Midterm Woes

I sit down at the small desk in the library that last year I claimed as my own. It’s truly a relaxing place to be. If it weren’t for Alberto, that is. The guy thinks that just because he’s my best friend’s new suitemate, he can do what Jase did last year, join in the League via his genitals. I can’t really tell whether he’s just trying to get in my pants, he’s trying to get in my study group, or he’s actually interested. Doesn’t matter much, though. He’s an uggo, doesn’t know much, and seems boring. Three strikes, that means he’s out of luck. “Hey, Nat,” he says, sidling up to my out of the way study area.

“Bye,” I tell him, standing up as he sits down. Now I need to find a new study area. I sling my backpack over one shoulder as I start to walk away, ignoring Alberto. I also had to figure out who told him about this place. It’s not like anyone wanders into the corner of the third story of the library on their own. It’s behind the reference section, and what with the internet, people don’t actually come up to this section. That means someone had to have blabbed. Doesn’t matter in the moment. In the moment, I need to leave. As I walk down the back staircase, I muse on where I’m going to hide from the world for a bit and really focus on my studies. Nowhere on campus is safe, not this close to midterms. All that leaves me is to head out into town and hope the townies don’t bug me too much.

I head across the quad, past the dorms. Head into town. Maybe Pembarton has some quiet areas for me to work in. It’s a pretty nice walk, don’t even have to cross the river. Walking through town is always fairly relaxing. People around here are so nice, as long as I don’t talk to them any more than passing hellos. More than that, it starts to spiral down, get worse and worse the longer I engage. But they always have their friendly passing hellos. I smile and wave and say, “Hi,” as I make my way to the Stephen R. Pembarton Memorial Library. But everyone just calls it Pembarton, because it’s quicker to say and it aids in confusing everyone not from around here. It’s much larger than Dixon, the school’s so called Grand Library. But it has to be. The Dixon is a specialized library, this isn’t. I walk in through the glass double doors, and straight to the circulation desk.

The librarian, a young, red haired man, looks up at me. “Yes?” he asks.

I smile. “Hey, so, I was wondering if there was anyplace I could go and study. Out of the way, you know?”

The librarian shrugs. “Well, there’s some rooms upstairs, but they’re glass and used by highschoolers a lot. Not really out of the way. There is the room behind the used book area, I guess, though it may not be super comfortable. If you don’t mind the kids’ yelling, there’s also a really comfortable area behind the Children’s Reading Center. It’s meant for teachers to work while their students are here for storytime, but no classes are happening, so it should be free,” he tells me candidly, seemingly without breathing. It’s almost like he’s rattled these off several times before. Though, I mean, now that I think about it, he may well have. After all, people from the Villa hiding in town to work is certainly nothing new.

Continuing to smile, I give him a slight head bow and say, “Thank you so much,” as I head off in the direction of the Reading Center. The kid’s area is very open, compared to pretty much any section of Dixon, but the door on the far side of the Reading Center only has a single window looking into and out of it. An angle that meant, unless someone was in the reading circle, there isn’t a clear view of the person at the desk either. I enter the room and get to work. I have two separate essays due over the course of the next week. Unlike some of my classmates, cough cough Ike cough cough, I’ve actually been working on these things for a few weeks, but that doesn’t mean the last week is anything but stressful and panic-inducing. After all, these essays are something like a quarter of our final grades. Putting my laptop onto the desk, I hunch over it and get to editing.

When I work, I get very focused. I hone in on whatever I’m doing, and tend not to notice things happening around me. This tunnel vision only gets more extreme with my stress level. So, around an hour into my editing of my paper on Historic Accounts of Mythical Creatures, it takes me a couple of minutes to notice I’m no longer alone in my little room. Looking up at Ali, I sigh. “Oh enigmatic they,” I inform her, “‘Tis rude to sneak up on people like that.”

Ali chuckled at that. “Is it really sneaking if you knock and announce your presence?” she asks.

I pause the appropriate amount of time, then say, “I’d argue, but there’s no way I could prove you didn’t.”

Ali feigns offense. “Are you calling me a liar?” she jokes.

I nod enthusiastically. “Pretty much,” I say, then getting a little more serious, add, “What’s up?”

“I was gonna hide from the world so I could study for my Mandarin midterm, when I saw you. Figured it’d be fun to bother you.” We both chuckle at that.

Still smiling, I nod. “What about the cramped room?” I ask.

“Some weird highschooler or something was there. He had a hungry look about him when I opened the door,” she answers, then rolls her eyes.

“Hey,” I joke, “You didn’t seem to mind those hungry looks over the summer, oh enigmatic they.”

“Shut up,” Ali shoots at me, all but guaranteeing I won’t.

I shrug innocently. “Hey,” I equivocate, “I’m not saying, just, you know, saying.”

Now she rolls her eyes at me. “Mmhm. Whatever you say.” We both chuckle. After a moment, Ali asks, “In any case, why are you here? You’ve got hidey holes on campus, don’t you?”

“Oh, you know how it is. I’m sitting all nice and calm in a non-existent corner, and Alberto walks up to me. I had to Gee Tee Eff Oh,” I answer her honestly.

