Derek was desperate for answers even though the full moon was still two weeks away, but the message bugged him enough to want to get his answers today.
He had not been able to focus on anything else since he woke up this morning. When he rushed back to the open space, the other two people in the library were already making an exit.
He was supposed to leave with them, so the librarian wouldn't suspect a thing, she should most likely be back at her desk by now.
Derek wasn't going to take any chances. It was still too fresh in the school environment to be causing trouble.
Thinking quickly, he shoved the book under his jacket and walked briskly to join behind them.
While passing the row of shelves he had entered from, he paused.
There was a black door standing at the far end where the shelves ended at the wall.
The door camouflaged almost perfectly with the wall, you almost couldn't tell it was there.
Now he could to see it, he could now make out its features. Derek began to wonder if there was another library inside the dome.
If there was, then this school was really crazy to have a library inside a library and another inside the interior.
Derek wasn't entirely able to comprehend the complexity of it. The almost silent sound of the doors swinging open snapped Derek out of his thoughts.
Derek rushed across the space and joined behind Harry and the other student, leaving the library in unison.
The librarian paid no attention to the three students exiting the dome. Other students were also exiting the library.
When Derek got to the door of the library, sirens started to blare and lights started flashing. The lights on the sensors on the door shone on Derek.
He was about to make a run for it but the librarian was already in his front. Other students stepped away from the lights forming a semi-circle round Derek and the librarian.
Fixing her eyes sternly on Derek she grabbed her hands and pulled him back to the library with her, she turned slightly and glanced at the students from the corners of her eyes.
That gesture was enough to get them to start moving back to their classes.
The librarian sat at her desk and stretched out her hand. Derek tried to play dumb.
He knew that the books were not supposed to be taken out of the library except they were checked out. But since he had taken the book from the dome, he wanted to sneak it out as quietly as possible.
He definitely did not know about the sirens and alarms. Missing the orientation definitely did have its disadvantages.
The librarian's hand was still stretched out, Derek was forced to put the book in her open palm.
She put on her glasses and took a closer look at the book.
"How did you get this?"
"I borrowed it"
She knew that the book was definitely from the dome and she hadn't let Derek get past her.
If she had been looking, she would have seen him exit the dome.
The pieces soon started to fit together and realization dawned on her, it was him all along. She face palmed herself internally or just noticing.
Cases like this were taken to the headmaster, the librarian had to subdue the urge to mete out punishment to Derek.
"This was the book taken from the library?" The headmaster asked.
"From the dome" the librarian corrected, while looking sternly at Derek.
Derek knew he was already in her bad books and he had made up his mind to do everything humanly possible to avoid the librarian.
"The Dome, yes?" The headmaster corrected.
"Yes" the librarian replied.
The headmaster dropped the book on the table and glanced briefly at Derek.
"Don't worry, I'll take it from here" he said to the librarian who turned round to leave the room.
"Derek" the headmaster started when he was sure that the librarian was out of ear shot.
"You broke three of the school rules, all in one day. If you wanted to get in there so bad, you could have come to get clearance"
'I wasn't sure you would give it to me, especially when I say it's because heard a weird voice warning about impending doom in two weeks' was what Derek wanted to say.
But better judgement got the better of him and he just kept his mouth shut and stared at the floor waiting for his punishment to be meted out.
"I know you missed the first-year orientation but that's not enough reason to break school rules. I'll let it slide this time"
Derek was surprised to hear that last part. He raised his head up and saw the headmaster's outstretched and with the book in it.
"I hope you come to me next time you have a problem, instead of breaking school rules" the headmaster concluded and dismissed Derek.
Derek took the book from the headmaster and walked out of the office. He hadn't expected this turn of events.
The headmaster shook his head in concern when Derek left his office. Deep down he hadn't really let Derek off the hook because he missed the orientation.
It was mostly it of pity, he felt indebted to Damian Chase and wanted to look after his son now that he was gone.
But he still wondered about something, all this ruckus just for a book of fiction. Kids these days never ceased to amaze him. He shook his head once again at the thought.
Derek skipped happily along the corridor, he definitely didn't foresee this but it ended up well enough. He still got the book in the end and now he was surely getting those answers.
He exited the admin block and opened the books in his hand. He began reading the contents from the title page.
He was so engrossed in the reading that he only sensed the ball before it smacked him across the head.