Jack

“I’m sorry!” I yelped, jumping off of Adam and getting to my feet on the rug. I’d definitely hit my shin on his bed frame on the way down, and the dull throbbing in my leg was bothering me immediately.

“I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean it,” I said, my words tumbling out of my mouth.

The expression on Adam’s face was something I couldn’t read. He still didn’t say anything, getting up out of bed and pushing past me.

“I’m sorry,” I tried one last time as he grabbed his coat off of his desk chair, but then he left the room, slamming the door behind him.

I guess he was used to slamming doors.

Finding myself alone in the room once more, I let out a deep sigh and kicked my tennis ball under my desk.

Why did I have to fix the lights like that? Why did these chairs have wheels?

I bet Adam already couldn’t stand me. Although… I had caught him looking at me a couple times when I was talking to my parents, and his eyes had seemed more curious than annoyed.

Those eyes… for a second there, when we’d been inches away from each other, I saw something soften. He seemed to take everything in—I doubt he missed anything that went on around him. Quiet people were usually the ones who observed the most.

His hands had caught me when I fell, and his grip was strong. For a moment, it’d felt like we were frozen in time, locked in one another’s gaze.

Jack, what are you thinking? Get it together. Your roommate just stormed out of the room for the second time today. Classes haven’t even started! He told you to leave him alone, and you can’t even do that right!

“Well, nothing I can do about it now,” I said out loud to myself, snapping back to the present.

I took a look around the room, feeling a bit more satisfied with the layout. It wasn’t super late, so there was still time to explore.

Still time to recover from ruining my first day by being clumsy.

“Let’s see…” I said to no one again. I had a habit of talking to myself, considering I didn’t have many friends besides my parents.

Note to self: Never say that out loud.

I shuffled around the room, looking for my phone, then realized it was still on my desk from my call with my parents. I’d downloaded the school app on my phone for the map of the seniors-only dorm, a new feature this year for Kingswood, but my phone took forever to load, and this place was massive. I couldn’t remember everything in one day.

“C’mon, c’mon…”

My parents had been going to get me an upgraded phone, but the uniforms and textbooks were already a lot, nevermind the dorm room fees. The scholarship just didn’t cover everything.

I’d told them it was fine, but this app was making my phone heat up like an ancient computer.

I let it load for long enough to find the directions to the library, then stuffed it in my pocket and headed out of my room.

The seniors-only dorm building was nothing like what I experienced these past few years on the other parts of campus. I’d heard stories of the library here; it was supposedly supported by a rich investor, and therefore made private only to the highest level of schooling here at Kingswood.

The halls were long and narrow; they had enough room for two people to walk side-by-side, but nothing more. Deep red carpet lined the floors while old photographs of important men and women decorated the walls, most of them listed as financial donors.

My stomach grumbled for food, but I ignored it. The only thing I was really hungry for right now was knowledge. I wondered if this place had any hidden secrets, like magic doorways and special study rooms.

The railing on the stairs was made from chestnut wood, and the stairs themselves curved and swiveled, making me have to pay attention to where my feet were going. If I stumbled down the stairs, I didn’t think I’d stop until I reached the ground floor.

I made my way to the second floor, passing a couple of girls who giggled and whispered as I went by. One of them had bright red hair, and when I looked back at her, she blushed.

I thought she’d had a crush on me last year in my linguistics class, but I’d never pursued it, despite the rumors that I had. Girls weren’t really my type.

I kept walking, then stopped at the entrance of the library and said, “Holy cow!”

I gaped at the wide open oak doors with gold embellishments on them, giant tigers plastered on the front. I then let out a low whistle at the massive cave of books waiting for me within.

My heart skipped a beat. This was a dream come true.

There were a few kids in the library all chatting in their own groups when I stepped inside, unable to help but gawk at the neverending shelves of books. The library itself had two floors, as well as a giant window facing the front garden of the school; its stained glass was beautiful, depicting what seemed to be a falling angel, its wings made up of sapphire and turquoise.

“Like a movie…” I whispered, touching the ladder on the side of the right wall and smiling when I found that it moved, gliding effortlessly along the rows of books.

Just when I thought I might climb it, I heard a snort and giggle nearby.

I turned, and a group of guys were staring at me like fresh meat.

“Just pick a book, scholarship kid. It’s not that deep,” said a tall boy who was already in his uniform, smirking at me. He had a bunch of pins attached to his sweater that must indicate high status of some sort.

I wondered how long they’d been watching me. How did they know I’d come here on scholarship?

