Fading

Chapter 2

Oh no, what did I do? I just ruined someone's book. As a passionate reader I know what a book can mean to someone. If someone did something to my books I would lose it, literally. I wouldn't forgive the person and I've just done that. I didn't mean to do it at all. I can at least give him the money. He was so angry though, will he even accept it? What if he gets angrier? Well I have to at least try to offer.

I made my way towards his table. He was checking out the book, which didn't look totally ruined actually, but I still did it, I should apologize again. When he noticed my presence, he looked up from his chair and raised an eyebrow.

“Listen… umm.” What is his name?

He stared at me for a few seconds as if contemplating whether he should tell me his name or not “Nate. It's Nate.” He finally said.

“Listen...Nate, I really am sorry, I can pay for the book, you can buy a new one?” I said but it sounded more like a question.

“I don't want your money.” He gave me a blank look.

“Okay then I'll buy you a new book, how about that?” I asked.

“Don't you get it? I don't want anything from you!” He's getting annoyed.

“I'm sorry but I'm feeling guilty, you must really like that book if you got so angry, so I thought I would offer. But if you don't want it, it's fine, at least you forgive me right?” I said looking away from his intense stare.

“Well, how about you give me that?” He nodded at my hand.

I snapped my head towards him. “This muffin? No no, I'm not giving that.” I pulled the muffin away from him. It was the last one left, I'm not giving it to him.

“Why not? You were feeling guilty weren't you?” He smirked showing a dimple.

“Yeah but not that guilty. The book isn't in a bad condition anyway, it can be fixed. And as I said, I can give you the money if you want, but not the muffin.” I said shaking my head.

“Okay then I'm not forgiving you. And for your information this book was a gift from someone so your money isn't going to do anything.” He said looking away. He's saying that to make me feel more guilty, isn't he?

That book is a gift? That's why he got angry I guess, but I can't give up my muffin. I know that it isn't that big of a deal but for me it is. I can literally share anything but my food ,even my toothbrush.

Eww maybe not.

But he is asking for all of it and there isn't any left either. That book is a gift though that must be special for him. But it's my favorite carrot muffin, but I did spill my drink on his book. I'll just eat one tomorrow, maybe? But can I wait until tomorrow? It's so soft and fluffy and sweet. Ugh.

“Ugh Fine! Here.” I had one last look at it and kept it in front of him. “Are you happy now?”

He looked at it, then looked up at me and smirked “You're really give me that muffin? I'm just kidding I don't want it. I was just teasing.”

“What?” So I did all that overthink for nothing?  Well at least I can still have my muffin, so it doesn't matter.

“Yeah and what book are you holding by the way?” He looked at the book in my hand.

“This? ” I said holding up the book, it was ' The Great Gatsby '

“Of course you would be into stuff like that.” He chuckled I can tell it was a sarcastic one.

“What do you mean?”

“You know, stuff that doesn't matter, isn't real and everything is fake?”

I sit across him “Woah excuse me? Are you saying that reading fiction is stupid?”

“I didn't say that, you did.” He smirked.

“Well for your information, the book is inspired by true events. And you know what? even if it wasn't, fiction holds much more power than you think. Reading about a fictional character helps us knowing individual human evolution, how a person can think. Reading non fiction can give you information, but fiction can teach how best to live our lives in a way that helps us in understanding the world around us and most importantly, understanding ourselves. And honestly reading fiction is my solution to everything.  It's my best friend that never let's me down ,it's always there for me, when I'm stressed, angry, sad or even happy. It's my escape from reality. Life is complicated and for me fiction has much more truth that any non fiction can ever have.” After my rant I took a deep breath and looked at him.

"Woah Woah calm down miss fiction queen." he said sarcastically. When I didn't say anything back, he  stared at me for a few seconds with a meaningful look on his face and then slightly smiled. "Well how about a cup of coffee to calm you down? "

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