Will you remember me?

Chapter 16 POV: Linda Santiago

Anna was beside me and we were heading to explore the campus on our own.

"What happened?" She asked as I chuckled to myself.

"Nothing," I smiled and suppressed another after seeing her perplexed face.

"What?!" She demanded and her cheeks reddened, proving again and again how pale she was, "Tell me!"

"Okay fine," I replied and the humor in it wore out, "I remembered how you barged into my room and announced like a small kid that you–"

"Stop!" She snapped, "You can forget it happened," She mumbled.

I smiled back at her and I found my free hand naturally trailing and landing on top of her head. I patted her smooth, jet-black hair and she didn't seem to mind. The tiny height difference made it cuter.

"Should we go to the library?" I asked her after withdrawing my hands, "Yuna told me that it's the most beautiful place in the school. On top of that, we didn't pay much attention to the tour."

"Sure," She said dreamily. I guessed she was looking forward to it.

After descending the dorm stairs, we entered the small passageway leading to the cafeteria. From what the clock on one of the walls said, it was about 11.

Roughly three hours away from home, I told myself, I truly feel free now.

We entered the library through the main entrance and wow, it was breathtaking.

"Wow," Anna stopped short in the entrance, "Imagine if they had a party in here."

"I know right?" I replied. With the ceiling covered in glass, the natural sunlight spilled into the enormous circular building and created a welcoming atmosphere.

When we walked in, an old librarian greeted us from her desk, which was at a corner overlooking the maximum area of the library.

"You guys finished the tour, right?" She asked, "I think I might have seen you both on the tour."

"Yes," I replied, "But we're exploring it on our own now."

"Great," She smiled, and her wrinkled face came alive with passion, "I'm Selene by the way. Call me if you need to check out any books, I'll be at my desk."

"Yeah, okay," I replied and we continued walking.

We ascended the staircase leading up to an abstract painting and diverged until it reached the next level.

"The above is much better, don't you think?" Anna asked, "I mean the lower level feels I dunno, too open? But here, it's compact and comfortable."

"Yeah, true," I replied, but I was busy gazing at the mysterious, dim aisles on the other side. The ceiling did provide much light to the building, but the inside parts of the top-level, like the case bookshelves and aisles, for example, didn't receive much light.

We entered the first aisle which was labeled 'History and Events', but didn't care to glance at any books on the shelves. There were some bean bags at the end of the aisle.

"Hey, you wanna sit?" Anna asked.

"Yeah, sure," I replied and plopped myself on one of the bean bags. She dragged hers from a short distance away and sat beside me with her chin in her hands.

We sat there in silence, listening to the occasional footsteps coming and going out of the library.

"Did you know?" Anna began.

"Know what?"

"People who're super close to each other don't begin their conversations with questions."

"How?" I asked.

"Think about the conversations you've had with close ones," Anna suggested, "You'll get it."

"I don't talk much," I replied sheepishly. Then I realized it was a pretty dumb thing to have said after looking at Anna's confused face. "But yeah I got it," I added.

"You seem a little off after your embarrassing moment a few minutes ago," I said, "What's wrong?"

"No, it's not because of that," She started but hesitated to continue.

"Tell me,"

She contemplated for a second and continued, "It's about Megan," She finished.

I stared at her, anticipating something more than that.

"Who is Megan?" I finally asked after waiting for too long.

"Oh, sorry you don't know about her yet," She said, "Megan's my roommate."

"You've got a roommate!" I fisted her but she wasn't very happy about it. "Is it about her?"

"Exactly," She replied, "We've just met but I dunno why she's just so off-putting. I don't know how I'll manage with her."

"Anna," I started, but I don't know how to continue. I want to tell her that she should learn to mingle with others but there is also this other subtle, possessive part of me that wants her to be the way she is and be exclusive to me. "It's fine, you'll get used to it," I told her, "And I'd be only five rooms away so if Megan annoys you, then you're always welcome to hang out."

"I know but it's just that while Yuna's with you, I have to spend my whole high school with stupid Megan and–" She stopped short.

"What happened?" I asked and then followed her gaze. A red-haired girl stormed down the staircase. I immediately understood the situation but I still wanted to confirm, "Don't tell me... really?!"

Anna nodded grimly.

Shit!