Prep School

Chapter 44

The rest of the day speeds by. I'm thinking about what Mrs. Hucks said. Every time I do, I can feel my face break into a grin.
I pack up my stuff after Art and hug Gianna good-bye.
I feel my phone buzz as I walk outside.
I'm picking U up
I look around for Riel's car and spot it around the corner.
"Hey, Aria!"
I turn and see Zane running toward me.
"Hey," I say.
He runs up, his hair hanging in his face.
For some reason, I feel like tucking it back into place. I hold my hand back.
"You need a ride?"
"Nah, my brother's picking me up."
"Oh." He hangs his head, like a puppy. Then it's like he remembers I'm still there.
"Ok, see you around."
"See ya."
I walk to Riel's car and hop in.
"Hey," I say.
"What'd he want?" Riel nods towards Zane walking to his car.
"He was just asking if I needed a ride."
"Ah. You guys going out?"
I blush. "No!"
Not yet anyway.
Riel looks at me, surprised. "Really? I'd have thought he would asked you by now."
I blush harder. "And why would you think that?"
"I mean, it's kinda obvious."
"Can we talk about something else?"
Riel grins. "Nope."
"Bum." I push him in the shoulder.
He snickers and rants about his teachers. I join in, talking about Harmswell and Mr. Cogges.
Riel laughs at all the Fanboy jokes me and Gianna made up.
In a few minutes, we've pulled up onto the driveway.
I drop my bag in my room and go to my mom.
"Hey, can I go to the library to study?"
Mom looks at me. "You can't study here?"
"I can. I just wanna go to the library. It's quiet and stuff there."
"It isn't quiet enough here?"
"C'mon Mom."
She rolls her eyes. "Fine. Ask Riel to drop you off."
"Thanks!"
I go back to my room and quickly change into a sweater and jeans.
I go back downstairs and poke Riel in the arm.
"Ow! What is it?"
"Can you drop me off at the library?"
"Why?"
"To study."
"You study?"
I glare at him and he sighs. "Fine."
He pushes himself off the couch and grabs his keys.

I pull out my textbooks and homework out of my backpack. I sit in my quiet corner and take a breath. There's practically no one else in this area of the library, wedged between the non-fiction section.
I take out my phone and plug in my earbuds.
I study for my many, many tests. Math, science, social studies, etc.
I probably sit there for an hour, poring over books and taking breaks to sketch something out.
I hum along to the music coursing through my ears.
As I'm sketching out a character, I hear something.
I pull out an earbud and listen.
I hear faint sounds and some shuffling.
I shrug and go back to sketching.
Then I hear some singing. I pause my song and listen carefully.
"Don't get too close, it's dark inside.....," I hear faintly.
Intrigued, I put my pencil down and stand up.
I follow the singing voice, turning left and right through the bookshelves.
I come up to another study area, where the singing is the loudest.
"When you feel my heat, look into my eyes. It's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide. Don't get too close, it's dark inside. It's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide."
The voice singing obviously belongs to a guy, it's deep and melodious.  I can hear the chords strumming in the guy's throat. It's sound is mournful, putting meaning into the song. I can hear the vibrations of the guy's vocal chords as he sings the lyrics.
I sing along silently.
I peek over into the study area, seeing a head of black hair.
I bump into a shelf and knock a book onto the ground.
Crap. Great job, Aria.
The guy abruptly stops singing. I back away slowly and hurry back to where I was sitting.
I pull out my phone and search up the lyrics the guy was singing on Google. I add the song to my playlist and plug in my earbuds.