She nods. Then, furrowing her brow, adds, “I don’t even know where you study. Who could’ve told Bert?”

I give her a look, saying she really should be able to guess that. “Well, three people know I study there. Therese wouldn’t tell, because, well, reasons. My advisor knows he can find me there, but he wouldn’t tell some idiot like Alberto. Which leaves…” I trail off, because now she can definitely guess.

“What is going on between you and Ike?” she asks, entirely too seriously for my liking.

My you-should-guess look scrunches in, lines of confusion creasing my face. “What? What do you mean?”

She decides to steal my move and give me the look. “You know what I mean.” She proceeds to raise her eyebrows suggestively.

I can hardly take it. At the suggestion, I just burst out laughing. After seeing her face far too serious about the suggestion, I slow myself and say, “Sorry, it’s just,” then start chuckling at the joke again.

“What?” she asks, “Come on, spit it out.”

I take a deep breath. In, out. I close my eyes and take another, just to make sure the chuckles aren’t coming back. “Okay,” I say, “It’s just, you’ve met Ike, right?”

“Yeah,” she says, “I mean, he’s pretty attractive, if you’re into that. Smart, fit, affable…”

I interrupt her before she goes on too long, “Just, no. You’re embarrassing yourself.”

Ali shrugs, looks around, then says, “I mean, it’s only you, so I can’t be embarrassing myself too much.”

“He’s like, I don’t know. I just. He’s like a ken doll down there to me, alright?” I tell her.

“If you say so,” she replies, only the hint of disbelief in her voice.

I don’t know why she doesn’t believe me. I mean, I feel bad for whoever’s going to date Ike. The guy’s just, I don’t know, not really a dating type. Or, more specifically, a good type to date. “Speaking of, how’s you and Jason?” I ask.

Ali bites her lip. Something is wrong. Or she thinks something might be wrong. “It’s alright. Do you think anything’s going on with Jase?”

I shrug. “How should I know? I’m not really that close to him.”

She nods and says, “I know, it’s just one of those feelings. You understand what I’m saying?”

“Not really, but I know what you mean,” I reply. Then, with a sigh, I add, “Well, I best be getting back to my papers.”

“What classes?” she asks.

“Theory 211, and HAM Creatures 300,” I reply.

After I say that, she suddenly looks terrified. “Oh crap, I forgot about my HAM Soc 300 paper,” she spits out.

“Well damn,” I commiserate, “When’s it due?”

“Beginning of November.”

“You got a little more time than me, but I’d say that should probably take priority over Mandarin, wouldn’t you?”

She nods at that. “Yeah, probably. Give me the desk.”

“No way,” I shoot back, “I’m using it.”

“Come on, Nat,” she starts begging, half jokingly, “You’re already basically done with yours,” then aside she quietly adds, “probably.”

I shake my head. “I got dibs. But, tell you what. Why don’t we head back to Konstantin, find a small, open room, and summon the League?”

Ali pouts slightly, but finally says, “Maybe. You think they’ll come?”

I wave her concern off, “Everyone has papers to do, and knowing the three of them, they’re probably about as ready for their papers as you are yours.”

“Hey, I only have one paper. I think,” she says, again only half-joking.

I stand up, keeping my body between Ali and the desk as I pack my laptop back into my backpack. She texts the group chat, ‘let’s work on our papers together in Kon.’

I add to the text, ‘Alright, heading over’, just to make sure everyone agrees. I sling my backpack over my shoulder and open the door for Ali. She walks out, I follow, and together we head outside.

A minute later, Jase replies, ‘I need to change, be there in 20’. Which is fine with me, though Ali reacts to it a tad more than I expect her to. We walk calmly through town, though the two of us together means my normal, pleasant interactions with the townies are interlaced with many more less than ideal ones. Hollering, whistling, the whole nine yards. I do my best to ignore them. Ali seems like a pro at ignoring them compared to me, though, her expression not changing a bit with any of the shouts.

About when we arrive at campus, Ike’s text comes in. ‘kk, see you in a hot minute’. Together we walked across campus towards Konstantin hall. I nod to Phillipe as he looks around the quad, trying to figure something out. Don’t have a clue what, but he has something on his mind. Heading to the atrium of the hall, we wait for Ike. When Ike says a hot minute, he means enough time to grab his stuff and move from his room to wherever the meeting is. I half expect him to show up right behind us. It takes a minute longer than I expect, but upon seeing him show up, I also know why. His hair is still wet. I choose to ignore it. “Sorry it took me so long,” Ike apologizes, specifically to Ali.

“No worries,” Ali replies. She, too, ignores the clearly-just-stepped-out-of-the-shower hair. “I hope 307 is open like usual. Those chairs are the comfiest.”

I nod. “Me too,” I say, as I lead everyone to the third floor. 307 is empty. As we sit down and get comfortable, I inform Ike, “Don’t think I’m not gonna get you back for telling Alberto about the reference desk.”

Ike chuckles. “I’d expect nothing less. That said, can it wait until after I’ve finished my Em Tee essay? I’ve got four days to research and write ten pages.”