Monstrous

chapter 4

Chapter 4

“Hello there Ana,” a masculine voice says.

I catch my book before looking up, and I end up facing one of the people I don’t want to see.

“Hello, Garrett.” I say, before opening my book and carefully steering my way around him. I was almost at my building, when he had to come along. My act was suddenly halted when my book was pulled right out of my hands and into another’s. I turn around to see Garret holding my book, examining it like it was some sort of a science experiment.

I huff and ask him, “Garrett, may I have my book back, please.” When I see him not responding, I go up to him and try to reach across his lean body for my book. Garrett was definitely way taller than me. I was about 5’6 in height, while Garrett was about 5’9 or four more inches taller than me. He extends the book farther away from my reach, and his arrogant voice was heard again.

“How can you read this? You can hardly understand what’s going on! Was this written in the 19th century or something?” He says as his lips form an overconfident smirk.

“Actually, 18th century,” I reply back, giving up trying to get it back from him, and instead crossing my arms over each other.

He looks back at me, eyebrows raised, and then speaks up again, “Ana, you should get your head out of those books, and start paying attention to more important things.” I was about to reply when he surprises me by throwing my book over his shoulder. I was scared that he might’ve hit somebody, but as I looked around, I noticed the sidewalk was cleared around us.

I could hear the hardback fall onto the concrete with a splash, indicating that it indeed fell into a puddle nearby. I ran over to the object, but Garrett blocked my way by standing in between the book and I, stopping my path. I was kneeling onto the floor, an arm’s reach away from the book, when apparently Garrett wasn’t finished talking.

“Like me.”

A chorus of awes in adoration was heard behind me, and I noticed two girls looking at Garrett like he was a god. Their boobs were being pushed out by the tight clothes they were wearing, and it didn’t seem appropriate with the type of weather we were having, or appropriate at all. I annoyingly rolled my eyes at their silly behavior, and focused my attention back on the situation I was currently in.

“What do you mean?” I curiously ask him, not remembering what he said earlier.

His eyebrows furrowed in what looked like confusion and anger, “I said, you have to start paying attention to more important things, like me.”

He started blabbing away about some town gossip, but fortunately for me, as he was talking, he started moving away, granting my access to the book. I reached out to grab the wet book, and wiped it off with some tissues I had in my bag. The book‘s binding was a bit ruined and some of the pages were soggy with dirty rain water at the edges, but I didn’t mind. As long as I could still read the words inside, all was well. He kept talking as I cleaned my book, when suddenly my ears picked up his words.

“The whole town is talking about it!”

“Wait, Garrett, about what?”

“Did you hear a word I just said?”

In reply to his question, I looked down from his frustrated expression, and nodded a slow and shy no. I quietly looked up again, embarrassed that I hadn’t been listening to him, when a small smile overtook his frustrated demeanor.

“Well, as I was saying, the whole town was talking about how you’re so engrossed in books and how unpleasing it is for a book to keep covering a pretty face like yours. “ I kept wiping my book off, not in the mood for his constant rambling.