Titanium Promises

Three

The public library is quiet for a Sunday. Usually there are a few high school stragglers studying for a Monday test, but today I only see two people, and one of them is an older man with a newspaper. I guide my eyes away from the others and back to my book. The library isn't solely a place of study for me, I usually just come here to clear my mind. Yet Luke still finds a way to get inside my head.

I glance at my phone lying dormant next to me. Still nothing from Luke. I sigh and try to focus on reading instead.

"Excuse me?"

I almost fall out of my chair at the sudden voice, and I feel my face get hot once I regain my balance.

"Uh, yes?" I stutter out.

A girl stands in front of me, her brown eyes looking over me. She looks like she could be in my grade, maybe a little older, but not by much. She wears shorts and a baggy hoodie that makes her look a lot bigger than she probably is.

"Is this seat open?" she asks, gesturing to the one across from me. Out of the dozens of open ones, she asks to sit in the one next to me. I don't know what to think of that.

"Yeah," I say, unsure.

I watch her as she sits down and drags the backpack off her shoulders. She unzips it and pulls out a laptop that she immediately flips open, her fingers flying across the keys.

"Uh." I look over the top of her laptop. "Sorry, do I know you? Or do you maybe know me somehow?" I quickly realize she could take that as rude, but she doesn't seem put off by it.

She looks me up and down and shrugs. "I doubt you know me," she says, seeming honest. "I'm Rebecca." She offers her hand and I shake it awkwardly.

"I'm—"

"Reid," she interrupts. "I know. You go to Creek Union. We don't have any classes together, though."

I'm sure I would have remembered her if I had a class with her.

I give a slightly forced smile. "Oh, that's. . . cool."

A pause.

I desperately need to start a conversation or this may very well be the first and last time I socialize with someone in a library.

"What are you working on?" I ask as I notice her rapid typing.

Her brown eyes flick up to meet mine. "A memoir."

"A memoir? Like, about yourself?"

She rests her chin on her hands. "Yeah, my memoir."

"What's it about? I get it's yours—"

"Not about anything specific. I've read lots of memoirs, my favorite being Tina Fey's, and I don't know. I just decided to write one. I'm sure it will become helpful when I'm a world-famous actor."

Her willingness to talk about herself is surprisingly soothing. "Good for you. And I'm not being sarcastic."

Her eyes narrow as if she's trying to read me. Eventually, her eyes relax and she goes back to typing on her laptop. Her black nails make a clicking sound against her keyboard that almost sounds like rain.

I shake my head and go back to reading. I get through a page at most before Rebecca slaps her laptop shut and stares at me. I glance up from my book and give her a look. She just keeps staring.

I close my book completely and let out a short sigh. "Yes?"

"You have a boyfriend?" she asks.

I blink, taken aback. "Excuse me?"