The Addition

Chapter Twelve

After being in the library for a few hours, I decide to go back to my room. When I get back, Emily is already there, and she's holding a note. My heart starts to beat out of my chest. Emily holds out the letter to me and I snatch it from her hands. I tear it open and quickly process the words.

Elle,

You're right, The Giver is fascinating so far.

Maybe we could meet and talk about it?

To find me, follow these clues.

First, go to the Women's Room and look inside of my mother's favorite musical instrument.

I immediately jump off the bed and run out of the room. I can hear Emily giggle on my way out, but I ignore it.

When I reach the Women's Room, there's only Celeste sitting on the couch flipping through a magazine. I try to walk unnoticed to America's favorite instrument, the piano, but without looking up from her magazine, Celeste questions me, "What are you doing?"

"Umm-nothing?" I reply. I quickly run over to the piano, lift the top, and find a folded piece of paper resting on top of the strings. Then I walk out of the room slowly, trying not to look suspicious, and find a bench in the hallway.

You're getting closer...

Now, go to the main library and find author "Hamilton" in the historical fiction section.

I have the urge to sprint, but I manage to walk gracefully to the main library. I see Genevieve behind the desk, reading a book, and I eye her as I disappear into the shelf to find the historical fiction section.

I know Genevieve read my mind when I hear footsteps behind me. "Can I help you find something miss?" I note the sarcasm in her voice immediately, and turn to face her. She looks at my hands and sees the two slips of paper. "What's that?"

I blush furiously, turning away from her, and continuing down the shelves to find the next clue. "I think Kaden is sending me on a scavenger hunt."

She keeps up with me, gasping excitedly. "That's the cutest thing I've ever heard. What's the clue you're looking for?"

"Apparently, it's in the historical fiction section under the author 'Hamilton'."

"Over here," she says, leading me there immediately. Gen was born to work in a library. I love seeing her so content here.

Gen points to the books with the author  'Hamilton'.

Without hesitating, I shovel through the books trying to find a note.

"Hey, hey, hey! I spent a long time making these nice!" I ignore her, rummaging around for the paper.

I smirk and continue looking, and I eventually realize that the paper is disguised as bookmark.

"Found it!"

"What does it say?" Gen leans over my shoulder, and together we indulge in the clue.

You're nearly there...

Remember the times with sky
Over our heads and
Only for a few moments
Find ourselves together

I furrow my brow. "This is harder than the other ones."

"I didn't know Kaden was a poet..." Genevieve rubs her shoulder against mine.

"You can barely count this as poetry. It's way too cheesy." I try to joke, but my cheeks defiantly turn a rosy pink.

Gen rolls her eyes. "But the best poetry is the cheesy kind." She sticks her face between my face and the paper, grinning teasingly.

"Whatever Gen." I laugh, pushing her away. "Now let me figure this out."

I study the poem a little more, trying to discern it's meaning. "Wait," I point out. "Look at the first letter of each line."

"R-O-O-F." Gen spells out.

"Roof! That's where he must be! How do I get to the roof?"

She leads me to the back of the library to a door. "Follow this staircase up, it'll take you right where you need to go."

I stare her down accusingly. "Gen, were you in on this?"

Her eyes dart from side to side, giving herself away. "I cannot confirm or deny anything. Now go! He's waiting for you!" she says and pushes me into the stairwell.

I shake my head and laugh, looking back at Gen and then making my way up the stairs. I walk up more flights of stairs then I can count, but I'm too excited to be tired. I keep going until I reach the top, where I find a door with a piece of paper taped to it that reads: "For Elle".

I inhale and exhale deeply, and suddenly I'm mentally checking to make sure that I look good. I'm in a plain day dress made of a breezy blue chiffon with flowing short sleeves. My hair is tied into a loose half up-half down ponytail with a blue bow. What am I thinking? I know enough about Kaden to know that what I'm wearing doesn't matter. I take another deep breath, slowly turn the handle, and push open the door.

When the door swings all the open, I see a small table with two chairs and a few desserts laid out. It looks like he set it up himself, but I'm touched by the gesture.

I see Kaden pacing around with his hands in his pockets, and when he turns around and sees me, his face lights up. "I'm glad you found me," he laughs.

"Me too," I smile. "You put this all together for me?"

"It's not much, but I thought you might enjoy it," he says as he looks at the ground. There's a moment of awkward silence, but he finally looks at me and asks, gesturing to a chair, "Do you want to sit?"

"Yes, thank you," I smile. Of course, being a gentleman, he pulls out my chair for me. "So, what are these desserts?" I ask.

"Oh, they're just the leftovers that I found in the kitchen. Chocolate cake, crème Brule, and, of course, the strawberry tarts," he says pointing to each dish.

"Found them, or stole them?" I eye him mischievously.

"I have years of experience. Trust me, no one will notice."

I laugh, maybe a little more than necessary. He dishes me some desserts and we keep talking, clicking almost instantly. We barely touch our food, and we talk for a long time. I've never been so content talking with someone I barely know. The conversation had its fair share of stuttering and blushing, but nothing unusual for the first real conversation you have with someone. Mostly, I'm just glad to be around him. When we finally decide we should depart to get ready for dinner, I ask, "Do you need any help putting this away?"

He shakes his head. "Oh no, of course not. I'll take care of it." I stand up and he opens the door for me. We give each other one last smile, and when the door is shut, I sigh, smiling. I start running down the stairs, filled with adrenaline, but then I catch myself and walk as fast as I can to my room.

It's going to be very hard to stop thinking about him.