—
7.0
—
The library door swung open, and Hazel and I stepped inside. The air was filled with the aroma of polished wood and aged paper, creating a serene atmosphere that instantly made me feel more at ease.
“Good morning, ma'am,” Hazel said cheerfully to the woman stationed at the desk. The receptionist's face lit up with a warm smile.
“Hazel! How are you doing today?” The receptionist asked, her eyes crinkling at the corners.
“Great,” Hazel said in a cheery voice.
“Good morning, ma'am,” I said, grabbing the receptionist's attention.
“Hello, dear. What's your name?” She enquired politely.
“It's Marcus, ma'am,” I replied respectfully.
“Marcus. What a nice name,” she complimented.
“Thank you,” I replied, smiling a little.
“Ah, Hazel, that book by Thomas Perry has arrived,” the receptionist said, and Hazel's eyes widened with excitement.
“Hero? That was quicker than I thought,” Hazel said, leaning on the reception desk in anticipation.
“That's what I thought as well, but it seems our distributor was lucky,” the receptionist said, nodding.
I decided to go for a walk and take in the atmosphere of the library while they carried on their conversation. The architectural design of the library was stunning; it had a sunken layout, allowing a clear view of the tops of the bookshelves and the students studying below. The ceiling was particularly striking, with its dome-like structure adorned with intricate paintings that seemed almost otherworldly.
“It caught your eye, didn't it?” A voice spoke up next to me. I turned to see Hazel joining me, a knowing smile on her face.
“Yeah, it looks familiar,” I replied as my gaze returned to the ceiling.
“The Camera Picta, or better known as The Camera degli Sposi. It's a room filled with paintings. The library takes inspiration from the ceiling of that room,” she explained.
“I didn't know you were an art connoisseur,” I remarked, arching my eyebrow. She laughed softly.
“I'm not. I was just interested in this particular piece, that's all,” she remarked, grinning. “But that does make me better than you in this regard.”
“Give me a week and I'll become an expert in library art,” I said confidently as I followed her. Her amusement-filled eyes gleamed as she laughed once more.
“Alright then, on Saturday, let's both meet here to test our knowledge. Remember, all the artworks in the library are fair game,” she challenged.
The steps resounded pleasantly beneath our feet as we both made our way down the enormous staircase. The library was enormous, with shelves upon shelves of books. Each shelf had a plank suspended by a string at the end, marked with letters for easy organisation and identification.
I couldn't believe how many books there were as we browsed the aisles. A book could open a door to a new universe, and the library itself was a veritable gold mine of information.
“How many artworks are there in the gallery?” I asked, and my curiosity piqued.
“Seven. That's not too much, is it?” Hazel answered as she led the way through the maze of bookshelves.
“It is, but I don't want to make this easier for myself. When I beat you, there will be no excuses,” I declared, grinning with confidence.
“Bold,” she answered with a teasing smirk. We reached a seating area, passing by several others on our way, each occupied by students engrossed in their studies or deep in conversation.
Two girls were sitting at a desk when we got close to it. One was engrossed in her phone, while the other had her head laid sideways on the desk, a book propped up by her bag to read hands-free.
“Hey, Harley and Ohara,” Hazel greeted them warmly. With an upward gaze, the girl who was reading sat up and extended her arms above her head.
“Hazel, you’re here. And you?” She said, her voice groggy from reading.
“My name is Marcus,” I introduced myself.
“Oh, you’re Marcus. Heard quite a bit about you,” she said, her tone tinged with curiosity.
“Is that so?” I responded, intrigued.
“Yep, I’m Harley Sherman, and that over there is—” Before Harley could finish her introduction, Ohara stood up abruptly, her expression fierce.
“Harley, you seriously aren't going to do this, are you? There are going to be severe consequences,” she stated, her voice edged with concern.
“I already told you I don't care about that. Besides, I’m just listening to their offer,” Harley groaned, seeming annoyed.
Ohara appeared prepared to continue her argument but stopped herself, obviously frustrated.
