The Secrets Libraries Keep (ONC 2024)

I

Jumping back in time

COEUS UNIVERSITY was a small but exclusive university. Only a select handful of outstanding students were admitted each year, and every one of those students moved on to be successful in their field of study. The university had been around for over a century and remained small, prestigious and mysterious.

One student who was accepted with a full scholarship was Paige Literari. Fresh out of high school with a head full of dreams, Coeus University was the only school she wanted. Competition was steep, the tuition steeper, but ever since she'd heard of the school, she had made it a life goal to get there. Fortunately, a scholarship was offered to students who performed well in high school and needed support.

Years spent focused on school work and extracurriculars instead of hanging with her peers, Paige graduated at the top of her class. A couple of months later, an invitation to attend Coeus University came in the mail, an application for the scholarship attached—an invitation to the Literary Arts program.

But the program wasn't the only reason she wanted to attend that university. She'd heard a rumour about the unique and extensive library hidden from the public. Only those that went to Coeus had access and there wasn't enough information online to glean what it looked like or what their collection contained.

Paige stared at the looming building before her, a box in her hands. University. A whole new chapter in her life. A brand new adventure.

The thought should have made her nervous, but Paige was ready... Ready, that is, until her father came up beside her, balancing two boxes in his burly arms. Paige looked at her dad, and emotions welled inside her.

"Hey, kiddo, you ready?"

Was she? Doubt was a funny thing. Paige looked at the university again, her palms growing slick with sweat. Her father had insisted that living on campus would give her the best experience. Give her independence away from her old dad. It was time to get out of her head and into the real world. To make real connections with her peers. His words, not hers.

What if she was happy living the worlds she created? What if she was content living with her old man? Their town had a library, and she had all her books back home. Besides, he needed her. Without her, he would be all alone.

Her dad nudged her arm with his elbow, drawing her out of her thoughts. She gnawed a hole in her bottom lip, refusing eye contact. She was suddenly interested in the fraying tape on her box and picked at them.

Her dad nudged her a second time. "Paigemeister, you okay?"

"Maybe this was a mistake," she mumbled.

He set the boxes on the ground with a huff. Students milled around them, some carrying boxes like Paige and her dad, others carrying backpacks, ready to explore the campus during orientation.

"A mistake was thinking I could carry two boxes and not lose feeling in my arms," her dad said, shaking his hands. "You going here? To the best university in the country? Not a mistake."

"But, Dad, who will take care of you?" Paige shot back. "You're a terrible cook, and you always forget laundry until you're down to your last pair of underwear...if you can call that monstrosity with holes underwear—"

Her dad laughed, his cheeks scarlet as his eyes darted around the campus. "Okay! The last thing I ever want to hear is my daughter talking about my underwear. Especially in public." He took her box from her, set it on the ground and placed his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "You never were a normal kid, growing up way too fast to be a proper kid, and I know things weren't easy after your mom..."