How not to Start a Book Club: A Series

Episode 1 - How not to Start a Book Club

"I told you this was a bad idea." Keith groaned, putting his head in his hands. The small amount of honey brown hair that usually fell in front of his face tickled his fingertips. He's generally soften spoken, but not just then, his irritation showing more than he meant to. The classroom him and his best friend Katie had spent weeks begging and pestering the teachers to let them use for their book club... was still empty. It had been empty for three days.

Keith had never really understood the concept of book clubs. Isn't the whole point of reading being able to enjoy something in quiet and solitude? To be able to escape the world and social interactions through your imagination? Clubs were the exact opposite of that. Unfortunately, Katie thought differently. She thinks a book club is a great way to enjoy reading while also making friends. Keith wonders if she still thinks that.

"No it's not. People just don't know about it yet." Katie responded, trying to stay optimistic. She had been continuously braiding and unbraiding her long dark hair as a way to pass time, to the point of it becoming crimped. She only stops to argue with Keith.
"We don't even have a name, of course people don't know about it." He responded bitterly.
Keith thought about how he could be at home right now, laying in his bed, reading on his own. But no, he was in this slightly too warm classroom, bored out of his mind. He swore he felt a bead of sweat trickle down his pale neck.

He tried to convince Katie to just let him read on his own, his efforts futile. She insists on not starting this month's book until we actually have members. He moves his hands from his face, eyeing the copy of The Book Thief sat on the desk beside him. He looks at Katie. She is attempting to mask her displeasure with the turnout of the club with a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes.

"Well, let's fix that." She retorts in her false cheery tone. Although, it may be only partly false, there seems to be a small hope within her. A hope that her idea isn't a complete failure. She looks around the room, her eyes catching different objects. First the white board, then the globe on the shelf in the corner, then the white board again. There aren't many things in this classroom.

"White world book club! That's our name." She declares, sounding proud of herself. Keith looks at her with a disapproving expression, he has to keep himself from laughing.
"Are we a book club or a white supremacy group?" He croaked, before eventually giving in and bursting out laughing.

Katie looks at him with an expression of mock annoyance. She smacks him on the back of his head, although with no real force to it.
"Shut it, freckle face." She says smiling, a genuine smile. She has braces that match her green eyes. Inevitably, she caves and joins in on his laughter. They laughed until their stomachs hurt.

Although their laughter is cut short by a knock on the door frame, startling them both. The woman at the door is Mrs. Nickel, their history teacher. She walks up to the two teenagers, her posture straight as a line. She eyes them with her sharp grey eyes as she takes a seat next to them. Her stare is like a cat, eyeing its next victims. Her silvery grey hair in a tight bun, a sign she's not messing around. A sense of impending doom runs through the two freshmen. With a look like that, there is nothing good Mrs. Nickel could have to say.

"Why are you acting like delinquents? Aren't you supposed to be reading? Where are your members?" She spits at them rather fast. Her frustration palpable. Katie's eyebrows farrow into a scowl, she's clearly about to start mouthing off. One thing she can't stand is people accusing her for things that she didn't do or are out of her control. Keith places a hand on top of her's, grounding her.

"We don't have any members, that's why we're not reading." She replies calmly, although her tone bitter. Mrs. Nickel taps her fingers on the desk, her lips pursed.
"If you two still don't have members by the end of the week, the school needs this classroom back." She replies, just as calm as Katie had, although she has fire in her eyes. Katie looks like she's about to argue put keeps her mouth shut. She knows Mrs. Nickel is being generous with that offer.