“Sorry about her,” Harley apologised. “She’s just worried about me. Let's get straight into this because I have to get back to reading.”
Except for Ohara, who stayed standing, her posture rigid with tension, the rest of us took seats.
“Harley, I would like you to join my election team as our treasurer,” I said, paying great attention to Harley's reaction. She drew in a long breath before continuing.
“I know that Cohen is making it difficult for you guys to recruit members for the election, but why me? I doubt I have the skills for such a position,” she asked as her doubts were apparent.
“To be honest, I agree with your sentiment. We don’t know much about your skills and capabilities. Plus, you just said you don’t have the skills for the position. However, this is a gamble I’m willing to take. The longer we wait, the worse our situation will become. I’m trying to avoid that,” I explained, opting for complete transparency.
“I see. Honestly, I’m not too keen on joining, but I do have an interesting proposal,” Harley stated, her gaze thoughtfully narrowing.
“Are you serious, Harley?” Ohara spoke up, her voice rising with annoyance. “Just decline their offer.”
“Kameko, please, just stop,” Harley uttered in a stern tone.
“Stop? I’m trying to save you from being labelled an enemy of the class,” Ohara fiercely stated, her hands clenched into fists.
“Kameko,” Harley said with a stern voice, silencing her friend. Ohara sighed, her shoulders slumping as she picked up a bag hidden under the desk.
“Good luck,” Ohara muttered to Harley before turning on her heel and leaving.
“Uh?” Hazel spoke with concern in her voice as she looked at the space Ohara had just vacated.
“Don’t worry about her. I'll calm her down later,” Harley let out a long sigh. “She’s a little clingy, like Chika,” she added under her breath.
“Chika?” I enquired, interested in the name she had brought up.
“Ah, sorry. She’s my little sister. She’s a junior here,” Harley remarked, as if she had just remembered. “Can we get back to the topic at hand? Can you listen to my proposal?”
“Let’s hear it,” Hazel said, leaning forward slightly, her demeanour unwavering and serious.
“The thing is, after coming back from my tennis tournament, I’ve been pumped and filled with a lot of competitive energy. I need an outlet to disperse the feeling. So, I propose we play a game. One with high risks,” she said, a smirk playing on her lips. The look in her eyes made me interested. “The game is simple. It’s a speed reading contest. The rules are straightforward. We both pick the same book at random, and then for a set period of time, we read its contents. After that, we get quizzed from anywhere in the book. If someone fails to answer, the other can. The winner is the one with the most correct answers.”
It was essentially a speed reading and memory game, which I felt I could handle. The content of the book would play a significant role, but I was about eighty percent confident I’d do well.
“I’m sure you all get that, so I’m playing against Hazel for this.” I was surprised to hear Harley say this.
“Can I ask why?” I quickly enquired, wanting to understand her reasoning.
“I want a fair competition. I don’t know much about you, Marcus, but I do know that your academic performance is impressive considering you joined the school last semester. You’re too much of an unknown to me. Hazel isn’t,” Harley clarified.
I understood her reasoning and nodded in agreement. It is dangerous to engage with an enemy you do not know anything about.
“Plus, she’s the one who approached and falsely befriended me with hidden intentions,” she added.
“Harley, I know it might come off that way, but I genuinely enjoy spending time with you,” Hazel responded, her tone defensive.
“Sure, if you say so,” Harley replied indifferently. “If I win, I join your team. If you lose, I don’t, and Hazel leaves the team,” she added.
Just as I was ready to object, Hazel spoke up first.
“Alright then,” she agreed. Then she turned to face me, taking hold of my arm and dragging me aside to have a private discussion.
“Why did you agree to her terms?” I questioned as I crossed my arms, a little annoyed that she didn't take her time to think it through before accepting.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“It was obvious that we couldn’t negotiate further. She holds all the power here,” Hazel remarked.
“That may be true, but confirming that fact to your opponent is not the way to go about it,” I countered.
“I know,” she sighed.
