"No."
I didn't need to hear anymore, and it seemed my abrupt response wasn't appreciated at all.
Nor was it expected.
"But you haven't even heart what it is?" the words were elevated by the slam of the chair legs Felix had been precariously balancing on slamming against the floor with a resounding thud. He looked at me with a quizzical expression peppered with disbelief, as though it hadn't even crossed his mind that I could say no to them.
Well, they would have to get used to being told no, if I had anything to do with it.
"No?" there was a grin hiding beneath those pressed lips. Zac really did give me Malfoy vibes, he had this aristocratic vibe, this need for control. This utter unequivocal ability to lead.
"Yup, no. I don't even have to hear it. Whatever it is, it will be to my detriment,"
"Detriment?" Felix whispered to Marcus who rolled his eyes.
"It would be bad for her," he whispered back, and I held in a laugh.
Sometimes, I did use fancy language just to feel more competent than the present company. It was a bad habit one that I knew made me insufferable sometimes. But sometimes that was the only thing I wanted to be, so annoying and irritating that I would be left alone, that I wouldn't have to trick myself into believing that anyone could ever want to associate with me.
No one wanted to be friends with me when I was younger, I was weird, different, and not the same.
I was an outcast and now I had made it my own personal brand.
I moved to get up, but the chair was quickly shoved back into the table, trapping me against the rather coarse material of the table.
"I suggest you listen to what my boyfriend has to say if you ever want to survive here,"
And I laughed.
A huge hearty laugh, that very well may have made me seem insane.
Like I cared what they thought.
"I don't have to listen to anyone, not you, not your boyfriend, not any of you," I pushed my weight backward causing the front two legs of my chair to lift and pushing Ruby out of the way, once I was floating on just two of the legs just as Felix had done, I was so close to rocking back that the girl had to move out of my way.
I clattered back to the floor, and pushed my hands against the table, skidding the chair backward and releasing myself from the confines between the table and chair.
I grinned at Felix, "Thanks for the idea."
And then turning to Ruby, with my tray in hand, "Don't ever try to trap me again, it won't work."
"Is that a threat?"
"Oh darling," I laughed, a discrete sound that bubbled and frothed out of my mouth, an unhinged sort of laugh that I hoped would ring in her ears long after this interaction, "I don't make threats. I only make promises."
I had stolen that from a book, or a show, but she didn't need to know that.
And I left depositing my tray, and taking out one of my cookies, and munching it on my way to the only place I knew I would feel at home.
It was the one thing I had paid attention to fully on the tour, I had already mapped out the path in my mind, the library should be open, and I needed an escape from this rather difficult first day. A good escape, a world to live vicariously through, a new person to become for precious minutes that just like Narnia felt like millennia, single moments stretching out into a universe beyond comprehension.
I would never get tired of that feeling, that deep comfort that washed over me, with a book between my hands, pages pressed against flesh, not caring about the odd paper cut, the smell of the books a distinct scent that I wanted to bottle and spray whenever I felt alone.
I pushed the oak doors open, they had an ancient feel about them, in this small town, there were very few schools, and the ones that had been here had been here for centuries. Old coves were still present in the school, despite the modern feel of the newer branch of the building.
The library was like a snapshot in history, distilled into a single room, with rows and rows of mahogany shelves with thick bound volumes alongside the latest YA novels, with pristine untouched covers.
The whole room was a dichotomy between old and new, conflicting forces somehow coexisting in one room enhancing the beauty of the other.
"Can I help you?" an elderly lady at the counter asked, her whispy white hair curled ever so slightly, she was wearing glasses with thin rims and connected together with small glass beads that wrapped around her neck so they wouldn't get lost.
"Oh um hi, I'm a new student I just wanted a little escape,"
"Well you've come to the right place, I'm Mrs. Danvers, but everyone calls me Dotty, feel free to make yourself at home. A library is always the perfect place for an escape." she smiled widely at me, the wrinkles in her face more so smile lines than signifiers of age, "Looking for anything in particular?"
"Oh no..I'm just er-" I had lost the words, the high of adrenaline causing me to crash down. Too much had happened in the span of a single code and it had drained me.
She gave me another comforting smile, "Don't worry dear, there's no contractual obligation to tell me anything. Just enjoy yourself and let me know if you need anything,"
I smiled widlely back, my mood instantly lifted.
"Thank you."