Astray

8

"Excuse me?" I ask, in a no-nonsense way, in my style.

She looks up at me consciously, pushing her hair behind and that's when I see her face. Innocent, brown eyes blink back at me. She's plain, no guy would give her a second look. But as she stares at me, waiting for me to speak up, I am compelled to look at myself.

I'm wearing a spaghetti top and shorts while she is make-up free, wearing a loose full sleeved shirt and probably jeans below. I can't see what bottoms she's wearing. But she looks so intriguing.

"Yeah?" She now looks really uncomfortable. She doesn't look like the type who is used to communication. If there's one thing that I can do really well, that is reading people. And this girl right here is one of those species who can easily get trampled upon.

"That's my place." My voice doesn't really come out as harsh as I intended it to.
"Oh okay, I'm sorry." She says and hastily starts to gather her books an move away. A smile plays on my lips. Did she seriously obey my orders? She's more submissive than I thought.

"Hey, you can sit there." I say and she licks her lips before unsurely settling down again.
"Then why were you asking me to move away?" Her voice is soft and nice, not high-pitched or girly, but just normal. Simple. Refreshing.

"I wanted to sit there that's why I did that."
She looks at me all weird and then I realize how bad that sounded. Am I so mean?
"I mean, I just wan- I thought that place was comfy? Umm... it seems like a nice place to sit. What the hell am I saying? Damn, why did I say that?" I stutter and she tries to stifle a laugh, but a giggle escapes her lips anyways.

"You can sit here if you want." She says and gets up, proceeding to occupy the chair opposite to the one she just left.
"Sit." She smiles and I find myself smiling back before I sit there.

I place my book on the table top and sit down cautiously. I suddenly feel very conscious about my clothes and face. I pull down my shorts as I sit down.

She's really awkward and I can sense that. I know she is thinking of topics to talk about or say something, but she isn't able to form her thoughts into words.

"So, what's your name?" I break the ice. I don't want to torture the poor girl any more.
"Gracie Hyde." She grins and I nod. Her name suits her.

"What's yours?" She asks and I'm shocked. She doesn't know who I am?
"You don't know?" I blurt out.

Red tinges her cheeks and she shakes her head.
"I think I've seen you around but I don't know your name."

I lean back in my seat. She really doesn't know. But in a way, how cool is that? Here's a nice human who won't judge me, call me a whore or leave me when things go wrong. I can start anew. I can be someone else. A person who isn't so messed up.

"Melissa Richards." I hold out my hand and she shakes it. She's pretty when she smiles.

"So Gracie, can I call you Grace? You've such a pretty name!" I gush and hope she doesn't run away. I mean, I sounded so excited there. I don't even know what I'm so happy for.

"Thank you. I guess you can." She laughs shyly and I grin.
"Which year do you belong to? I'm a Junior." I lean forward and even she shuts her book and places her arms on the table.

"I'm a Junior too. Class A. And Melissa, you need to speak in a lower volume." She whispers and I crunch my nose.

"Are you afraid of that cranky, ol' librarian? She can't even hear half the things. She's such a biddy. There was this time-" I start to tell her the story of how I fooled her and made out in the corner of the library when I hear a male voice behind me.

"The cranky, old librarian you're talking about happens to be my mother who does have hearing problems. And whom I'm now assisting with her duties. So I'd appreciate it if you leave the library right now."

I shut my eyes and curse my luck before turning to see who it is.
A bespectacled guy in a shirt stands before me. Honestly, the first thing I notice is the shirt because it is so hot. Men in formals make me weak. Also, I thought nerds only wore those sweater things?

"Fuck." The word escapes my mouth before I can stop it. And my hand flies to my lips to cover it, not only because I'm embarrassed, but also because I feel like laughing.

The boy in front of me looks bewildered as I try to control my giggles. He gives a what-the-fuck look to Gracie who looks so confused, I want to hug her.

"Gracie, once this girl finishes laughing, ask her to leave the library. The thing I came here to ask for were the Chemistry notes. You have them?" He proceeds over to Grace as I laugh noiselessly in my hands. Man, this is funny.

"Here, Albert." She says and fishes out some notes from her bag. Handing them over to him, he gives me another look before moving away.

"Your boyfriend?" I ask Gracie once my laughter subsides.
Her eyes widen and colour fills her cheeks again. "No! Albert is a friend. He has Chemistry class after break so he wanted my notes for revision."

"Freaking Albert Einstein." I comment and Gracie chuckles. I hear someone clearing their throat.

"Fuck. Not again." I cover my face with my hands and Gracie laughs loudly. I turn slowly and see Albert glaring at me over his notes. Apparently, he had come back to throw me out of here.

"Leave." He says and I roll my eyes before I get up.
"Bye Grace."
"Bye Mel."
"Mel?"
"Nickname for you. Like you said you'd call me Grace."
So far, all the people close to me only called me Lisa. Not that I didn't like it, but this new nickname, it is...different.

"I like it." I say before moving away. I look at Albert who is still waiting for me to move, now with this hands folded across his chest.
"Go." He says, louder this time.

I roll my eyes at him and wave before walking away, extra slowly for effect. I'm grinning though. Because I swear I saw him smiling from the corner of my eye before I left.