Mentions Of Kennedy

Bottle Of Books

An uneventful few weeks passed.
No galaxies, no adventures, no thrill.
I was partly relieved.
When she finally approached me again I imagined she would throw pebbles at my windowpane, perhaps wave a spray painted flag through town.
Instead she just strolled up to me in the schoolyard.
"Winters."
"Hope?"
"Contrary to what you might expect, I'm taking you to the most stereotypically boring place in this neighbourhood."
I took a deep breath.
"God only knows; skydiving with sharks could be a casual humdrum day with you."
She rolled her eyes.
"We're going to the library."
"Oh joy."
She grabbed my hand and once again I was whisked away.
"Seriously- I can't miss any more school."
She mock imitated me.
"Oh you poor baby. When they ask where you were; at a library. What detention can they give you then?"

We ducked underneath the gap in the fence and walked a block downtown.
When we reached the library her posture differed.
First it was slouched, uncaring, then as we got closer it became confident, poised.
I sensed libraries meant a great deal to her.
Quietly she opened the heavy door and we entered. There were shelves upon shelves of literacy wonder, quests challenging ravenous beasts from how to bake a pie in less than ten minutes.
She inhaled as we stroked the spines of books.
"Are you high?"
Surprisingly she didn't roll her eyes or laugh.
"No. The scent of old pages, I wish I could compress it in a bottle and wear it wherever I go."
I frowned at her. She was a silent film reel- flickering in and out of focus. I could never grasp who she was; yesterday or in twenty years.
An hour later as the sun set again we were in the cold evening air.
"Did I take you on an adventure?"
It dawned on me I'd never asked.
"Why me?"
With that she raised a finger to her lips and sprinted off into the night.
I stood bewildered on the pavement for a moment.
Then I walked home.