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Sunset has always been in love with books, although after the death of her mother, she has stopped believing in happy endings. When she starts working in a library located at the basement of Stard...
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Buildings, Traumas, and a Whole New World
The sun sets behind the buildings before me. My neck hurts as my eyes climb up their mirror-like surfaces reflecting the busy, purpose-filled lives of the people driving their way out of town.
Ugh. I wish I could drive but I just can't.
Otherwise, I wouldn't be waiting for my brother in the same spot I was yesterday at this exact time. I'm not a masochist—in case you were wondering. I simply cannot drive yet.
Today I took a course on acting. Pretending to be someone else can be a really empowering thing. It proved to be a healing act for me—to be outside myself for a little bit, you know? Sometimes I just need a break from myself.
That, and the fact that I'm still avoiding attending university.
A stream of smoke leaves my lips as I exhale heavily. My throat shrinks at the mere thought of going through those doors.
I know what will happen when my dad finds out about me not going to university, but I can't go through those doors. Besides, I also think that it's a healthy thing to try every skill I might like. Only in that way, I'll discover what I actually want to do with my academic life. At least, that was the last piece of advice my mum gave to me before passing in that damn accident we had. We were together inside that self-same building I'm looking at right now.
The building of the University Of Toronto stands tall and static—unbothered by the fact that my mum is no longer here or that I'm a whole different person since the last time I was inside.
Technically speaking, I'm not disobeying my parents. If anything, I'm respecting my mum's last will. Not that she cares. Do the dead care about anything?
I rub my hands together, warming them from the unforgiving cold that reigns in Canada. The sun finally sank to some other place worthy of his time.
It's five minutes past four and I'm leaning against the correct car today. I double-checked.
"Afternoon." I hear his voice greet me.
Just great.
Lukah walks past me toward his car. He's wearing the same outfit from yesterday.
I don't greet him back.
A burst of short, sarcastic laughter escapes his lips as he throws his drawing board into his car.
The Campus' doors whine open and I see my brother exiting university. I wave my hand at him, desperate to leave and stop interacting with Lukah.
"Hi?" Lukah insists with his hands on the hood of the car.
I look away, fixing my eyes on the buildings ahead of me.
"I'm just- I'm not trying to-"
"What do you need?" I ask, bringing his sentence to an abrupt end.
Oh, Lord. He has deep yet beautifully clear green eyes. Although they also look grey. They are ambiguous—undecided. That's exactly what they are. Oh my God, I need to stop staring. My eyes snap to the concrete below me.
The thing is that if I get to know him, I'll develop feelings for him and he's a friend of my brother, just like Jason, and I don't want to go there again.
Plus, there's no way in hell this semi-god who dwells on earth would ever want me.
"Okay..." he trails off, clapping gently the hood of the car with his palms.
"Sorry, I just try to keep a distance from my brother's friends," I offer as a way of explanation.
"That's okay, I don't bite."
"The problem is that I do." I flash a fake, short smile in his direction.
God, where is Raiden?
"I wouldn't have a problem with that." The corners of his lips shrug downwards for a second.
"Oh, Raiden there you're!" I practically run to him.
"Hey, sis, bro." He nudges Lukah's shoulder.
He just said 'bro' and that was a calculated move. Let me translate it for you: Lukah is off-limits for you. He is a brother to me.
"Are you guys coming tonight?" Lukah asks.
"Oh, right! Your birthday. Sorry, bro!" Raiden pokes his shoulder and calls him bro like three more times. "Yeah sure, I'll be there!" he assures him, excluding me from the plural invitation.
Lukah's eyes focus on mine. Then, they flicker between Raiden and me.
"You are invited, of course," he addresses me.
"She doesn't do parties," Raiden explains to him.
I roll my eyes at him for being so possessive and revealing unnecessary information to a total stranger to me. My social anxiety is no one's business.
"Can we please leave, bro?" I pause at the last word.
They both chuckle.
"I have a job interview and the traffic is crazy," I complain, turning to climb into the car.
"Oh crap. Yeah, let's go!"
🔸🔸🔸
I dash towards the small, basement door inside the StarDust Café. My feet take two steps at a time until I reach the end of the stairs.
The smell of dust swallows me whole-a lovely welcome to my new job.
Seconds later, an annoying pressure threatens the inner sides of my nose and I end up sneezing twice.
My eyes squint, the darkness clouding the view before me.
There're piles of books here and there. Bookcases are overthrown over each other, looking like a messy Tetris game played by a five-year-old by mistake. The blue paint from the walls is torn apart into big, shredded pieces, revealing a life from a different age below. My black Converse trip, and my hands land on the dusty surface of a drawer that's knocked down on the floor.
Sneezing again, I pat my palms against my jeans. When I look up, I step back in shock. My eyes blink as I take a moment to let the view sink into me.
What on earth is this place?
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