The Boy with the Green Eyes

The Library

Dawn Taylor had loved books as long as she could remember, so it wasn't much of a surprise that she tended to spend her afternoons in the town library. After finishing the small amount of homework given on her first day of high school, she curled up in her usual beanbag chair in the young adult section with a novel she had picked from the shelves moments ago: The Giver by Lois Lowry. She had read it years ago for school, and had been lucky enough to find it to be an enjoyable school book; there were so many that weren't.

"Is this seat taken?" asked a voice.

Dawn looked up from her book to see a boy about her age with blond hair and green eyes gesturing at the beanbag beside her. She realized her backpack was currently resting on it. Somewhat embarrassed, she hastily removed it. "Oh! Uh, no, it's not taken," she stammered.

"Thanks," he said, and without another word, he sat down and removed a novel from his bag. Dawn just watched him. She recognized the book; it was one of her favorites: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

"Have you read it before?" she asked.

"What?"

"That book of yours."

He looked at her oddly. "Why do you ask?"

"It's just that that's one of my favorites."

"Okay... yeah, I have read it before. This must be my fifth time reading it."

Dawn looked at the boy in awe. "Do you come here often?"

"No I一"

"Well you really should," said Dawn. "I do. We could do our homework together, and hang out, and一"

"I don't come here often because I'm new in town," said the boy.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know," said Dawn.

"Obviously," he muttered.

Dawn found herself oddly drawn to this boy. It was such a rare occasion for her to meet someone who loved books just as much as her, let alone someone at least slightly interested in talking about them with her.

The boy turned back to his book. Dawn tried to go back to hers but couldn't become as immersed in the pages as usual. She ended up watching him, admiring the way his fair hair fell in his face and movement of his eyes from left to right as they scanned the pages.

But she couldn't stare forever; he noticed. "Can I help you with something?" he asked.

"Uh," it wasn't as if Dawn could tell him she found him attractive, and she couldn't not give him a reason, either. She had to think fast. "Have you ever read my book?" she asked awkwardly.

"What, The Giver? Yeah, it's good."

"Cool!" said Dawn. "Yeah, I love it. I read it years ago for school and I thought I'd read it again."

The boy nodded. He started packing up his bag. Dawn noticed he used an actual bookmark to mark his page, instead of just dog earing it in the way she often saw her classmates doing, the way that always made her cringe.

"I'm Dawn, by the way," she said.

"Carson."

She stood up to say good bye, tucking a strand of her brown hair behind her ear. She could see that he was average height, even though he towered over her. "I hope I'll see you again? I come here a lot and I'm a freshman at Ridgeview."

"Yeah, see you at school, I guess," he said.

And with no further ceremony, he left with Dawn staring after him.