“If you lose, you have to drop out of my team,” I said firmly.
“I don’t plan on losing. Place your trust in me,” she replied, her voice steady and confident.
“I do trust you. I’m just worried I might lose you after just getting you back,” I admitted.
She looked away from me, her face taking on a shocked expression and her cheeks flushing. It dawned on me what I had just said.
“Sorry about that. I worded it wrongly,” I said, trying to clear the air.
“It’s alright. I just let that get to me,” she remarked, composing herself. “Leave this to me,” she added with a confident smile.
Both of us went back to Harley, who was back to reading the book she had earlier. Hazel leaned on the desk towards Harley.
“So, how do we choose the book?” Hazel questioned, her tone stern.
Harley pushed her chair back so she could stand up and put the book to her side.
“We should go meet the librarian for that,” Harley trudged forward, while we both followed from behind.
“Marcus,” a voice called my name from behind, drawing our attention. It was a familiar face.
“Natsumi,” I said as she scurried quickly over to where we were.
“It's been quite a while, hasn't it?” She said it with a huge smile on her face.
“Has it really?” I said sarcastically.
“Hello, I don't think we've met. I am Hashimoto Natsumi. You can just call me Natsumi,” she said to Harley.
“I am Harley; nice to meet you,” Harley said, maintaining the same expression. “Hazel, we can go off to meet the librarian, so Marcus can chat with his friend.”
Friend? With how little I knew about Natsumi, that term wasn't appropriate in this context.
“Yes, you should. We have some things to talk about,” Natsumi said to her.
We do? That had me curious, but I needed to focus on the current issue at hand. As I was about to voice my opinion to Natsumi, Hazel spoke up.
“That's fine. We'll come back. Just wait around here,” she said, and I let out a sigh.
“Alright,” I said as they both walked away, leaving me with Natsumi.
“So what's all this about?” She questioned.
“None of your business, or do you want to report it back to Tomiko?” I said with some underlying sass.
“I am not going to become an underling of that girl,” she said.
“That is strange. From what I've heard, people look up to her,” I stated, and she looked at me with anger in her eyes.
“Who is feeding you such lies?” She asked, clearly fuming.
“Multiple people, but I ain't giving names.” She didn't know that I had heard this from Sullivan alone, but there was no way I would tell her that. I was curious to know if her distaste for Tomiko stemmed from a personal grudge or if it was a shared sentiment among their classmates. Considering the anger and surprise she had when I mentioned multiple people looking up to her, it was clear there was some tension in the class with Tomiko at the centre.
“Just know she is not the great person everyone says she is,” she said, and I could tell she held some sort of personal vendetta against the class leader.
“Care to give me more information to work with in that regard?” I enquired.
“Aside from her overbearing attitude, she also always thinks she's in the right. She rarely listens to anyone that isn't in her nonsense cabinet, and she's just an over-controlling a-hole,” Natsumi said.
“Yeesh, is she really that bad, or are you just blowing things out of proportion?” I asked.
“Trust me, that girl is just overly entitled, and I hate it,” she said, crossing her arms, then turned back to face me swiftly. “Enough about that; now spill the tea on what you guys were doing.”
She wasn't going to drop it. I sighed inwardly.
“Aren't you sticking your nose into other people's business?” I asked, hoping she would back off.
“I am, but seeing as we're friends and rivals, I think it's best that we come to the aid of one another,” she replied, patting me on the back. It was clear this girl was forcing herself onto me, which was hypocritical considering all that she just said about Tomiko, but I wasn't going to point that out.
“Friends and rivals? Isn't that a huge jump in our relationship?” When I asked, she just chuckled. As she did, I noticed both Hazel and Harley making their way back to us, each holding a book in hand.
“A String of Beads,” Harley said, revealing the book's title. I tried recalling if I had read any book with that name, but nothing came to mind.
“Have either of you read this book?” I enquired.
“No, I am not much of a reader,” Natsumi boldly replied, grinning self-satisfiedly as she stood upright. I just watched her in awe.
