Another day passed, and with my hands full of books, I skip as normal towards my locker. Meeting me there was my best friends, Emma, McKenna, and Lexie. They greet me with hugs and squeals that I raise my voice to match. Our squeals turn into giggles and Emma immediately begins the gossip.
"Jade! Did you hear about Dustin and his new girlfriend? They're so cute together, you know he asked her out with a bunch of roses," her sentences ran together in a tangled, intelligible mess. I could only smile and nod in response.
Lexie hung onto Emma's every word, while McKenna pulls me aside and whispers, "How's it going with you and Toby?"
I feel my face heat up as I respond quietly, "We're just friends, and I'm happy that way." My heart would tell me otherwise, but who knows how he feels?
McKenna smiled sympathetically, "At least you guys talk, Dallas doesn't even look at me. I get that he has a girlfriend, but she's not right for him."
I nod, feigning interest, "Yeah, for sure. I got to head over to science, so I'll see you all later."
Emma and Lexie pause their gossip to hug me goodbye as McKenna gave a wave. The three of them link arms, gossiping on the way to their classes. I roll my eyes and smile, lightly jogging to my next class in the opposite direction.
The rest of the day is filled with more gossip about various relationships or scandals, which quite honestly was no different than any other day. At the end of the day, like always, Toby came by her locker and walked with me over to English. Today, when Toby came over, his eyes were glazed over and distracted, as though he walked around in a daze. While this wasn't unheard of for the boy notorious for napping in every class, this one felt different.
"Toby? Is everything ok?"
His head snapped in attention, and his voice grew panicked, "Nothing, everything is fine!" He shifts uncomfortably as I stare at him, "It's just my friend, she's got a lot going on right now, and I hope I can be there for her."
I couldn't help it, my stomach felt a pang of jealousy when he brought up his friend. I swallow, burrowing my feelings while fishing for more information, "Your friend, what's wrong with her?"
He shrugged, "Just has a lot of anxiety. She's pretty shy too and terrified of people. She had a bit of a panic attack last night so I did my best to help her. I don't know, I don't think I did much good."
"I'm sure that's not true," I smile, "I'm sure you did a lot for her."
He smiled in return, "Thanks, Jade."
Toby's smile gave my cheeks a light blush, not that he noticed. And with that, we walk into English once again.
Throughout English and even on the walk home, I couldn't get his friend and Toby's behavior out of my mind. I didn't know if he liked her or if he liked me, or if he didn't like anyone at all. I sighed, I want to unload my thoughts, but my dad is usually either at work or with his friends, and my mom lives in my old house in Pennsylvania. And let's face it, I can't tell my friends about anything I'm thinking, else the whole school would know. My thoughts swim around in my head.
My thoughts come to a halt when I bump into my neighbor, Rosanna. "Hey Jade, how is everything? Everything good?"
I sigh to clear my head, "Yeah, everything's good, just high school crush issues, I guess. Can I have another book from the library?"
Rosanna grinned, "Sure thing! You want to actually come in for once?"
I heard a lot of things about the library, but Rosanna always told me they were just rumors. A voice in the back of my head told me to listen to the rumors, but I needed an escape from stupid high school thoughts, so I agree.
After walking in, Rosanna told me if I needed her she would be behind the desk. I nodded, turning my attention towards the strange charm of the interior. The walls towered over me, lined with rows and rows of identical books. Each book was completely black, with silvery titles adorning the spine.
I drift closer to the books, drawn towards the curious books. Strange, each of the silvery letters spelled out a name. Strangers like Mary Vanderbult and Lucas Warring, people I knew like Dallas Montana and Shelby Bright, even my best friends Lexie Washington and Emma Brown. I stopped short when I came across a name I found all too familiar: Mckenna Blackard.
I snatch that book off the shelf and immediately opened it to the top of a date. Today's date. That's odd, I thought. Believing I was alone, I poured myself into the chapter. I read about Mckenna getting ready for school, meeting up with Lexie at the bus stop, and then meeting Emma and me at my locker. I studied the familiar conversation, a sense of deja vu coming over me. Mckenna's point of view continued after I left for science.
"Lexie, Emma, and I linked arms and headed to our class. While the other two were talking, I couldn't shake the conversation I had with Jade. Did she care about my situation with Dustin? Did she care about our friendship at all? Does she even care about me?
"I couldn't stop from blurting out, 'What was up with Jade today? She didn't want to talk to us at all. It was so rude.'
"Lexie and Emma's eyes gleamed at the thought of new gossip. 'Oh my god, she's so stuck-up, she, like, never wants to talk to us. It's like, we're beneath her or something,' Lexie rolled her eyes.
"Emma nodded, eager to join in the rumors, 'Oh she's definitely fake. She pretends she's cool and everything, but she's actually, like, a huge slut. Did you guys hear about what happened at her old school?
"Lexie and I leaned in curiously, 'Oh my god what happened?'
"Emma smirked, I could tell she was proud of her knowledge, 'Rumor has it that at her last school, her best friend was dating this super cute guy, like cuter than Dallas cute. But, if you can believe it, while they were dating, Jade and this guy would flirt behind her back. And then, at some Halloween party, Jade was caught, with the hot guy, literally having sex. From what I hear too, it definitely wasn't the first time.'
"Lexie and Emma began giggling, but I couldn't find amusement in the story. I mean, I'm her new best friend. Would she have sex with Dallas? I know I'm not dating him, and she liked another guy, but what would stop her if she just wanted sex?"
My stomach dropped. My lip quivered. Tears formed in my eyes. My fist clenched in anger. I closed the book and shelved it. I knew it wasn't true, but knowing the three of them, denying it would only solidify the story in their mind.
Turning away from the shelf and still trying to grasp what I've just read, I walked over to the front desk.
"Everything ok?" Rosanna asked in concern.
I sighed, "Just give me a book, I just want to go home."
"Same girl," she sympathized, "I'll get you The Great Gatsby. Just wait here. And if you see the librarian too, she doesn't get visitors often." Rosanna smiled and headed into the back room.
Shortly after she left, and I started to calm down a bit, a little old lady meandered down the stairs. She was short, with a loose bun and glasses, with the face of a grandmother who baked cookies on the weekends. I studied her up and down, until I met her eyes. Never before had I seen such golden, ethereal eyes. I couldn't look away.
"Jade! How lovely of you to visit! I've been hoping you would drop by. Did you take a look at the collection?"
"Yes I did," I respond automatically, "It's a very...unique collection. I don't think I really liked it."
The librarian pursed her lips and shook her head, "Aw, I'm very sorry to hear that. Perhaps there's a book in the back Rosanna can grab for you."
"She's grabbing The Great Gatsby for me."
The librarian clapped her hands together, "Oh good, I'm glad. I'm Auntie Tess, and if you need anything, please let me know. I can get you tea or cakes if you're hungry."
I shook my head, "Oh no, thank you. I really need to go home soon, I didn't let my dad know I would be at the library." Not that he would be home yet.
"Oh dear, take your time here. Your father won't be home until later tonight. Now, I have to go upstairs and finish up a few things, but feel free to ask for anything and to read some more." She turns and pulls a book from the shelf. The silver writing spelled out my name, causing my insides to shudder. Auntie Tess tucks the book under her arm and teeters back upstairs, waving a cheery goodbye as she went.
As soon as she left, Rosanna came back and handed me the book, "Did you need anything else or did you need to head out still?"
"Yeah, I think I'm going to head out. I have homework," I didn't really, I just wanted to go home.
Rosanna nodded, "Alright hun, take care!"
Waving goodbye, I start the walk home. While I walked, something about the librarian nagged at me. How did she know me?