The Girl Who Sat in the Corner

Chapter 7 - Library

They chatted online almost every night after that. There always seemed to be something to talk about. They shared a love of anime and manga and that gave him a chance to show off a little. His parents placed him in a Japanese immersion program in grade school, hoping that it would help his reluctance to communicate with people. That was before they discovered that those problems ran a good bit deeper than shyness. He gave her a link to a website that had some of the latest anime episodes (bootlegged) with English subtitles. He didn't mention that he had done a lot of the translations himself.

They talked about their home life, too. She had it rough compared to him. Her family didn't have much money. Like his family, her dad was never there and her mom stayed away a lot, not because they were so obsessed with their jobs, but rather other things that were beyond Wesley's experience. Her sister was the same age, but her exact opposite in personality and, she said, "her looks." The sister was clearly her mom's favorite. Perky, outgoing and, for better or worse, more like her mom's sister than her daughter. Both hung around with people who frightened her, especially the guys that came home with her mom when her dad was gone for a long time.

Over the summer, her grandfather had passed away and she never quite got over it. He was the one adult in her life that always had time for her and always listened. He and her grandma were the source of her Navajo blood. When he went to him with a problem, he had the wisdom of a chief or medicine man. To cheer her up when she needed it, he told stories like a raucous brave.

* * *

That Thursday, Wes was assigned to work for Kronk in the morning, second period. As he walked to the workshop, Kronk called him back. He looked rather apologetic.

"Um, Wes, I don't have either Katie or Jake here today and there's a freshman English class in the library working on a report project. You're pretty good with Word, aren't you?"

"Uh-h-h-h..."

"It doesn't matter. You're good with Google. You'll figure out the answers." Kronk got up and escorted Wes across the hall to the library.

A high school library is never actually quiet. There's carpeting and an acoustic ceiling to muffle the sound, but there is always a low hum of conversation with an occasional laugh or grunt mixed with the noise of a copier or laser printer. And there was always the soft tapping of keyboards.

What Kronk called "over-the-shoulder" support was something that Wesley dreaded and rarely had to do. It was handled best by people like Jake and Katie who were okay with computers but were good with people and apparently liked being around them. He donned one of the ugly red vests vest with the words "Computer Help" stenciled on the back. Wesley walked around the computer lab area, avoiding eye contact with anyone. Though that was his normal behavior, he paid particular attention to it now.

"Hey! Mr. Computer Help, I have a problem!" came a whiney voice from a table away. It was a lanky, athletic-looking guy who appeared was trying to hide his embarrassment with sarcasm.

"I can't find the file I was working on."

"Did you save it on there?" Wes pointed to the USB drive plugged into the back of the iMac.

"Uh, yeah." Wes motioned for him to move and he took his place in front of the machine. The drive had maybe a thousand files on it, probably dating back to when the guy was fourth grade. They had names like "saved," "untitled_32" and "real-final-final." And of course, there were no folders.

"When did you work on it last?"

"Tuesday, I think."

Wesley clicked a couple of times, sorting the files by date. "This it?" he asked, highlighting one.