted.

  What if he showed up at her house to hang out and she and whoever this future boyfriend was were making out?

  It was a disgusting and gut-churning idea, and the twenty-first time he took a shot, the ball bounced off the rim and banged up against the back of the house, right above the sliding glass door.

  Chapter Four

  When Connor showed up at Maya’s door only a few hours later, he hoped he didn’t look as stressed out as he felt. He didn’t want to mention the prom conversation again, but he also didn’t want her to say yes to anyone but him. Except, he reminded himself, he hadn’t exactly asked her, and she pretty much asked him but as a double date, and he wasn’t the one who would be hers.

  After six years of the most comfortable relationship ever, he felt awkward. He never felt awkward around Maya. He had to shake this, now, before things got weird and Maya knew that something was up, and when she figured out what that something was, she might not want to be friends anymore.

  “How many today?”

  As she stepped out of the front door of her house, Maya asked the usual question after they met in the evenings after school, when they weren’t volunteering together at the library. Whether they were hanging out at her house or his, going for a walk, or whatever, she always asked how many baskets he had made that afternoon, because she knew his routine so well.

  He sighed and shook his head.

  “Eighty-six.”

  She reached out and squeezed his bicep. Connor froze.

  “Just hearing that makes my arms tired. I know that’s not your best but you know my average.”

  He blinked a few times as he kept walking, and her arm fell to her side.

  “Are you mad about this afternoon?”

  When he stopped and turned to look at her, he was surprised that she was frowning, her worry genuine. Why would she even think that? He could count on one hand the number of times he had been angry with her since they had become friends, and wasn’t planning on adding the prom debate to that count.

  “Not at all. Why would I be? You know, it’s not a big deal. I mean, it sounds like it is to you, so let’s do it.”

  She stared at him. Had he said something wrong?

  “You know,” he continued, waving his hand around in some vague gesture as if he knew what he was talking about. “That double date thing. I guess I can find someone to go with who won’t annoy you too much.”

  Her smile reassured him, and when she slid her hand into the crook of his elbow and moved forward, he couldn’t help but follow, relaxing a bit as they started to walk in the direction of the library.

  “That might be more difficult than you think.”

  They both laughed, and he was relieved that the problem was resolved, at least for the moment.

  “What do you think Lindsay wants to tell us? This is pretty weird, for her to text us out of the blue.”

  She looked around at the houses they walked by every day, her gaze moving up to the sky.

  “I am so ready for spring to really get here. The sky has been gray every single day for so long.”

  His heart thudded in his ears as he watched her, feeling like he had never truly paid attention to her before, not as he was noticing her now. Her thoughts strayed like this often, and he would leave her to it, unconcerned that she hadn’t responded to his question. She would eventually, after her train of thought finished its course.

  The sidewalk was wet from the rain that had fallen earlier that day, and scattered twigs crunched under their feet, breaking the silence before she spoke again.

  “It is strange. She doesn’t usually text anyone, and I think if it was something bad, she would have called. Something serious I mean, like someone dying.”

  Lindsay and the other librarians often left sticky notes with reminders about projects that needed to be done, or questions about scheduling, on days that they wouldn’t see the volunteers. Right now there was only one other volunteer besides the two of them, a college student named Jessica who helped during the weekdays when they were in school.

  The librarians who worked with Jessica left notes for Maya and Connor, and sometimes Jessica left notes for them as well. The five minutes they spent exchanging greetings in the break room didn’t quite leave much time for explaining how the children’s librarian wanted the bulletin board re-papered, or how the teen librarian needed the graphic novels shelf-read. Again.

  It was true, Connor thought, that most of what could be communicated to them could be done this way, and if it was something personal or difficult to share, like Maya said, that would involve a phone call. Lindsay was pretty old school about that sort of thing, unlike some people their own age who had no trouble texting to alert others about a sensitive subject.

  “Should we be nervous?”

  He was only half-joking as he asked, but Maya laughed anyway. Something in him untwisted and relaxed at the sound. He knew he had the same effect on her, and wondered if she was worried about being apart next year. Email and texting didn’t quite cut it when you were so used to having the person closest to you literally close to you every single day.

