A Book Nerd's Guide to Falling in Love

Chapter 7: The Book was a Perfect Gift

I was walking down the school's main hall when I saw my bestie.

Her brunette hair was extra voluminous today. She wore her favorite yellow crop top, exposing her belly, even though we were well in the cold fall season. But the rest of her appeared warm and comfy in an oversized windbreaker and high-waisted jeans.

People said that friends should be there when they're needed. Friends should always be dependable. They should always be trustworthy. But no one ever said that friends should always be fashionable, which was what Lotty had been every day since she turned fourteen.

"Hey," she called and jogged toward me, grinning with her glossy peach lips. "I got your message about the petition."

"Great!" I beamed. "Did you sign it yet?"

"I'll get to it during lunch break if that's okay?"

"Sure." I was glad to have her support. "Have you started your research paper yet?" I asked though I had a feeling she hadn't yet.

"Eh," she shrugged, carefree. "It's not due for weeks." Then she smiled, creasing her unusually thick foundation.

I blinked and stared.

Lotty was a natural beauty who liked the no-makeup look. So, her unprofessional hands had drawn up her face. The lack of experience in the work caused me to notice the puffy bags under her eyes that she tried to hide.

"Did you get a good sleep last night?" I asked.

"Yeah. I did," she said, glancing away. Before I could ask if everything was alright, her phone chimed, and she checked her message. "Finn," she whispered, reading her screen.

I peeked at the phone in her hand. But I averted my gaze, avoiding the inappropriate eavesdropping.

Something was obviously going on between Lotty and Finn. I couldn't understand why they were hiding it.

Lotty responded to him while I waited.

I gazed at the blue-painted metal lockers leaning on both sides of the hall's graying white walls. Students came in. Like Lotty, some girls in school still liked to wear their crop tops despite the weather.

I could never pull off an outfit like that. I wouldn't say my look was nerdy, but I was pretty plain, trying to be unnoticeable.

Last year, I tried to keep up with what was trending. It was hard to stay updated on something I wasn't interested in. And when an influencer my age promoted the Free the Nipple movement, my father had to draw the line.

My eyes darted from one end of the hallway to the other, wondering where Finn was. But why was I looking for him?

I didn't find Finn, but I saw Catherine Brown holding something red near the restrooms. At first, I thought it was a notebook, but I recognized the crimson color of the leather-bound book I borrowed from the library. How it got into her hands was a mystery. Yet I couldn't be sure. I was too far to confirm.

Cathy flipped a page and smiled as she read. Then, she started to walk in the opposite direction. I stepped forward, meaning to follow her, but someone gripped my wrist.

"Hey, let's get to class," Lotty said, looping her arm into mine.

I turned to her. "I think Cathy has a book I lost," I jerked my thumb to where the red-headed girl went.

"Cathy?" Lotty tip-toed, looking over my head. "I thought she wasn't in school today."

Why would she know that about Cathy? Were they becoming closer? I shrugged the growing bit of jealousy off my shoulder. It wasn't the time to be possessive of my bestie. I wriggled out of her grasp. "I'm just going to—"