"He's the best guy ever. Like a benchmark, you know?"
Maya sighed.
"You realize you're talking about a fictional character, right kid?"
"Maya. That's why he's the best. No one real is that good."
I knew the usual reply. But what she said this time got my attention.
"But you cannot settle for fiction."
"I'll settle for someone close. Happy?"
What else was I supposed to say?
"Never with you girls" was her comeback.
"Very happy to hear that!" Avy exclaimed, rolling her eyes.
"Kidding."
"Neil, how's that new case of yours going?"
That topic of conversation was getting out of hand.
"Let me eat my lunch completely, and then we'll talk."
It was interesting how he had to concentrate on everything he did.
"The eggs aren't running away, Dad."
"It's just too yummy for me to stop eating and talk," he said with a mouthful.
"We'll just leave you to your food then."
He just nodded and kept eating. We were all done. Then I caught Maya eying me weirdly.
"Maya, I can see that you're looking at me. No, no. You're ogling me."
I guessed she was trying to get me to discuss something because that was when she did that crazy thing.
"I know. I was hoping you would notice."
"Kinda hard to miss, woman. What is it?"
"Nothing. You just always tell me how your week has gone. You didn't tell me this time."
Oh! That's what was going on.
"I don't know, Maya. Nothing has happened. Nothing interesting, at least. I finally got that angry guy's order correct. But the clumsy girl hadn't stopped being clumsy. She was always spilling her latte. Hey, and Charlie showed me one of her childhood pictures. She looked so different back then. Also, my biology classes were pretty int-" I'd stopped mid-sentence.
She kept nodding but stopped again to ask, "What?"
"You're bored. I can see it in your face." Clearly. Like it's written all over her face.
"I was expecting something interesting, you know?"
Aw. I gave my whole week a minute's thought again.
"Yeah, and the hundred times when I tried to talk, he just turned his back on me."
I could swear I saw excitement on her face for just a second. And after she noticed that I'd noticed that, she tried to kill it. But she still said, "Just what I wanted to hear."
Sometimes, I couldn't believe her. It was just one of those times.
"Really?" I sighed a little exaggeratedly.
"Nope. Who, Ash?"
"Uh-huh."
"And I take it you're not going to give up."
"You know me too well. The guy is a mystery, Maya. I could sense that much. I'm going to unravel him."
After a moment, I felt this immense urge to justify my earlier statement with something else.
"That sounded so much better in my head, okay?"
And all of a sudden, Avy's face brightened up.
"What about the fact that a guy asked you out and how you shoved it in his face?"
This time, Maya didn't try to hide it. At all.
"Come on, kid? You hide that from me?"
"Maya, that exactly isn't a thing you tell your mom."
I was being sincere in that part.
"Nice pass, Decker," Neil appreciated.
"I take after you, Neil. Obviously."
I hurriedly washed off the plate and put it in the dishwasher. Then I sprinted up and down the stairs. Avy caught my arm and almost swung me into her face.
"What the hell was that?"
I asked her, pulling back my wrist. I had to check if she'd left any bruises.
"Why are you running here and there? It's not like you got a hot date or something."
Oh, God. I was never going to hear the end of that.
"Wow. You're never going to let this go, are you?"
She wagged her head from one extreme to the other, smiling wide like an idiot.
"Nada. Anyway, what's the rush?"
"I'm hitting the library."
Her jaw fell to the floor.
"You've been going all huff-puff for the library?"
"Well, yeah. I mean, first I forgot my book and then my coat. So, I had to go up and down. You coming with?"
"No," she said with extreme promptness. I saw that coming.
"Please?" I tried something that I'd never done before. I tried putting on the so-called cute face. I curled my lower lip outwards. She pinched my cheeks and rested her hands on them.
Holding me in her gaze, she said, "Nice try. Not going to happen."
I sighed and made a puckered face at her.
"Fine, bye," I said somewhat reluctantly.
It's not like I wanted her to come along. I loved being alone. Just that she would also read for some time along with me. I tried.
"Happy reading," Neil called.
I gave a thumbs-up and left. The library wasn't very crowded. I was reading the ancient myth sections when a book caught my eye. Mainly because it was glowing. 'Tale of Tak.' Interesting title. I didn't know how, but I was sure it had some weird waves around it. Like it had its aura. Even though I always believed that every book had its own life and essence, I didn't pitch that idea to be a reality. The concept of an aura. They existed only for living things. But this book had an aura. And it was special. I could sense it somehow. I could see only that one book. Everything else faded out. In a daze, my hand went up. I was reaching for the book when someone jerked my hand back. And the spell shattered. It felt like I came out of a dream. When I looked back at that book, its aura was gone. Poof! That was unbelievable. And I was diagnosed clear of my head when I fell on my head as a kid. So, that wasn't an assumption. It had happened.
"You don't want to touch that book."
My head snapped towards the one talking. It was the guy who'd asked me out in the school a few days back. I gave an exasperated sigh.
"What are you doing here?"
I knew my voice sounded irritated. I very much wanted it to.
"That book's corner was sharp enough for you to have had a bad paper cut."
I noticed it then. Oh. He was trying to help.
"Th-thanks."
I didn't look him in the eye.
"Don't mention."
And I kept walking. He followed.
"Why did you want that book? The Legends of Latin?"
I stopped in confusion more than frustration. I turned back to him.
"What did you say?"
He looked me in the eye. But only partially.
"I just asked you about the book."
He looked a little freaked, but nothing compared to my fear. I couldn't comprehend the reason for this amount of anxiety pounding through me, but I was confident that it wasn't going to go away anytime soon.
"Yeah, what did you say the title was?"
I could be trembling a little, too. However, I wasn't aware of anything except that prickling sensation.
"The Legends of Latin? It's a good one. Nice pick."
But I saw the title as something else. 'Tale of some weird word'. I went back to where the book was. Shock coursed through me. It wasn't there. That surprised me. Had I hallucinated the whole incident? Wow, what was happening? I needed some air. But first, I had to get this guy off my back.
"Hey, I thought I made it clear to you. I'm not interested."
I hated this type of guy.
"Why not? You're the geeky type, sure. Otherwise, you wouldn't be spending your weekend in the library. And I am, too. Clearly."
Was that it? Nuh-uh.
"It's not about that. I just don't want to get in any of that mess. Just leave me be, all right?"
That wasn't the entire truth. I would happily get into that mess with the right kind of guy. I'd listed some essential qualities that were mysterious, good-looking, tall, and sweet. I didn't have it fully figured out. But I always thought I would have it ultimately when I met him. He wasn't. He shrugged and started walking away.
"We'll see about that," he'd muttered.
Or so I heard. But I didn't care to stop him and interrogate him. Instead, I picked up some other book and went to a table. Placing my book and phone on the desk, I pulled up the chair and sat. I had to drag myself off from the thoughts about that weird book. And this was the best solution I could come up with. Dragging my pen and book, I immersed myself completely in science. I loved science. It was intriguing. Everything had logic. Being a fiction novel reader, I had two sides of myself. I loved fiction and believed everything based on logic and explanation. It was how I was. Contradicting likes. I switch off the second part when I'm reading the first. Though it was a lot of time, it didn't feel enough. I finally could tear my eyes off the book. Straight ahead of me sitting was him.