Coop followed me to the library. I only noticed when I had been a block away from its doors. I remembered my promise to Trey, and considered going back.
Alas, he was right there, smirking at me. My frustration built up, and I chose to ignore him until we got inside. It was easier said than done, because for the entire block, he whistled show tunes to gain my attention. I almost looked back twice when he whistled Carry On My Wayward son.
I clutched the strap on my bag, and made my way up the steps. The herbology section would have what I needed, and I sauntered over to the racks. Jellyfish venom was used in some of the darkest potions as a compliment to the main ingredient. It heightened the strength of certain poisons. It was a wonder why someone would heighten the effects of Deadly Nightshade. It was the most potent of all.
There wasn't much needed to weaken any species, and there was almost always a certain dose that would kill instantly. I scanned the racks labeled D, and was disappointed to see no books on the plant itself.
Flustered, I wove my eyes through the other letters, and landed on an herbal encyclopedia. I climbed a few shelves to reach it, and jumped off once the book was in my hand.
My fingers thumbed the pages until they landed on Deadly Nightshade. It was a small section. no more than a few sentences: Do not ingest, any species. Highly toxic, and unmanageable. Class ten felony.
Coop's cough grasped my attention, and I gave him a scolding glare. My pointer finger rested against my lips, and I shushed him. Loose ends weren't tied, and my impatience was growing stronger. I liked things simple. This was beyond anything I could manage, and trying to keep it together in front of him was proving to be more and more difficult.
"Sorry." He mumbled, and his eyes lowered to the floor.
Guilt passed through me, and my shoulders sagged. I handed him the book, and he scanned the page. With a knowing look, Coop took the book from my hands and closed it. He placed it back on the shelf, and motioned for me to follow him.
Heavy boots collided with the library's luxury carpet, and my eyes trained themselves on their rugged appearance. Emotions were buzzing inside me, and all I wanted was for this to be over. I hadn't even given some of my classes a second thought, and the stress weighed heavily on my shoulders.
I had to graduate, and I had to focus on getting good grades to do that. I also had to try and live so that I could graduate. Both seemed to be a lot harder than they should be, and my eyes flared in anger.
Thoughts raced through my brain as we approached an alcove. Coop took a seat on one side, and gestured for me to join him. His posture straightened when my knee whispered against his, and he cleared his throat.
"Oakley, I know this is stressful, and not having information is probably killing you. Kind of ironic when you think about how little information you give on yourself-" I cut him off with a sharp glare.
"Just kidding. Anyway, I'm just trying to say it will be okay. Maybe Agnetha has a book on it in one of her special cases. We can ask her when we go give her the scrolls. Do you think we'll need anymore mushrooms?"
The words were logical, and made sense, but what got me was his sincerity. The tenderness to his voice when he said it would be okay melted my insides. I gazed at him in amazement.
"No, I have a few more. I think we should wait until the library closes. I wanna take a look in the potions section. I doubt there's anything there, but it couldn't hurt to look. We have a few hours to kill anyway. Now hush, before Agnetha sacrifices us." I suggested, my tone hushed.
Coop nodded his head, and I got up from the alcove. I knew he followed me to the potions section. I had to grab a book on shrinking potions, Hawkin's newest assignment on the class board was a research paper on them. Yay.
My emerald orbs scanned the shelves once again, and I found a book written by one of the eldest alchemists in our history.
I stood on my tiptoes to reach it, my hand extending to grab it, when Coops arm came from behind, and snatched it off the shelf.
"Shrinking Potions? Oakley you're already like, two feet tall." He chuckled thumbing through the pages.
"Hush. I need it for Hawkins' assignment." I hissed, grabbing the book from him, and shoving it in my bag.
Coop huffed, and shuffled over to the end of the shelf, inspecting the names of each book. I shook my head, chestnut curls curtained my face as I wandered over to him, and I pushed them away.
Both of our eyes landed on a book labeled Love Potions. I glanced over at him, and he sent me a sly wink, before walking off in another direction. I scoffed, and went the other way. This was going to be a long few hours.