A Book Nerd's Guide to Falling in Love

Chapter 8: A Book as Red as a Heart

"What the heck! You seen zoned me?" Lotty walked up to me at my locker the following day, fury flashing in her hazel eyes as if I had done her so wrong.

I didn't tell her I went to the library after class yesterday and forgot to respond to her message. So maybe I did do her wrong. Friends always told each other where they went after school, right?

"I'm sorry," was all I could say. I didn't have an explanation. Or I did, but I couldn't tell her that Finn had walked me home from the library, and I had been distracted by his dimpled smile. That would piss her off more. I wondered if Finn called her last night even after he said he wouldn't. I pressed my lips together and opened my eyes wide, giving her what I thought were puppy dog eyes.

"You're not even going to explain why?" she demanded, the look I gave was not working on her.

I shook my head. "I'm so sorry."

"Fine." She crossed her arms and scrunched her face, raising her chin and looking down at the tip of her nose like a primadonna. She was wearing a white knitted sweater that reminded me of snow. "You owe me a milkshake."

"Done," I said.

"Strawberry and with extra add-on sprinkles," she added.

"Done." I was going to agree to whatever she wanted so she would get off my back about not responding to her text. It was petty, but I was guilty and was willing to pay the price.

"So, where did you go?" she asked. Her tone lightened up, satisfied after her demands were met.

"I went to the library to say goodbye," I told her as I grabbed my bag and closed my locker.

"Oh," she said with sympathy. "Goodbye, like to a friend on a deathbed?" she asked as we started to walk down the hallway.

"Kind of." I shrugged. "It's not really goodbye yet. It's more like visiting a dying friend at the hospital."

"Isn't that the same thing?" Lotty looped her arm around mine. She was taller than me by three inches, so I had to raise my shoulder higher than usual when we were like this. But I was thankful for the shared warmth. I wore a denim jacket over a yellow sweater today because the temperature dropped another degree.

"It's almost the same, I guess. But saying goodbye means it will be the last time I see the library. I'll be returning to finish my History paper," I explained, squeezing Lotty's arm against mine. "Have you started your research paper yet?" I asked though I knew she likely hadn't yet.

"Nah," she said as if there was no urgency to the homework. I wasn't surprised by her answer. "It's not due for weeks. Plus, I can use Chat GPT to generate it. It'll be done in a night," she whispered, her hazel eyes darting around the hall, watching out for any faculty members. Using Chat GPT was the same as cheating, but it wasn't stopping most of the students in Littleton High School, including her.

Like the rest of the student body, Lotty was brainwashed to use Artificial Intelligence for everything, as if studying was overrated. What had our generation become? My fellow junior students were going to college in less than two years without the proper knowledge and capability to do the hard work. They had lost their initiative and creativity.

I couldn't tell her I was disappointed in her. I wish there were some way I could help her.

Her phone chimed, and she unlooped her arm from me to check her message. "Finn," she said when she read the text.

I glanced at the phone in her hand, curious about what secret they were sending each other. But I averted my gaze, knowing it was inappropriate to eavesdrop.