A Book Nerd's Guide to Falling in Love

Chapter 17: Overanalyzing

Sometimes, mothers could be the worst, but most of the time, they were the best. They were always protective and did everything for their children. And mine was the best of the best.

My mother gave me everything I needed and most of what I wanted. She cared for me to the best of her ability, even during difficult times--or especially during difficult times. So, I knew I could trust her with anything, which was why I came to her for help.

"Hey, mom. Can you do me a favor?" I asked as I came down for breakfast before school.

"Mmmh?" She placed a plate of waffles and eggs in front of me on the dining table. "Ano yun?" What is it?

"So, you know about the library, right?" I poured syrup and buttered my waffle.

My mother looked up at me. "Yes, anak." She called me anak again. She knew I was still feeling down about the library, but I didn't need any comfort now.

"My friends and I plan to hand out infographics to encourage people to love reading books. We thought it could help the library," I explained as I ate my breakfast, sweet sugar filling my mouth.

"Oh, that's nice." My mother nodded, approving. "By friends, you mean Lotty?"

"And others," I answered.

She grinned. "You have other friends? Sino?" She asked Who?

I knew she'd be curious. I could tell her about Cathy and Finn, but it was off-topic. "Mom, focus. The library."

"Right." My mother was still grinning, happy to hear I was finally socializing. She had shown the same enthusiasm the night I came home from Finn's party, asking if I'd met a boy, which was pretty weird for a mother to do. But I knew she only wanted me to have a normal teenage life. And by normal, I meant like what she had when she was younger. "What's the favor?"

"Can you print out the infographics for us?" I asked, rounding my eyes and trying for puppy-dog eyes. They didn't work on Lotty, but I knew they would on my mother.

She stared at me for a moment, contemplating.

Please say yes.

"How many copies?" she asked.

I grinned, grateful. "A thousand."

"A thousand?" Her voice rose, surprised.

"Please," I begged. "There's almost six thousand people here in Littleton. A thousand is only fifteen percent of the population."

Taking a deep breath, my mother slowly nodded. "Okay. But you are doing the dishes for a week."

"Yes!" I couldn't believe I had exclaimed like that at dirty dishes for one whole week, but I was so excited about my mother helping us out. It was for the library. "Thank you!" I leaned over the table to kiss her on the cheeks.

After finishing my breakfast, I headed to school.

Oddly, Finn was in my thoughts as I entered the entryway. I guessed I wanted to tell him about the good news. We were getting our prints by tomorrow, and I wondered if he'd help hand them out.

In the hallway, I found Lotty talking to Cathy. I still felt that pang of jealousy whenever I saw them together. They were hanging out a lot when I was mostly alone, researching how to save Littleton's Public Library.

"Hey," I said as I came up behind Lotty, who was leaning on her locker.

She turned around and smiled. "Hey," she greeted back.

Cathy and I nodded hello to each other.

"So, about the seminar. Finn gave me a good idea to just hand out infographics, like flyers, to people since it'll be difficult to get people to attend." I told them I had changed my plans, waiting for Cathy to be offended somehow since the seminar was her idea.