Bookworms | ✔

two

He pushed the cart forward, the wheels made small noises as it moved. He cringed at the disturbing sound. Perhaps, something got stuck in between the wheels. Nicholas bent down to check. His blue eyes scanned over the rubber and dust that mingled together. He sighed as he realized it was no use. The library cart was just too old. 

Nicholas resumed the task of putting books onto the shelves. The books were classics. The leather covers made the tips of his fingers feel weird, but Nicholas continued it anyway. His boss was out of town, so Nicholas was in charge for the weekend. All that was on his mind was to finish his book. He was eager to find out what happened after the assassin's attack.

"Excuse me," a voice said from behind. 

He turned around, seeing the Muslim girl from the day before.

"You're back again?"

She nodded as she held the blue book out. "I finished."

He raised his eyebrows, surprised at the speed she read. "Already?"

"You literally gave me a book that was like three hundred pages."

"Your point?"

"Took three hours," she shrugged.

Nicholas noticed how she pushed her stray hairs back into her teal scarf. She was wearing a wool sweater with jeans today. The gray sweater fit with the golden color of her skin. It was as if she bathed in sunlight before she came. Her lips were moving, but Nicholas heard none of what she said. He was still reeling at the fact that her love for books might have even been larger than his own. He admired that. 

She snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Are you even listening?" she asked, annoyed. 

"Yeah," he lied. 

She rolled her eyes, "Lying never got anyone far in life."

"It got America a president."

Her lips broke into a grin, showing off her perfectly straight white teeth. "I think I just made a new best friend," she said, laughing. 

Hearing her bubbly laughter led to a small smile playing on Nicholas's lips. For some reason, he felt proud that he was even considered amusing. Soon, he found himself joining her. They probably looked weird to others, laughing for no reason, but Nicholas couldn't care less. He felt like he finally connected with someone. He felt normal. 

Once their laughter ceased, he went to pull up the next book in The Selection trilogy. He should probably just give her the rest of the trilogy. She could finish it in less than two days at the rate that she read in.

When he came back to her, he saw that she was trying to reach a book at the top of the shelf. Her arm outstretched up as she jumped. Her fingers slightly brushing against the book. 

She frowned and tried again, jumping a little higher. She completely missed it this time and fell down. She grumbled under her breath as she stood back up, brushing the dust off her jeans. 

"Stupid problems of short people," she muttered. 

"I've heard that guys love short girls though," he cut in as he leaned against the shelf. 

She huffed, "Like I care if a guy wants me."

"Some girls do."

"Hate to break it to you," she started as she pointed to her hijab, "but I'm Muslim. We don't do the dating thing."

Nicholas pushed himself off the shelf. "Interesting," he said, though he didn't care. 

As Nicholas walked closer, she froze, watching his every movement. He reached his hand up above her in search of the book she couldn't reach. She tensed as if she thought he would touch her, but that was not his intention. When he pulled out the book and read the title, he couldn't help chuckling. 

"You read Percy Jackson?" he asked, amused as her face flushed. 

"Percy is bae."

He rolled his eyes, "I think you're a little too old for that series."

She gasped, a hand flying to her chest to emphasize her shock. "I am genuinely offended."

"I mean, you could read something more for your age. Greek gods, really?" he questioned. 

"I can be a child if I want to be."

"Considering what you read, you still are a child."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "Percy can breathe underwater, what can you do?"

"I can be realistic and get good grades," he retorted. 

"Percy is a hero!"

"A fictional hero," he emphasized. 

She looked at Nicholas in disbelief. "I can't believe what I'm hearing right now." 

"What?" he shrugged. "I like reading realistic books."

"So reading about dragons and assassins is realistic?"

Ouch, she got him there. 

Nicholas scowled, walking over to the desk to check out her book. "It was well written."

"So is the Percy Jackson series," she argued as she followed him. 

"This is a dumb argument."

She scoffed, "You should blame yourself for starting it."

Even though it was a pointless argument, Nicholas felt a thrill rush through him. It had been so long since he discussed books with someone. Most people hated books or even the idea of reading, yet this Muslim girl managed to have an even greater love for books than he did. It surprised him. She lived through books. Maybe they were more similar than Nicholas thought they were. 

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When this book makes it to #560 in the spiritual list in one day. Hope you guys are enjoying the book!

EDIT: Before I see a 100 other "I'm NoT lIkE mOsT gIrLs" mocking comments, I'm going to explain.

She's not putting other girls down, hence why she points at her hijab. She is highlighting how she has boundaries as a Muslim woman in country that often disrespects those boundaries. She literally cannot be like a typical American girl because she has religious obligations and rules to abide by.

It is exhausting to see people take my words and turn it into a war in the comment section >.<

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