there's a first time for everything

run-in at the library

I started going to the public library on the third week at school, mainly because it was bigger than the school library, and there were also no other kids from school there.

One day the weather is surprisingly dreary and gray, so I tell Mom I'm going to the library. She's typing something on her laptop, an email I think, but looks up when I call her. "Should I give you a ride?"
I shake my head. "I can walk. It's not that cold." I sling my bookbag on my back, my phone inside it, and walk out. There aren't too much cars or foot traffic outside, so I go slowly, even thinking to plug my earbuds into my phone and sticking them in my ears. The walk goes by quickly in a blur of my favorite music.

The library smells musty and damp inside, and the faint scent of books makes its way to my nose. I inhale deeply and close my eyes for a moment, breathing it in. Cheesy, but it kind of smells like home.

When I was little, Dad used to always read me stories before I would go to sleep. Not the typical fairytales, though. He would tell me about his childhood, mostly his mom. From what he told me, his mom was a loving woman with a big personality, and she loved to take car of him and his older brother, Thomas. My grandmother was a single mom, raising two teenagers in Texas around the time a hurricane hit. They were on vacation though when it did. But she died a few years before I was born, and Dad always told me he wished I could've met her, that we would've liked each other. That I was like her. I didn't really agree with him on that, because I'm not as strong as the picture he painted her to be.

I'm getting up to check out the book I found in the YA adventure aisle when I see them walking in with an older boy. It's Ry, and they're holding a bag filled with board books, making their way to the check-in counter with what I'm guessing is their older brother. I continue my descent to the checkout, card in my hand, and wave to get their attention. Ry sees me and blanches, glancing sideways at their brother.

"Hi," their brother greets, turning. "You must be Rachel's friend from school. She's talked about you. At first I didn't think you were real, so I apologize."

I stare at him for a moment, before I remember that most of their family don't know they're genderfluid. "Oh, yeah, um, hi."

Ry gives me a small grateful smile and tells their brother they'll be back, then comes with me to the checkout. "Sorry about that. That was Jack, by the way. How's your weekend going?"

I tell them it's fine, that I understand, as I run my book under the scanner and then scan my checkout card. "Eh. Mom doesn't work on the weekend so she's been at home all day, which is fine, I guess." I glance at Ry hesitantly. "Uh...sorry. I probably shouldn't be complaining."

They shrug, picking at their cuticles, looking distracted. "I don't care. My brothers are supposed to be going on a trip for their school in a few days, so I'm going to have the house to myself for a little while." Their eyes suddenly brighten, as if getting an idea. "Hey. Wanna come over? It'll be our first official hangout as friends."

I grin, stuffing my new book into my bag. "Sure. I'm bored all week anyway."

We spend the rest of the afternoon talking about books versus the movie remakes and laughing over funny videos we search up on the library computers until they have to leave, giving me their family's shared phone number before they do. I get home and even Mom notices my energized mood, and it's contagious, because the next thing I know we're dancing to a Lana Del Ray song in the kitchen as we try to bake cookies that will probably be a total flop.