  “Probably not. I notice she didn’t have Jessica in on the text, or I’d think it was just for volunteers. Then again, she could have talked to Jessica about whatever it is today. I know they need us there, and we haven’t done anything wrong, so I don’t see what there is to worry about.”

  She looked up at the sky again as it darkened, squinting as if she was issuing a challenge to it. Her cheeks were flushed with the cold air, and he wanted to reach out and press the palm of his hands to them to warm them up.

  “You okay?”

  How many times was she going to ask him that today? Maybe if he hadn’t been staring at her again, she wouldn’t think something was wrong. With the prom question settled, sort of, he needed to back off and figure out how he felt and what, if anything, he wanted to do about it.

  She waved a hand in front of his face and began to run, the library in sight, and he raced after her, both of them laughing as their breaths puffed out in little clouds in the cold air.

  “Thank you both for coming in. I know if isn’t a usual day for you to be here, but there’s a great opportunity I’d like to share with you.”

  The library manager smiled at Maya and Conner as they stepped into her office.

  Maya was still a little breathless from the impromptu run through the parking lot a few minutes earlier. She had no idea what made her take off like that, or at least she tried to convince herself she didn’t. Connor was weirded out by her for some reason, most likely her prom fixation, and she didn’t know how to respond to it.

  Run away, she thought, reminded of the knights in the Monty Python movie she and Connor liked to imitate. Bravely run away.

  “Hey, Connor. Maya. See you tomorrow.”

  Steve waved as he walked by Lindsay’s office, headed towards the front service desk. He worked most nights, so they were both used to him being around when they worked. Sometimes they helped him set up for his teen programs, or played a little Mario Kart with him after his open gaming events, which were popular with all ages. Maya always liked watching the kids beat the adults, no matter what game it was, and Steve, unlike some of the older players, was a pretty good sport about it.

  “Opportunity?”

  Connor asked before she could, and she could see the curiosity in his expression as well as hear it in his tone. He was always up for a challenge, even if it wasn’t about winning or losing. He competed against himself, he always said, and that, she knew, set him apart from his teammates and most people she knew.

  When they were younger, kids made fun of him or ignored him for always looking for something new, or attempting
anything difficult, but now that his efforts had made him successful on the court, no one laughed at him. They don’t even know him like I do, Maya thought, her focus shifting from him back to Lindsay.

  “I’ve written for a grant, and found out earlier today that the library was awarded one, enough to cover the wage for one assistant this summer. Jessica will be graduating in May and she might be moving on in her field right away, so I expect that the two of you will be the ones I will be considering to hire.”

  Hire? Maya had been babysitting off and on for neighbors over the past few years, but those same kids had grown enough to look after themselves, and for the first summer since high school started, she didn’t have a job lined up. This would be perfect, she thought, sitting up straighter in her chair. Assistants did a lot of what she was already doing as a volunteer, and more.

  “A paid position? That would be fantastic. I’d love to save some more money before leaving for college.”

  Maya sagged a bit as she remembered that the position was for one person. One of them, Lindsay had said.

  “Are we the only ones you are thinking of hiring?” she asked, not looking at Connor as she did.

  Lindsay tilted her head to the side and pursed her lips before she answered.

  “Right now, yes. I will be posting the position on the job board, and it will be on the library’s website, per the terms of the grant. I have to be judicious in my choice, and be open about any other candidates. But honestly, both of you have been volunteering here for so long that I can’t imagine anyone else is more qualified through experience than you are.”

  While Maya was relieved to hear it, she was also a little concerned that she was suddenly thinking as if the job was already hers. Connor was just as good of a worker as she was, if not better. Even if only one of them actually was getting paid, they could still work together as they always had. The difference was one of them would get a paycheck, and the other would get a few more months of volunteer work on his or her resume.

  “Keep doing your best, and I’ll be interviewing later in May, close to the end of the school year, to decide who is the best fit for the position. This also gives time for any outside candidates to apply, and for me to consider them.”

  When Lindsay finished speaking, Maya stole a quick look at Connor, and caught him looking back. He offered her a tentative smile, and she relaxed a little.

  “As long as I don’t have to shoot hoops against this guy, I’m sure I have a good shot, right, Lindsay?” she teased.

