A Book Nerd's Guide to Falling in Love

Chapter 15: Overanalyzing was a Pain

I spent an hour last night coming up with a better title for my infographics. I had thirteen drafts until I finally decided on this: How to improve your focus and have lasting memory in less than a month by doing this relaxing activity.

It was perfect. Research showed that people who read had lower risks of memory loss, which affected a large percentage of the population. It was something that needed to be addressed.

I sent the final title to Finn to update the infographics without expecting him to respond right away, but he did, delivering the final product to me. Now, all I needed to do was print them.

"Hey, Mom. Can you do me a favor?" I asked my mother as I came down for breakfast before school.

Mothers were the best. They would do anything for their children. At least, mine would, which was why I came to her for help.

"Mmh?" She placed a plate of waffles and eggs in front of me on the dining table. "Ano yun?" What is it?

"So, you know about the library, right?" I said as I poured syrup and buttered my waffles.

My mother peeped at me. "Yes, anak." She called me my child. She could sense I was still distressed about the library, but her comfort wasn't what I needed now.

"My friends and I plan to hand out infographics to encourage people to love reading books. We thought it could help the library," I explained as I ate my meal, sweet sugar filling my mouth.

"Dat's nice." My mother nodded, approving. "By priends, you mean Lotty?"

I didn't like that she implied I only had one friend, but for the longest time, it was true—but now I could say I had more. Finn was my friend, right? Maybe even Cathy. "And others," I answered.

"She grinned. "You hab oder priends? Sino?" She asked Who?

I knew she'd be curious. I could tell her about Cathy and Finn, but it was off-topic. "Mom, focus. The library."

"Right." Happy to hear I was finally socializing, my mother grinned from ear to ear. She had shown the same enthusiasm the night I came home from Finn's party, asking if I'd met a boy, which was pretty weird for a mother to do. But she only wanted me to have a normal teenage life, and by normal, she meant like what she had when she was younger. "What's da pavor?"

"Can you print out the infographics for us?" I asked, rounding my eyes and trying to imitate a puppy.

She observed me for a moment, contemplating.

Please say yes.

"How many copies?" she asked.

I grinned. That was closer to a yes than a no. "A thousand."

"A tousand?" Her voice rose, shocked.

"Please," I begged. "There's almost six thousand people here in Littleton. A thousand is only fifteen percent of the population."

Taking a deep breath, my mother slowly nodded. "Okay. But you are doing da dishes por a week."

"Yes!" I couldn't believe I exclaimed like that at dirty dishes for one whole week, but I was ecstatic about my mother helping us out. It was for the library. "Thank you!" I leaned over the table to kiss her on the cheek.

After finishing my breakfast, I headed to school.

Oddly, Finn was in my thoughts as I walked down Merrill Street, turned left on Church Street, right on High Street, and straight until I reached Littleton High School. And even as I entered the large entryway, I was still thinking about him.