Page 32 of Library or Lattes?

“Nothing. I just don’t think it’s right for me anymore. Right, Lennie?” I looked at her desperately. She was planning for college in huge cities, halfway across the country.

“Yeah, sure. You look great and all, but I liked how you looked before too …”

To fill the silence that followed, I gave my friends a rundown of the best places to visit in London that weren’t total tourist traps. I knew they’d get excited too, if they just knew what I had waiting for me.

“I think Sara’s been to London …” Lennie added, just before the bell rang to start the day.

“Oh yeah? I’ll have to ask her if she saw the view from Primrose Hill.” I showed Lennie a video I’d found, but she hardly even looked at it.

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

“That’s why we need to get out of here. Am I right?” I grinned at Lennie, but she didn’t smile back.

“I gotta get to class,” she said briefly.

“Oh, me too, I have science and I always forget how far away it is.” Avery rushed off, leaving me with Krista.

“Okay, so on Friday we’re meeting at the diner, then going to the game, right?” she confirmed.

I had totally forgotten about our school spirit mission, and now, tbh, I didn’t really care. “Oh yeah, sounds great,” I forced myself to say.

“And then Harvest Festival on Saturday, obvi. I think Lennie’s hoping to see Sara there.”

A new thought crossed my mind. “Do you think Harvest Festival is actually cringe?” I mused as we picked up our bags and started walking.

“Never thought about it,” Krista said, examining her nails. “But who cares? We like it, and my mom and dad put a lot of effort and money into it. See ya!”

She walked off with her ponytail swinging behind her, and I wondered. Did we like it?

On Friday, I went right to the library after school to cram for a couple of hours before I met up with everyone. Of course I was going to ignore Theo if he happened to be there.

My phone buzzed as I walked through the door.

Lennie: See you at the game later? Sara’s going and I could do with some moral support ❤

Me: Of course!

Where else would I be?

Or … where else could I be?

I silenced my phone and walked into the library. And there he was, at the same desk, in beige chinos and this cozy brown woolen sweater that somehow made him look like he’d stepped out of Instagram. I was wearing my normal clothes again, back to basic. I couldn’t show up to the library like I was trying to impress him, after all, so jeans, sneakers, and hoodie it was.

“Hi, Doc,“ Theo said without looking up.

The heat rose in my cheeks as I remembered where that nickname came from. “Don’t call me that,” I said as I sat opposite him.

“Why not? I thought you were really into health care systems?” He glanced up and smirked before returning to his notes.

“I guess it’s better than your nickname, anyway.” I rolled my eyes and opened my laptop.

“Which is what?”

I tried to ignore his blue-eyed stare and focus on my screen, but I also wanted to see his face when I told him. “The Weatherman.”

He burst out laughing. “What? That’s a stupid nickname. How did you come up with that?”

“A stupid nickname for a stupid person,” I mumbled, and typed on my laptop. “Or just for someone who feels the need to mansplain the wind.”