A Book Nerd's Guide to Falling in Love

Chapter 13: The Brain was a Funny Thing

My grades in computer science weren't so great. Sure, like all students in Littleton High School, I was obsessed with my phone, but that was about it. I was not a techie or a coder and didn't understand algorithms, which was likely one of the reasons why I didn't get artificial intelligence. But that didn't stop me from not listening in this class.

The brain was funny that way. It was aware of what I needed it to do—focus because I couldn't get another D on the next quiz—but no matter how much I told it to listen to the teacher, it only drifted off somewhere else.

And today, my mind was consumed by the elusive red leather-bound book. I was starting to believe it might not be a book at all. It had a mind of its own.

Instead of doing the class activity, decoding some sort of encrypted binary message, I had a browser open. My fingers ran over the keyboard, the rhythmic clicking becoming a testament to my distracted state.

I typed 'red bound book' in the search bar and pressed enter, hopeful, but search image results showed only red books with no titles.

I tried again. Clearing the search bar, I typed 'How to Fall in Love book' and then hit enter. Results gave me a blue book by Cecelia Ahern.

My eyes widened. "Could it be," I whispered. As I checked the book's editions, I allowed another boat of hope to curve my lips. But as I scrolled the results, my short-lived smile died—no red leather-bound editions.

"How to fall in love?" a voice read behind me.

Startled, I turned and found Finn looking over my shoulder. He had swiveled his chair there, flashing me an annoying dimpled smile.

Sheepish, I returned to the computer and closed the browser window.

Finn chuckled, leaning closer. "Hey. I don't judge, Watson."

"What do you want?" I whispered to him. I was surprised he had the guts to come over to me while the teacher was lecturing at the front. Or did we have a partnering activity I didn't hear?

"Nothing. You're just the closest person to me that I can talk to while the teacher is out," Finn said.

I peeked at the front of the class, realizing he was right—Mr. Walker was gone. I turned my gaze to the door, catching a glimpse of the teacher with someone outside.

Everyone else in the class had either swiveled their chairs to each other and started whispering or pulled out their phones to check their notifications.

When I returned to Finn, I saw Dave over his shoulder reading a pocketbook. It was still strange to see him engrossed in a book. It was even more strange that Finn came to me for a conversation instead of Dave, who was sitting next to him.

"So, you figured out how to save the library yet?" Finn asked, pulling my attention back to him. The notion seemed like a joke. How could I save the library on my own? Deep down I knew how low my chances were no matter how much I wanted to. Yet, I was trying so hard as if I believed I could make a difference, like a miracle. And Finn's genuine concern fueled my fire.

"Lotty and Cathy told me to host a seminar on... How to Fall in Love with Books." I hesitated, telling him what the seminar would be about. The phrase How to Fall in Love was cringey.

Finn nodded. "That's a great idea," he said, and a weight lifted off my shoulder as if I was relieved he didn't think the suggestion was a joke.

"Thanks," I said. "I'll let Lotty and Cathy know you think so."

Finn nodded again. "How about the petition?" he asked as if following up on my action item.

"I thought you weren't interested in signing it." I remembered how he refused. He was more of an internet guy, he said. I wondered what changed his mind.