A Book Nerd's Guide to Falling in Love

Chapter 13: Sounds like a Plan

A lot of things sure could happen at a party. A lot of unexpected things. I couldn't say last night was a blast, but I couldn't say it was a bust, either.

If I were to tell this story someday, two things would be prominent to me.

One. I had to admit the best part of it was my conversation with Finn. Learning that his name came from Mark Twain's book was like having sweet red velvet cake, though he didn't have any type of cake at the party. I liked that he even joked about Blueberry Finn. That made me laugh, I'll give him that.

So then, I knew why Lotty liked him. And, sheesh, I was starting to like him too. Maybe he was a good guy after all. But I already knew he was nice despite being annoying at times. He was literally the boy next door.

Okay, maybe I could like him. As a friend, I meant.

Two. Of course, I couldn't forget Dave had my red leather-bound book. I was so sure this time. And maybe I sounded a little accusing, but I was convinced my eyes saw what they saw.

There was something weird going on in Littleton. Or maybe i was just my imagination. Was I wishing to save the library so much that I might be hallucinating impossible magical things? Or had I binged too many fantasy novels last summer that I suddenly got sucked into one?

The latter would be awesome if there weren't any dragons that would eat me after school today.

I turned from the food counter, meal tray steadied in both my hands, putting the breaks on all the craziness in my head. But when I scanned the yellow walled cafeteria, I found Dave sitting alone at a table.

I was used to seeing Dave surrounded by his buddies, so it was weird for him to be all by himself.

My legs moved as if they had minds of their own, walking to Dave's table.

I stood across from him, watching as he gulped a bite of his sandwhich.

He looked up at me then glanced at my tray. He stared and furrowed his brows. "Do you want to sit with me?"

I shook my head. "No, I just wanted to ask you something." I glanced down at his tray and spied a pocketbook. Despite it being upside down from my view, I could clearly read the title--The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. And then, it was my turn to furrow my brows.

"Well, ask away." He placed his sandwich on his plate and licked his fingers.

I looked back up at his face. "I saw you reading a book at Finn's party," I said.

Dave straightened in his seat. "And what's the question?"

"Oh, right! I just wanted to ask what book you were reading."

He looked up at the ceiling. A few moments lapsed before he looked back at me with a grin. "Dude, did I get wasted at Finn's party? I can't remember reading a book."

"Huh," I replied. That was almost the same answer Cathy gave me. "Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure. I didn't have a hangover though 'coz I woke up the next morning, like 6:00 a.m., and I went to the library, but it was still closed."

"You went to the library at six in the morning?" I thought I heard wrong.

"Yeah. Did you know they open at 2:00 p.m.? I had to go back in the afternoon. But a nice lady gave me a library card and lent me this." He patted the LOTR book on the table.

"You went to the library at six in the morning on a Sunday?" I repeated the question with more uncertainty. My ears turned unreliable.

"Yeah. That's what I said." He patted the book and leaned toward me. "Why? You don't believe a guy like me reads?"