That shouldn’t matter, though, right? I was here to take my family’s business to new heights, especially since the Terry Corporation had screwed them over. I needed to learn everything I could. So what if I was here on scholarship?

I looked down briefly at my secondhand sweater from my cousin and my beat-up red Converse sneakers. Did I stick out that much? I hadn’t gotten the memo that we were supposed to wear uniforms before classes even started this year. I mean, even Adam hadn’t been wearing a uniform.

I decided to give the boy a bright smile. Kill them with kindness, my mom had always told me. That’s how the Pecks rolled.

“I’ve just never been in a library this cool before,” I admitted, and the group of them laughed at me, one of the boys snorting like he had something stuck in his nose.

“It’s just a library, dude. You jerk off to learning or something?” one of the other boys said, his hair flopping over one eye like he practiced the look in the mirror. His buddies thought his comment was hysterical, making the librarian on the other side of the room shush them loudly.

They all rolled their eyes, shooting me a glare like I was the reason they were being obnoxious.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you,” I said, causing the four of them to look at me in confusion. Floppy Hair scoffed like I’d insulted him.

What was wrong with these people? Had they never had someone be civil before?

I took my leave and made my way over to the librarian, since I had no idea where to begin in this massive hall of books.

“Hi, could you help me find the business books? Like, business theory, if you have it. Anything, really,” I asked.

The librarian had a short-cut bob with touches of pink in it. A dozen or so earrings decorated her ears, and her glasses were giant round orbs with gold frames. She looked up from her book log at me, then tilted her head to the side.

“I’ve never seen you before,” she observed, quickly standing up and walking around the desk. “We have a ton of what you’re looking for. Follow me.”

I did as I was told, catching a side-eye from the group of boys in the corner. One of them made an inappropriate gesture, which I ignored as best as I could.

She led me up the stairs and to the left, into a whole other section of the library that I probably wouldn’t have found on my own for at least another half hour.

She stopped abruptly, pivoting on her heel and raising her arms to present a section of books. “Ta-da, the business section. Boring, if you ask me.”

I noticed her name tag that said “Brianne,” and I thanked her graciously.

She was dressed in the school colors—deep red, navy, and gold—but her socks were pink to match her hair. She had big black boots, which I supposed were for comfort due to having to walk around this place all day.

“I’m Jack, by the way,” I said, sticking out my hand.

She took it, her wrist jingling with bracelets as we shook. “Brianne. Been working here for five years.”

She looked at the books, then back at me. “You know you can’t check any of these out until the semester starts tomorrow, right?”

I scrunched up my nose in confusion. “What an odd rule.”

She shrugged. “I don’t make the rules, I just have to enforce ‘em. Can’t have any books missing before classes start, though you don’t look like the type to steal anything.”

Brianne looked at me like she already knew who I was.

The comment took me by surprise. “What do you mean? What type do I look like?”

She shrugged again. “Like someone who’s bad at lying. Honest, I suppose. If you need anything, you know where I’ll be. I doubt any of the books you want will be gone when you come back tomorrow.”

Turning, she began to walk away.

“Wait! How do you know I’ll come back tomorrow?” I shouted at her, but she kept going, descending the stairs with her boots clomping the entire way.

I looked back up at the books, then made a note in my phone of what aisle I was in.

Maybe it was obvious that I’d be back tomorrow. I wondered if she was just as rich as all of the other kids here, but just didn’t act super stuck-up.

I’d never seen anyone with that many piercings before. It got me thinking if I should get my ears pierced, too. I touched my earlobes as I pondered the thought.

I browsed the books for a while, picked one up titled Advanced Business Theory, and sat in a chair in the corner, cracking it open. The chair was plush, cozy, and felt like leather. There was a lamp next to me that I clicked on, anticipating that I’d be here for a while.

I read for an hour or so until the library went quiet. I got the hint to go back to my room once I heard Brianne sweeping under the tables downstairs.

I placed the advanced book back on the shelf gently, then descended back down the stairs.

The four boys had left already. I waved to Brianne as she finished up her cleaning, her jewelry jingling with her movements.

As I made my way back to my room, I hoped Adam hadn’t decided that he hated me for good.

When I went in, I found that all of the lights were off except for my mushroom night light. Adam was asleep in his bed, snoring up a storm.

I took my shoes off as quietly as possible, so as to not wake him up and make him storm out again. After I climbed into bed, I stared up at the glow-in-the-dark stars I put on the ceiling, wondering what tomorrow would bring.

Rich kids are weird, I thought to myself, but I can’t let that get me down. I’m here on a mission, and nothing can stop me.