Hal started scrutinizing Eli who's now wearing a solemn expression.
One minute, she was munching away like a sweets-deprived glutton and now she's losing her vigour again. She seemed to have calmed down a while ago, either.
He couldn't entirely read what's on her mind, but he did pick on some clues from here and there. It's starting to feel like a big charade for him – the fact that she doesn't want to talk, yet continued to act like something big is going on, thus inevitably keeping him guessing, that is.
It's a bit intriguing.
"Hal, thank you for trying to cheer me up," Eli suddenly voiced out, silver grey eyes glistening like the surface of a lake.
This time, she's the one who caught him off guard.
Just as he was about to open his mouth, the loud banging of doors halted his voice. A noisy crowd then came barging in. Squeals and chatters followed and had no sign of ceasing despite being inside a law-abiding zone where noise is forbidden above anything.
Hal and Eli slightly twisted their bodies to take a peek at the sudden commotion.
At least, it wasn't really a commotion, but rather, a common sight in this academy.
In the middle of an audience, mostly composed of female students, there stood three handsome gentlemen with vibrant hair colours that give off a striking impression.
At first glance, Eli imagined spotting sparkles and roses surrounding these human-sized masterpieces. It's like looking at a page in a fairytale picture book where a handsome prince charming is being introduced. In a modern setting, they appear to be the three heavenly kings of a high school in a web novel or something.
They're too attractive to be considered real, in other words.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Eli just rolled her eyes. In reality, these good-looking guys are just the Student Council, which is ridiculously popular in and out of campus. If she doesn't know any better, she wouldn't think that these guys are simply overrated.
"I'm sorry, Eli. I have to assist them. You can finish eating the food if you want to or just leave them be," Hal nudged his head over the leftover sweets on the table. He then stood up and hurried over the counter before Eli could even thank him again.
Despite what Hal said, she couldn't really finish all these sweets since her stomach was already full.
She then decided to just look around the bookshelves near her for the meantime. Now that her mood got better, her enthusiasm returned.
That is until a loud burst of laughter halted her. It turned out that the hullabaloos of the Student Council and their so-called fans had just become so loud that it's distracting.
A few minutes passed by but Eli still couldn't settle down due to the continuous eruptions of giggles and chortles. Infuriated, she gnawed on her lips and clenched her fist, eventually giving up on reading.
She wanted to ask Hal if he can make them shut up using his authority as a librarian, but when she turned around, the gleaming silver tray of leftover sweets beamed at her.
"Now that I think about it, I'm kind of violating the No-Food-Allowed rule, am I?"
With that, Eli eventually decided to leave the matter at hand.
Even if it was the library assistant who gave them to her, a rule is a rule. Besides, Hal might've only been forced to do it because of her shameless belly.
Steeling her resolve to be his partner in crime, she gave up the idea of calling those fan girls out. They're with the all-powerful Student Council, anyway. It'll be two against many.
In the end, the dispirited girl made up her mind to go home for today and return there tomorrow when peace is restored.
"So, then, the Student Council will be using the library from today onwards?"
"Yes."
"How long will that be?"
"A whole week."
And Eli's world shattered.
She didn't mean to hear that.
It was Hal who dropped the question which was answered by whoever that guy is in the Student Council. Perhaps, it's the President. As their voices got nearer, Eli realized that they're just on the other aisle, a bookshelf separating her current location from theirs.
It's not a big deal whether the Student Council uses this humungous library or not. She could just move to another place, maybe in a much more secluded part. That is unless they have a larger fan base than what she saw today.
For now, though, she will just indulge herself in a new set of freshly-borrowed books at home.
"We'll be in your care, then, Hal," the Student Council President chimed in, patting his back.
"Don't give me that, Allen. I'm working for the library, not you guys," Hal retorted in mock irritation.
It sounds like Hal is friends with the popular kids.
The more Eli gets to know about him, the more it feels like he's not what he seems to be.
Aside from getting along well with everybody in class, Hal is acquainted with the Student Council. He's a sociable person, indeed. It's everything she ever wanted.
"How nice..." Eli thought, leaning on the bookshelf and gazing at her reflection on the floor.
"Actually, isn't it the other way around?" Allen, which she believed is the President's name, suddenly questioned, much to her bafflement.
"Shut up. Just get your work done already," Hal answered quite brazenly, making Eli even more flummoxed.
"Did he just talk back to the Student Council President's face? That Hal?"
Eli felt like invading a restricted territory.
Not wanting to act like a paparazzi, she decided to take her exit.
Several minutes later, the wandering bookworm found herself in one of the most secluded parts of the library. She still hasn't looked around the second floor before, but for some reason, her feet took her to one of that ground's quietest spots.
At the far end of what seems like endless rows of bookshelves, there's a corner that can be easily overlooked.
When she strolled over there, she was greeted by a gigantic window sill with fluttering cream-coloured curtains. A psychedelic spectrum of rainbow colors happily were dancing on the window's glimmering surface as the afternoon sun rays try to reach the inside. There's also a fluffy pastel pink couch beside an array of potted sunflowers.
It's like a scene out of a storybook.
Eli tried her hardest to keep her jaw from dropping. She then stepped onto the aisle and looked around the soulless sanctuary.
For a place that is secluded and empty, it is surprisingly spotless. She guessed that Hal was doing a great job in keeping the whole library in proper maintenance, even the furthest corners of it.
A bit impressed, she then mentally gave a thumbs up to him.
That's when Eli saw it.
There's something about it that draws her in while keeping itself in the dark at the same time. It radiates some kind of energy that Eli doesn't see on the neighbouring books. In that particular stack, it stands out in a mysterious way.
The bookworm reached out her arm and pulled out the glossy, honey-coloured book with beautifully carved ornate designs on its hard bound cover and a thick pile of caramel-dyed pages inside. A nostalgic, dusty smell filled her nostrils as she painstakingly opened it.
Seconds turn into a minute, and minutes became an hour. It's almost time for the library to close. Fortunately, the book lover had gathered a sufficient amount of reading materials to indulge herself in for the rest of the week.
When she reached the librarian's counter, however, she unknowingly stirred unwanted attention, both from Hal and the Student Council.
Everyone's eyes widened at the sight of a small figure carrying a mountain of books.
"Eli?" Hal called, a bit surprised.
"Oh, hey there, Hal. Mind if I borrow these?" she replied as she tilted her head to peek at him.
"That's... quite a lot. You sure you're not going to build your own library?" he asked, mirth in his voice, before walking to a drawer and taking out the library's borrowing slip.
"Oh, well... I might not come here tomorrow..."
"Really? How come?"
At that, the ash-haired girl jolted a little. Of course, she couldn't say out loud that it's because of the school's most beloved Student Council and their loud minions while the said people are watching.
"No reason!" Eli inadvertently raised her voice out of nervousness, much to his puzzlement.
"Okay...?"
Hal just gave her a look afterwards, not prying any further.
It's a good thing that the Student Council was there to keep him busy. Filling out the forms and signing on them are all that she needed to do in order to take her babies home.
That night, after taking a nice, refreshing bath, the bookworm eagerly jumped on her bed, took out the mysterious book she found earlier, and started to read.
For the next hours to come, she found herself completely absorbed in the story.