Chapter 8

I had no time for myself this weekend, my book went unread and I got to school exhausted. We went through the normal types of classes like Math, English, Science, Art, etc. This school was nothing special when it came to their subjects or even subjects you could eventually choose. Some students were unlucky enough not to receive textbooks at all so sharing was not uncommon. After a draining morning of lectures and hearing, as well as experiencing the struggles of "Ma'am, she doesn't want to share" or "Ma'am he is hogging the book", I could finally go with Mary down to our new favorite spot in the library and just take a break from reality. As we entered the library I was as relieved as I had been on Friday when I noticed that once again we were pretty much alone. I gathered up my book as did Mary hers and we went to sit down in our now usual spot. "Hi", I heard a voice suddenly behind me. I practically jumped out of my seat and almost had a heart attack in that same moment. I heard giggling, not a girly high-pitched giggle but more of a lower chuckling sound. The next words that touched my ears were "I didn't mean to frighten you". I turned sharply in my seat to see James looking at me, still wearing a mischievous smile. I would bet he liked watching me jump but I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of making a big deal out of it. "No it's fine, no problem", I said through gritted teeth. I looked over at Mary to make sure that she was ok. I figured that she would have had just as big a fright as I did. I half expected her to be adjusting herself on her chair or even clutching her heart but there she sat, cool as a cucumber, reading her book. No notice of the world around. How I envied her. 

 "How was your weekend?" he asked still smiling, I figured my true feelings were still plastered all over my face. I really need to work on developing a poker face. "It was nice, thank you." I gave him the answer I gave everyone who asked who didn't really care for an honest answer. "How was yours?" I asked just to be polite, guess I am one who didn't really care either. Maybe if I actually showed I cared, maybe I could change one persons day so that they wouldn't feel so alone and as though no-one cared in this world. I did my best to give a sincere facial expression and even leaned a little towards him, putting my face in my hands and my elbows on the table. I waited for him patiently to respond. He took this as a sign to sit down but instead of his usual spot across from me, he made himself at home right beside me. Still leaning, I hadn't moved an inch, he leaned forward and we were now mere inches apart. Instinctively I leaned back and he automatically sat back in his chair, a smile still present in his eyes. "It was a lot of fun," he exclaimed. "We went away fishing and camping for the entire weekend, I didn't even finish the assigned homework for this weekend until early this morning. We caught so many fish, we couldn't keep them all in the keepnet, we had to start throwing them back. We used a mix my father makes special for when we go fishing together..." he carried on and for anyone wanting this recipe, I wasn't listening, sorry. So James continued on the entire break time with his tale of a weekend fishing trip. Likely exaggerating the size of fish as boys usually do. Either he loved fishing or he and his dad had a very good relationship, I figured since he could only talk about this one topic even through our second break which was a bit longer. He never once repeated a story, a very eventful weekend indeed. "That is when the line snapped after I was fighting with the fish for close to an hour, it must have been a monstrous fish..." James continued. I sat there patiently listening to most of it and nodding along every now and then. When the bell rang he got up from next to me and extended his hand so that I could use his hand to press on to get out of my seat. No one had ever done this for me. Intrigued I took his hand and got up from my seat. "Thank you," I said with a little smile. I could feel someone glaring at the back of my head. As I turned, I saw Mary with a disapproving look on her face. Wow, this whole time she is stuck in her book, but this she sees. Earth please swallow me whole. 

James had decided that he liked his new spot right next to me, as he never went to sit across from me again. I didn't mind, I actually started to feel really comfortable around him. Every Monday he would tell me about the weekends adventures he had and during the rest of the week we would talk about what books, movies, and anime we both enjoyed. I had met someone who enjoyed the majority of things I did too. He even told me that he was an introvert but by the way he was chatting up a storm with me, I thought he might be full of it. My weekends were rarely discussed as I barely had anything I could bring up in a polite conversation so I would mostly talk about the books I have read, am planning on reading, etc. He never seemed to mind though. I always kept my family life away from my school life and friends. Some of the other children were not adult enough to have those types of conversations and would probably mock me for looking after my siblings and doing as many chores as I had to. Lucky James never asked and I never felt obligated to tell. 

Talking to James started becoming a big part of my day and I looked forward to it most days. Some days James wouldn't come to the library at all and I could spend some time doing what I loved, getting lost in someone else's adventure. I noticed that he would go missing for two days out of the five we would attend school. I had no idea if he was even at school those two days, it would be random days every week so it couldn't be a sport he practiced or anything like that. Oh well, I had some time to myself and I wasn't going to waste it.