Seeing as we had the same destination I decide to take a closer look at the teen.
He was skinny and had short brown hair slightly spiky at the edges, he had a pair of rimmed glasses on and was dressed in a gray and brown tracksuit and a white tank top inside he was slightly freckled and had bluish gray eyes. It seemed either most uptowners had eye defect or glasses where trendy in these parts.
"The name's Johan." he said stretching out his hand towards me.
"Von." I replied, grabbing his hand as I've seen other humans do. It seeems to be a greeting tradition of some sort.
I let go of his hand and kept observing him. I only averted my gaze after seeing the awkward look on his face.
"What's your deal at the lib?" He said trying to brush away the prior moment with a conversation.
"Just going to look through some books." I vaguely respond and he doesn't probe seeing my unwillingness to speak.
After a few minutes the train comes to a stop and we alight. After heading back up to the surface I find myself in an entirely different locality from where I first boarded, the buildings are far grander than those of downtown and are all new looking too, the street facilities are in peak condition and I finally realized the need for distinction between the two sections of the city.
It's only 5:59 but the street lights are all already on displaying the extravagance of the uptown management, it was like entering a different city entirely, and I know you must wonder how I could accurately tell the time. Well on each street lamp and traffic light is a box with the time showing in neon.
We walk for a while until we enter a less bustling region. I noticed the space between buildings here are also significantly wider.
Johan stops in front of a white building and I realized that we were at our destination.
"This my friend is the city's first and also largest library." He said.
I'm once again amazed at how the uptowners are quick to claim friendship with total strangers, it was as if they knew not the word danger.
"Thank you."
I squeeze out the two words through gritting teeth as my stomach clench in disgust at what I just said, but once I got it out it didn't feel as bad as I imagined.
You're welcome, shall we?" He said as he adjusted so we could stand side by side.
We walk into the building and I'm again stunned by the contrasting brown interior, the furnishing, the walls and infact almost everything apart from the lighting was either brown or brownish in color. Humans sure have a queer taste for contrasts I thought to myself.
It was only now when I had a book in hand that I realized that I'm illiterate.
'Fuck! how am I going to learn anything if I can't read'.
Johan walks back from the counter and seeing my furrowed brow could tell that something was amiss, he looked at the book in my hands and looks at me with a puzzled expression.
"Is there something wrong with this one" I ask. Too ashamed to tell him I can't read for a reason even I don't comprehend.
"Nothing much, just that you are holding it upside down."
It took me every iota of self control I had not to facepalm, I decided to come clean.
"I don't know how to read."
His puzzlement ease into amusement and he let out a light chuckle.
"Good one friend!" he says and I won't lie at that moment I got the urge to bludgeon him with something.
'Do all the people who live uptown have the tendency of taking things as a joke.'
"I honestly don't know how to read, why do you think otherwise?" I ask.
"You speak with fluency so great that even some of my teachers can't compare to you and you are honestly telling me you don't know how to read?!"
His amusement turn to confusion and it's my turn to be amused at how his expression could transit so quickly to portray three different emotions in the span of a few sentences.
'Humans are indeed rich in emotional quotient'. I say to myself as demons are mostly stoic when not excited.
"Well l grew up close to a cinema you see and I got most of my vocabulary from there." I replied.
Now getting irritated at his unwillingness to drop the topic and at how easily I now get irritated .
"Well then if you say so. I could read for you but that would be too bothersome." He said.
"How about this instead, I'll teach you how to read." he continued.
"Really, but I live downtown." I replied.
"That won't be an issues we can make an appointment here at the library" He said.
Seemingly excited at the prospect of teaching me how to read for reasons only tanatras know.