The Collection

Narrative - Peace and Quiet

Upon entering the library, I notice the sounds of laughter and shouts of excitement are drowned out by the door closing softly behind me. Looking around, a sense of relief washes over me at the peace and quiet, and a grin forms on my face. My home away from home.

My school's library isn't much, being only a little bigger than a large classroom. A third of it is dedicated to shelves upon shelves of books, the rest being tables; some with computers, some without. The air in here is different, though, the nose wrinkling smell of BO and cologne now confined to the halls of the school and all I smell is books. I inhale deeply, books upon books. One might argue it is the greatest smell to ever exist.

There are a few tables with students on them, someone walking through the shelves, searching, but it isn't crowded in here, never is. That must be why I love it so much.

I spot a free table at the back and make my way toward it, passing the librarian behind the front desk. It's quite strange that I don't know her name, since I'm in here almost every day. She has a pinched face – kind of like she's just sucked on a sour lemon – which is weird because you'd think her face would be stretched out with the way she styles her hair – pulled tightly back into a neat low bun. Maybe I'll ask her name after I finish my book.

I reach my chosen table and set my book down onto it, taking a seat at one of the available chairs. I throw my long black hair up into a ponytail and tuck my chair in. A smile reaches my face. Feeling giddy as I open my book, the words beginning to flow through me.

She reached out for him, 'No, please, don't leave me.' He looked back at her with one final glance before saying –

"Hey, Sherry."

I look up from my book to see Rebecca standing in front of my table, binders in hand.

"I know you're on that last chapter, I just thought I'd sit here and do some homework?" she poses it as a question as if I need to give her the A-Okay before she can sit down and start clacking away at her calculator or gossiping about her boyfriend. After further thinking about it, it is a little strange that Rebecca's even in here at all. She's never in here, I don't think she's even been in here before right now.

"Yeah, sure, just not too loud, please."

Rebecca grins, flashing her pearly white teeth as she takes a seat before smoothing down her kilt. I look down at my dress pants with a frown. "Thanks a ton. You know, I really can't believe Silva gave me fifteen pages of math to do. Fifteen pages! I mean, like, seriously? I start pulling my hair out after about two pages and he wants to see me do fifteen? I'll be bald by tonight, mark my words."

She looks up from her textbook to see my deadpan face. Did I say she would gossip about her boyfriend? I meant teacher. It varies between the two.

"Shit. I swear I won't open my mouth from now on. It's just really quiet in here. It's kind of freaking me out," she says as she looks around. That's the whole point of a library, Rebecca. "But don't worry, I'll be quiet as a mouse." She mimes zipping her lips and throwing away the key.

I roll my eyes and give her a grateful look, picking up where I left off in my book.

She reached out for him, 'No, please, don't leave me.' He looked back at her with one –

Click clack click.

At least I was right about something, I think to myself as Rebecca continues to mash her nail into her calculator. But before I can say anything, three loud pings rise from her phone, compelling the librarian to whip her head up in our direction.

Pulling her phone out of her pocket, Rebecca's fingers begin to fly across the screen at lightning speed and mere seconds later the quiet and peaceful library is disturbed by the banging of a door.