“Now then, Hazel and I have thirty minutes to read the book while you two are free to look up the book online and ask us questions based on that,” Harley stated.
“The two of us?” I asked, noting how she referred to me and Natsumi. “Wait, I thought you wanted unbiased individuals to ask the questions. I could have convinced her to help me rig the game,” I voiced my concern, trying to get a proper read on her mind.
“It's something pretty simple. I have faith in you. Faith that you won't resort to such tactics,” she remarked, setting the book down on the table. Hazel and I exchanged looks. “Or do you want me to doubt you?”
There was something intriguing about this girl. The whole thing was, to put it mildly, fascinating. Natsumi's arrival could not have been a coincidence, could it? This seemed like a deliberate ploy to see my course of action. I did not know Natsumi well, but it could be possible that she and Harley were in this together. In any case, I should be alright because I was lucky not to resort to any underhanded tactics.
“No, you can trust me,” I replied. As I spoke, I noticed a smile on Harley’s face. She then clasped her hands together.
“Alright then. Let's begin,” she said.
“Good luck,” I spoke to Hazel in a whisper as she went by.
“Thanks,” Hazel replied as she sat down next to Harley, who set her phone down on the table with its display showing a countdown set for thirty minutes.
“And start,” Harley said, clicking the button to begin the countdown. They both flipped open the pages, starting the competition.
I observed Hazel scanning across the pages with her eyes, her mouth moving ever so slightly as she murmured the words to herself. She looked elegant, and for some reason, I was captivated by her.
“Stop staring,” a voice muttered, and I turned to see Natsumi, who was grinning at me. I was immediately irritated by her expression.
“I was not,” I said, swiftly dismissing the claim and pulling out my phone. “Come on, let's read about the book,” I said, searching for a summary online.
“Not here, idiot,” Natsumi said, standing up and grabbing my collar. She tightened it against my neck, forcing me to follow her. Despite her small size, she managed to drag me along.
“Can you stop pulling me like that?” I protested as we came to a stop between some shelves of books. At last, she released her grip, and I adjusted my collar while massaging the area of my neck that was causing me some minor discomfort. “You are rough; you know that, right?”
“Be quiet,” she said, pulling out her phone. “Now, care to explain everything?”
Her question caught me off guard. I wasn’t expecting it again, especially after our previous conversation. My theory about Natsumi and Harley possibly teaming up seemed less likely. Natsumi would already be aware of the details if they were collaborating. There was also the possibility that Harley didn't inform her, but I doubted that. Harley placing her trust in me seemed more plausible now.
“Guess I might as well tell you then,” I responded, giving up at last. “Simply put, I want to recruit Harley to join my election team. She decided we should do this speed reading contest, and if we win, she would join us. That's all.”
Since it was information she didn't need to know, I omitted what would happen if we lost.
“I see. Was that so hard then?” She laughed and slammed her hand into my shoulder.
“Anyways, can we get back to reading about the book?” I asked, attempting to refocus the discussion back to the task at hand.
“Ah, sweet lost child, it seems you have forgotten the year we are in,” she remarked with a mocking tone. “Why stress ourselves when we have the power of AI?”
I just glanced at her, astonished, as she showed such enthusiasm. A heavy sigh escaped my mouth.
Not that I was against AI, or even terrified of it; rather, my real worries were about how AI will become the norm and replace human thought processes and reasoning in everything.
“You are one sly individual,” I remarked, flicking her forehead. She let out a small cry, placing her hand on the area I smacked.
“Was that necessary?” She attempted to strike back, but I stopped her by grabbing her arm.
“Yes, it was. The fact that you immediately want to resort to that is an issue,” I said, holding her gaze.
“But that does not mean you are against the idea, right?” A sly smile appeared on her face as she said this.
“Come on,” I said, as she moved closer so that I could see her screen. She opened up the app already installed on her phone. A few prompts later, and we had about twenty questions and their respective answers generated.
