Through the point of view of Beatrix
When I finally make it to Spanish class, I immediately notice a growing crowd of people around the door.
Gently pushing my way to the front to see what all the fuss was about, I see a paper or note rather, taped onto the door.
'Hola mis estudiantes, hoy no vamos a tener clases presenciales. Pero, mi expectativa es que estudien hoy para prepararse para el examen. Se administrará a primera hora en clase mañana.' It reads.
"Well, looks like class is cancelled." My body slightly turns when I hear Anthony's voice, who breaks out into a small smile when I look over at him.
"Yeah .. I guess so." I say, glancing back over at the note posted on the door.
The crowd slowly begins to dissipate as they finish reading the note and I look at Anthony again.
"Did you want to study together? I could show you the library." He offers, and I perk up at the mention of the suggestion.
I hadn't really explored the school yet and I wasn't present at the orientation for tours, so it wouldn't hurt to familiarize myself with the school more.
So I agree to it.
"What is the library like? I'm sure it's luxurious like everything else in this school." I joke as I walk with Anthony down the hallway.
"Well, it's huge, for one. And it's got more than just books for studying, they have other genres of books available to the students." This does peak my interest, but I nod for Anthony to continue explaining.
"There's a small computer lab in there, a quiet space reserved for people who are studying alone, and a shared space for groups working on projects and stuff like that. There's more but I'll just let you see it for yourself." After he finishes, we stop at a room with two big red doors, there's a sign right above it titled in big, bold letters, STUDENT LIBRARY.
Anthony pushes the door open for me, and I walk into the room first.
He was not joking.
This place is massive.
The entire library is separated into four areas, and I watch as students carry on.
Some are in groups at the shared section, talking and writing things down in notebooks.
My eyes travel over to a guy hanging by himself in the quiet space section, he begins to read something off of his computer before jotting it down in a notebook.
In the middle of the room is a seating area accompanied by a few wooden desks, green bean bag chairs on the floors and small benches in every corner of the room.
My old school's library couldn't even hold a candle to this.
"Oh my .. wow. It's .." Words seem to escape me as I realize how much I had been missing out on.
This place was truly beautiful.
A hand on my back, has me jumping in surprise and I turn my head. Anthony points to a desk seated in the corner of the library, I see that it's private and out of the way from everyone's view.
"C'mon B, let's sit over there." Anthony exclaims, and I let him guide me to the desk, ignoring the feeling of his hand on my back.
We drop our bags, and I begin to take my computer out when he talks again.
"I'm going to get us some snacks from the cafeteria. You should look around, see if there's any books you need for one of your courses. Just text me, when you're done or if you get lost." Anthony stands up from his seat, getting ready to leave.
"Anthony, wait!" I hiss quietly, making him turn back to me.
I unlock my phone and go to my contacts app, handing it to him. Anthony puts his number in my phone before handing the device back.
I'm reading the name he put as I begin to ask him to get me a fruit tart from the cafeteria.
"Can you get me a fruit tart? I like the strawberry .. Anthony what the fuck? You just put AAAAAAAAA" I laugh, reading aloud the contact name he'd put.
"I wanted it to be original," Anthony shrugs.
I'm about to tell him I'm changing it before he leaves with a dramatic evil laugh, not allowing me to snap back at him.
To pass the time while Anthony leaves, I decide to start exploring the library.
First, I find the computer lab and peek in through the door to see what it looks like.
It's a small room, but it is filled with computers on the tables, and two huge whiteboards hang on the walls on either side of the long wooden table.
Next, I decide to find the non-school books.
I get lost for a minute but end up running right into the romance section. My eyes travel over all of the titles of books in the section, and I walk further down to the mystery section.
After sufficient time checking out all the books, I head back to my desk. Anthony's not here yet, so I send him a text letting him know that I finished browsing.
'Find anything good?' He messages me back.
'Mmm.. I don't know. I just browsed a little.' I text in response.
Anthony lets me know he's on his way back, and I take that as a sign to start to taking my things out. I plug in my laptop before starting on an assignment for my English course as I wait for him.
Five minutes into working, Anthony sits down with a tray of food from the cafeteria.
"Sorry it took me so long, the line in there was awful." He says, as I fold my laptop down to look at him.
"It's okay, I was looking around the library anyway. Did you get my fruit tarts?" I ask hopefully, my eyes going over the tray full of different foods and snacks.
"Why do you always get so much food, Anthony? You know we're not going to be able to eat all of this." I chide playfully, watching as he places a small napkin in front of me.
"I mean .. why not? That way we have a lot to choose from, and we can take a bite of everything, so we don't waste anything." He places the pastry on my napkin, and I take it gratefully, making sure to thank him after.
We eat in silence for a bit before striking up more conversation.
"So, what's your deal?" Anthony inquires, taking a bite of the sandwich in his hands.
I put my pastry down and wipe the edge of my mouth before speaking again.
"My deal? What do you mean?" I slightly evade the question and pretend to look at something on my computer.
"I mean, what's your story? How'd you get here, where are you from..?" I watch as he puts the sandwich down and sits back in his seat.
Anthony's expression is eager and from the view I have, his brown eyes seem to shine with unfounded curiosity.
I clear my throat and look back at my computer.
"There's really nothing much to the story. I lived in a shitty, small town with shitty people and when I got the opportunity to leave .. I took it without a second thought." The words are a little bit harsher than I intend them to be and I pause, folding my laptop down.
"That sounded harsh, I'm sorry." I apologize, looking over him nervously.
Anthony just shakes his head and sits up in his seat, his brown eyes never leaving my face as he does.
"S' alright. Keep going." He urges me, and I fold my arms over my chest before talking again.
"I lived in Seattle before moving here. It was boring but I still had friends, and I was popular. But shit happened .. and I moved here to get away from it." I try not to let my recounting of the past stir up old memories, and I purse my lips together into a tight smile.
"So .. now you know." I say quietly.
"Thank you." Anthony tells me and I look at him, visibly confused by those words.
"For sharing that with me. It seems like you had a rough time in high school but .. I'm glad in a way." I gasp at his words, taking a blueberry off of his plate and throwing it at him softly.
Anthony laughs, moving out the way to dodge the small fruit thrown his way.
"I'm glad it happened, because whatever it was brought you to this school .. where I got to meet you. With a very bad first impression, that is." I chuckle at the last bit, and pick up the pastry again.
"Thanks, Anthony-." Just as I smile up at him,
he takes a blueberry of the plate .. chucking it at me gently.
We both laugh as I try to dodge the fruit thrown and damn near fall out of my seat in the process.
"You are welcome, Beatrix." Anthony says, still half chuckling as he takes out his computer. As he does I glare at him, a smile teasing at my lips.