A Book Nerd's Guide to Falling in Love

Chapter 11: AI was a Bad Idea

With a meal tray steady in my hands, I turned from the food counter and searched the cafeteria for Lotty, but my subconscious mind was looking for something else or someone else.

The party last Saturday gave me a hangover for two days—not the kind you get from alcohol intake, but the kind that stays with you after a thrilling encounter.

A lot of things could happen at a party—a lot of unexpected things. I couldn't say it was a blast, but it wasn't a total bust either.

Why?

Because, one, I had to admit the best part of it was my conversation with Finn. Learning his name came from Mark Twain's novel was like having sweet red velvet cake. He even joked about the title being Blueberry Finn. At least, I thought it was a joke. That made me laugh. I'll give him that.

Now, I understood why Lotty liked him. And, oof, I was starting to like him too.

Despite being annoyed with Finn, I had always known he was a good guy. He was literally the boy next door.

Okay, maybe I could allow myself to like him as a friend.

And because, two, I couldn't forget Dave had my red leather-bound book. I was so sure this time. I might sound somewhat accusing, but I was convinced he had it. My eyes saw what they saw.

With that thought, as I scanned the yellow-walled cafeteria, I found Dave sitting alone at a table.

Something weird was happening in Littleton. It couldn't only be my imagination. I wasn't desperately wishing to save the library to make myself hallucinate impossible magical things, right? But knowing I had binged too many fantasy novels last summer makes me wonder if I finally got sucked into one. It would be awesome if there weren't any dragons to eat me after school today.

I was used to seeing Dave surrounded by his buddies, so finding him all by himself was unusual.

I walked up to him, my legs moving like they had minds of their own. When I reached his table, I stood across from him and watched as he gulped a bite of his sandwich.

He looked up at me and noticed my tray. Staring, he furrowed his brows. "Do you want to sit with me?" he asked with hesitation.

I shook my head. "No, I wanted to ask you something." I checked his tray and noticed a pocketbook beside his food. Despite being upside down from my view, I could read the title—The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. I blinked, surprised.

"Well, ask away." He placed his sandwich on his plate and licked his fingers.

I lifted my gaze to his face. "I saw you reading a book at Finn's party," I said.

Dave straightened in his seat. "And what's the question?"

"Oh, right! I wanted to ask what book you were reading."

Craning his neck, he studied the ceiling. After a few moments, he looked back at me with a grin. "Bruh, did I get wasted at Finn's party? I can't remember reading a book."

"Huh," I replied. That was almost the same answer Cathy gave me when I asked her about the red leather-bound book. "Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure. Also, I know I didn't have a hangover because I woke up the next morning, around 6:00 a.m., and went to the library. Did you know it's still closed at that time?"

"You went to the library at six in the morning?" I thought I heard wrong.

"Yeah. They open at 2:00 p.m. I had to go home and wait, then go back in the afternoon. Waiting was such a bummer. But a nice lady gave me a library card and lent me this." He patted the LOTR book on his tray.