It was clear they wouldn't even make it halfway through the book in the thirty minutes they had to read. So, we picked questions related to the beginning of the book. However, I decided to throw in a question about the ending as well.
“Great, we still have about seven minutes before they are done. How about we—” she said.
“Hold that thought, I'm going to the restroom,” I interrupted, taking the opportunity to leave her for a while.
Navigating through the labyrinth of bookshelves, I walked briskly to the restroom. The library's ambient noise of whispers and rustling pages faded as I reached the more secluded area near the restrooms. Pushing open the door, I was greeted by the familiar scent of cleaning supplies. The restroom was empty, giving me a moment of solitude.
—
7.1
—
When I returned from my 'unfortunately' long restroom stop, there were just some seconds remaining on the countdown.
“Did you fall in or something?” Natsumi asked as I rejoined her, and we made our way back to the duo.
“Nope, just enjoying the scenery,” I answered, casually shrugging.
“I guess whatever floats your boat, dude,” she said, giving me a confused and slightly disgusted look. Right on schedule, the alarm went off as soon as we sat down at the table.
Harley and Hazel both shut their books and set them on the table. With a gentle sway back in her chair, Hazel closed her eyes and tilted her head back. Meanwhile, Harley stretched her body in the same way she did the first time I met her, extending her arms above her head and letting out a small sigh.
“You guys ready?” With a look of eagerness in her eyes, Natsumi asked, obviously enjoying herself immensely.
“Yes,” Harley replied, sitting up straight and looking eager.
“We are,” Hazel confirmed, her eyes now open and filled with determination.
With a glint in her eyes, Natsumi opened the questions on her phone.
“Let's begin,” she said, then paused and turned to me. “Who should go first?”
I reached into my pocket, pulling out a coin.
“Heads is for Hazel, and tails is for Harley,” I declared, tossing the coin into the air, catching it in my palm, revealing the outcome. “Tails.”
“Do you just carry around a coin in your pocket?” Natsumi asked, raising an eyebrow.
“First question,” I said, brushing past her comment. “How does the story begin?”
Harley jumped in with a confident answer, her voice steady.
“Correct,” I said, and Natsumi gave a small clap as she turned to Hazel.
“Next question,” Natsumi said, swiftly checking her phone before locking eyes with Hazel and asking the question. Hazel paused, her brow furrowing in thought, then gave her answer with calm precision.
“You are correct,” Natsumi said with a nod, her approval evident.
The questions continued, both Harley and Hazel taking turns, each responding swiftly, with barely a moment’s hesitation. Then came a particularly tricky question, and this time, it was Harley’s turn.
She did not respond right away. Instead, she tapped her foot rapidly, her face a picture of deep concentration. “Wait… was it…” she muttered, trailing off. “No, it wasn’t that…” She fell silent, searching her thoughts, her eyes flickering as if recalling the text in her head. “She cares about people?” she finally offered, her voice hesitant.
“Incorrect. Hazel?” I turned to her, giving her the chance to steal the point. Without missing a beat, Hazel answered.
“Correct,” I said. Harley’s shoulders slumped, and she let out a breath, her disappointment evident. But she quickly composed herself, her eyes refocusing for the next round.
As we moved to Hazel’s next question, I noticed her slight frown. She closed her eyes for a second, sifting through the details, then nodded to herself before confidently stating her answer.
“Correct!” Natsumi said, pointing a playful finger gun at Hazel, who gave a small grin, clearly pleased.
The game picked up speed as we neared the end, the questions firing off and their responses coming quickly. Natsumi's quick “Correct,” marked the last question, signalling the end of the game. Harley sighed deeply and sank back into her chair. Her face showed relief, though she looked equally disappointed to have missed that crucial question. Across from her, Hazel’s fists tightened in a small gesture of triumph, her face lighting up with satisfaction.
Harley stood and extended her hand to me with a slight grin. “A deal’s a deal. You beat me at my own game. I’m at your service, President.”
I took her hand, giving her a firm handshake and an approving nod. “Welcome to the team, Harley Sherman.”