A Book Nerd's Guide to Falling in Love

Chapter 10: Stop Looking

Talking face-to-face was overrated now. Sure, teens in Littleton High School still spoke to each other in the hallways. Still, everyone would glance at their phones at least five times in five minutes, waiting for a text, a DM, or any social media notifications--likes and tags--as if waiting for the person in front of them to talk to them virtually.

I was, unfortunately, one of them. I spent more of my time sending messages to Lotty in the evenings than actually talking to her when we were at school. Last night, we sent over fifty texts about this list of debut dates of upcoming K-pop artists and groups. It was our norm.

What wasn't normal was me not sending Cathy a DM through Instagram because I didn't have her phone number to text. Instead, I was walking up to her in front of the school.

She was leaning on one of the columns that held the gable portico shading the main entrance. Phone in hand, eyes focused on the screen.

"Cathy?" I started.

She looked up. She blinked before she recognized me. Her lips parted, red from the cold. "Hey," she said.

"Hey," I returned, mustering the courage to speak to her, trying not to sound accusing. "Uhm. I saw you yesterday, reading a book in the hallway."

Her shoulders rose. "Nothing wrong with that. I'm reading right now." She turned the face of her phone to me.

I glanced, squinting at what looked like an online resource for our Computer Science class. I looked back at her, giving her a quizzical brow. "Do we have a test?" I asked.

"No, I just wanted to read. This is amazing. I didn't like reading before but have liked it since yesterday." She smiled like she was proud of herself.

I didn't know much about Catherine Brown, but I never pegged her for someone who willingly read, especially not academic information. She wasn't one of the achievers in our year. She was the tall but quiet one, trying to stay undetected within the rest of the population until high school graduation. And ten years from now, it would take about thirty seconds for people to rake their brains before they could say, "Oh! Cathy Brown. I remember you!"

"Huh," was my first reaction. "Okay," was my second.

"So, you're asking about a book?" She asked, stepping away from the column and standing straight.

I had to crane my neck to see her face. She was seven inches taller. "Yes, you were reading it in the hallway yesterday."

Cathy tapped her chin and glanced sideways, thinking. "I can't remember reading a book in the hallway yesterday. But I know I read one in the cafeteria. I also went to the school library after my last period to check out a book on constellations. I'm so intrigued." She grinned, her enthusiasm flashing with her bright teeth.

"That's... great." I wasn't sure how to react. It seemed like a congratulatory moment for Cathy. "It was a red book you were holding," I said, returning to my question.

"Mmhh..." Cathy tapped her chin again. "I haven't seen anything like that."

I couldn't believe what she said. "But you were reading it just yesterday. You were near the restrooms." I pointed toward the school's main entrance door, indicating the hallway inside.

"Sorry, Elsy. I didn't read any red book," she said. The confusion that crossed her brows and dropped her smile was genuine.

"Are you sure?" I still act. It wasn't possible for her to forget, and I was certain I saw her holding and reading a red book. I should have gone to her right then to figure out if it was my red leather-bound book.

Cathy nodded. "Everything ok?" she asked, her eyes darting over my face.

"Uhm..." I couldn't say yes. But the more I pressed on what I thought I saw, the more she'd only deny it--genuinely deny it. Either she believed herself, or she was a pretty good liar.