  Connor groaned at the pun, and Lindsay sighed, shaking her head.

  “I hope you two can always be friends like you are now. I haven’t seen friends grow up and stay this close often, and I hope that no matter what happens, you always have each other.”

  She was notoriously serious, Maya knew, like a typical librarian. Then again, Steve was a librarian and wore Pikachu socks, so there was really no such thing as typical in their library.

  No matter what happened, Maya thought, even if only one of them got this job, even if they were in colleges in different parts of the state from each other in just a few months, they would always be friends. There was no question in her mind, although she already knew that she wanted the assistant position and that it would be a disappointment if she lost it to Connor.

  He would never be a jerk about it if that’s how it played out. It wasn’t his style. Their friendship was more important, to both of them, and they could be good sports regardless of which of them ended up clocking in rather than signing the volunteer binder when they reported to the library.

  Chapter Five

  Saving money for college wasn’t part of Connor’s plans for the summer, or any time. His parents had assured him that they had everything covered, and while they had pressured him just enough to make his last basketball season uncomfortable, they hadn’t used financial concerns to push him to play college ball.

  No, he didn’t need the money, not like Maya did. She had grants to cover tuition but she had been saving for textbooks, gas money, and whatever else came up. Her mom could drop her off at school but she might have to take the bus depending on her class schedule, so there was that, and all the little things that Connor’s mom handled for him so he didn’t even have to think of it.

  Part of him wanted to back off and let her get the job, but she wasn’t the type to accept a handout like that, and who was he to say that she wouldn’t be better qualified than he was, anyway? Still, she’d like some competition, and it would be fun trying to outdo each other. They both had different strengths when it came to the tasks assigned to them as volunteers, so it might not be easy for Lindsay to decide, when it came down to the wire.

  “I think that Andrea should plan a story time around this one.”

  Maya appeared from around the corner, holding a picture book in front of her as she stopped in front of the cart of books Connor was shelving in the adult section. He leaned in closer to see which book it was.

  Walter the Farting Dog.

  Connor shook his head.

  “Steve should. I think the middle school kids would love a farting program. Remember when Ashley Simmons farted in Mrs. Benson’s class, and Ron Anderson followed her around making farting noises for the rest of the school year?”

  Mays flipped through the pages, nodding as she answered.

  “Yeah, and that happened in October, so she had to put up with it for the rest of seventh grade, and you know that everyone remembers. She’ll never live that one down.”

  It was true. Connor wondered if the assistant job would include any programming, helping the librarians not only with the preparations but also during the events themselves. Any experience he could get working with kids would be helpful, since he planned to be a middle school teacher and a basketball coach.

  “Why are you holding that? Is something going on with you I should know about?” Maya asked, the smile on her face audible in her voice.

  He wondered how long he had been standing there staring at Walter the Farting Dog, not realizing that he had picked up a book from the cart when Maya had appeared.

  He groaned dramatically. It was an old joke by now, but still a little embarrassing to be the one caught with it.

  Fifty Shades of Grey. It was still popular, and patrons were still ashamed to check it out, so they sent their husbands, boyfriends, and even their kids into the library to pick it up. Sometimes Connor wondered if some of the men who claimed it was for their girlfriends weren’t the ones reading it instead.

  “Hey, could one of you sit at the desk while I take a restroom break?”

  Steve was waving his hand behind Maya, and Connor nodded before she could answer. He stepped around the cart and dropped the book on top of the picture book she already held.

  “Ana and Christian are all yours.”

  Their eyes met and a flutter of relief bloomed in his chest when hers crinkled at the edges, and her dark-hair, pulled up high into a ponytail, bobbed a little as she laughed. Why had he been so worried about her, about them? Everything was as it should have been and always was. Friends through thick and thin.

  Although, Connor thought as he sat on the rolling chair behind the counter, adjusting it carefully to accommodate his height as opposed to Steve’s, he wasn’t sure if friends were all he wanted them to be, or if risking that friendship was worth it to see if they could become something more.

  The phone hummed its strange ringtone, set to a quieter sound because someone in administration thought it was more appropriate for a library to avoid any unnecessary noise, Connor grabbed it more quickly than he needed to, surprised by the interruption of his thoughts.