The Key to Immortality

Chapter 3

After classes ended, Jaxon paid a visit to the local library. If he was being honest, it was his favorite place to study and do homework. It was a beautiful building. Inside, bookshelves towered over visitors and overstuffed armchairs beckoned you to curl up in front of the fireplace. He loved it here. He loved the dim lighting, he loved the scent of biblichor that wafted throughout the whole building. It set him at ease. He ascended the spiral staircase in the corner and took his usual spot at the desk against the window. He took out his laptop and put on his headphones, ready to take notes on the video lectures for his morning classes.

After he finished with his notes, he wandered among the shelves, looking for any books that piqued his interest. Without realizing, he found himself in the history section, standing in front of a shelf full of books about the history of the small town he lived in. They scanned the titles, looking for one that stood out to them. Once he found some, he carefully pulled them off the shelves and went to the counter to check them out.

Jaxon hadn't realized how much time he spent poring over the old pages until the librarian tapped his shoulder and told him that the library was closing for the night. He put his things away and left the building, checking his watch.

"Shit," he muttered. He picked up his pace and walked back to the college, his bag slung over his shoulder. When he got to the dining hall, he found Ember looking at him with a frown on xyr face. He looked at xem apologetically.

"Where were you?" xe asked.

"I was at the library. I lost track of time, I'm sorry, Em," he said, his voice remorseful. Xe sighed.

"It's fine. I got you food." Xe gestured to the tray across the table from xem. He smiled.

"Thanks." He sat down and started eating. The two of them made conversation as they ate. Ember wasn't super upset that he had come late, xe were more afraid that he had ditched xem.

"Did you get anything at the library?"

"Yeah, just a few history books, nothing special." Ember made a dramatic expression of disgust.

"I don't get why you like history, it's so boring." Jaxon chuckled.

"The shit they teach in class is boring, yeah, but if you take the time outside of class to dig deeper into history, it gets interesting." Xe rolled xyr eyes.

"Whatever," xe said. "You can stick to your history, I'll stick to my writing." He smiled.

"Sure, Em."