Free Cast & Fall by Janice Hadden Page B

book.
    Reaching
the front entrance required anyone to pass a short bridge made of
stone and bricks. I walked slowly and felt like skipping like a
little kid. It looked too cute to be a library. As I reached halfway,
I peeked to see the water from under the planks. As I stared at the
silhouette below, the cast of soft glow reflected back a smile.
    Coming
in, warmth exuded from the soft lighting. A very inviting feeling
washed over me. The open space resembled a hotel lounge. It reminded
me of a very fancy ski resort; large patterned rug sat in the middle
room, brown leather sofa and chairs sat in the main lobby. The narrow
railing twisted and soared to thirty foot ceiling up to the third
floor of the library. I headed across to the two elongated
counters—one sign said, information and the other, check
out/returns.
    I
flickered my eyes to the narrow stairs that led to the second floor
and decided to go upstairs to find a quieter area, I headed to my
left, feeling the heavy straps dragging in my right shoulder. As soon
as I got to the second floor, I passed rows of intricately carved
wooden tables with mini green lamps in each of them. I headed to the
right side, trying to pick the quietest corner possible. I passed
several tall book cases as well as computers on my way to the back.
    Finally
I found a spot. I headed toward a smaller table on the left by the
window and laid my backpack on top. I took out my phone and texted
Sam that I was already at the library. I placed my phone on top of
the table and took out my notebook and pen. Flipping through my
notes, I heard disruptive giggling noises from across another table.
I looked at the offending students but they merely glanced at me and
went back to their disruptive behavior. I decided to block them out.
After half an hour, they finally left and was glad to have a quiet
time to myself.
    My
phone buzzed. It was a text from Sam, saying she might not be able to
come because she was held up at her part time job…with a sorry
face at the end of the text. I texted her back…no worries. It
had been another hour of silence, when suddenly, an angelic friendly
whisper disrupted me. “Hey, Kat right?”
    “ Ye…ah...”
I said slowly as I looked up, trying to recall a vaguely familiar
voice. A guy in his early twenties was leaning toward my table. He
was tall with clipped, short, blonde, almost spiky hair, wearing a
green t-shirt and plaid shorts.
    “ I
saw you at the Blue Lagoon restaurant…” His voice almost
a whisper as he waited for me to recognize him. But my reaction
showed nothing that would give a hint that he was somebody familiar.
    “ You
were our waitress.” He smiled again in anticipation.
    Suddenly,
I felt a little silly for not instantly remembering that one
embarrassing moment when I accidentally spilled soda on someone. I
couldn’t stop apologizing, but he was so sweet about the whole
incident.
    “ Oh,
I spilled soda on you!” my face turned awkward as I recalled
how clumsy I was even on my second night at work. I cupped my hand
over my mouth, embarrassed, I was
about to apologize again.
    “ Don’t
start apologizing or I might have to complain about you,” he
teased. His lips stretched to a grin. His eyes sparkled. I
laughed—almost silently, wanting to be as courteous as I
possibly could without being rude to everyone else that was around
us. He laughed too, though he didn’t hold anything back.
    All
of a sudden, he fumbled at his words as his face turned slightly
heated red and his fingers fidgeted into a nervous shake. “So…um…I
was wondering if I could take you out some time?” his voice,
almost a whisper now, while his eyes hinting toward uncomfortable as
he waited for my response.
    I
quickly contemplated whether to let him down easy or take him up on
it. It was automatic for me to turn down a date. I had been doing it
for so long, it surprised me that I was even weighing on a different
answer.
    “ Sure,”
I said, brushing a hint of smile on