First Day of School (Pt. 2)

--- Jon ---

It didn’t even take him but a few minutes to scout the school grounds and grab his school schedule. And not seeing Aliyah anywhere he went, he decided to search the place that the book loving girl could usually be found between classes.

Stepping into his school’s library, a newly developed part of him couldn’t help but lament the fact that said library was in worse shape than both Blackwell’s public library, and De Sade’s private. That wasn’t to say the library was bare, just that school budget put far less focus on maintaining and expanding it than a town largely governed by a man who respected knowledge and self-made power above all else.

Still, even if the library wasn’t up to his newly acquired personal standards, that didn’t mean it didn’t have what he was looking for on this excursion, given the young dark-skinned teen with her nose in a book at one of the tables.

Unfortunately, even though he’d found her he also found himself with an awkward reminder of both the fact that while he was very skilled for his age, none of those skills were exactly ‘social’ in nature, and that his friendships with Ying, Rosalind, and Pix were outliers all revolving around either magic or the dark side of Blackwell rather than any actual social ability on his part.

But luckily for him, Aliyah had her own brand of social awkwardness that largely left her either ignoring his own, or too focused on whatever book or project she was locked on to notice it at the very least.

Admittedly, that mutual awkwardness was the primary source of their friendship, as well as the primary reason why said friendship hadn’t really expanded beyond the schoolyard and their shared schoolwork.

Sighing to himself, he made his way over to the other teen’s table before knocking on it. An action that caused the bookish teen to jump fast enough to send her glasses off kelter.

Breathing a bit fast, Aliyah adjusted her glasses before realizing who was in front of her and letting out a sigh of relief as she gave him a soft smile. “Jon… you scared me there…”

“Heh, sorry…” He apologized as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Wasn’t expecting you to jump quite that high…”

“And I wasn’t expecting you to sneak up on me.” Aliyah pointed out drily.

“Fair enough.” He nodded with a bashful grin, as he took a seat across from her. “So, uh, how was your summer, I guess?”

“Same old, same old.” Aliyah admitted. “Mostly spent it reading books in my room. How was your… camping thing?”

(His axe got stuck in the beast’s side, and he was forced to let it go as another lunged at him with a vicious snarl…)

(He bit into his belt as he held the hot knife to the hole in his side, hoping that potion he dumped in it beforehand would deal with the scarring and possible infection…)

(The man -not a corrupted- aimed his gun at the shadows hiding him just out of sight of the (monster) in front of him as the faint whispering of a child’s cries made their way through the dark warehouse.)

“Same old, same old.” He echoed back, not feeling like opening that can of worms.

“Well, did you have fun at least?” Aliyah asked after he let things lapse into an awkward sort of silence.

(As they walked through the woods he pointed out the different plants and animals to the younger kids, trying to help them enjoy nature as much as he’d grown to.)

(Lightning danced across the circle before dashing into his jacket as it left the faint scent of ozone in the air, his mind just processing Miss Edna’s cheers in the background.)

(He stood in a clearing surrounded by downed foes, and while a part of him trembled another finally felt vindication in the decade or so of training he’d done with his ma, as a mad laugh of relief and satisfaction worked its way up his throat.)

(He jolted awake, and after taking a moment to get his bearings -and realize he wasn’t in danger- he took another to note Ying and Pix passed out comfortably around the campfire, along with all of the Camp Bet counselors who’d joined in celebrating the camp’s continuation next Summer.

And he couldn’t quite stop the content smile that) made its way on his face.

“Yeah, it was fun in its own way.” He had to admit.

“That’s good.”

“Mm-hmm.” He hummed, before frowning as he realized something. “Actually, I meant to ask, but isn’t the library usually closed for the first couple of weeks of school? Especially at this hour?”

Honestly, him getting in, let alone finding her here, had been a bit of a longshot now that he thought about it.

“U-usually,” Aliyah admitted with a bit of a chuckle, “but uh, since I help out here a lot they gave me a bit of leeway and let me in, even though they’re still getting the system set up.”

“So, you can read the books but not check them out?” He figured, being one of the school’s few frequent readers.

“Pretty much.” Aliyah nodded. “Though I spend so much time here that I don’t really mind.”

“Hm, you think they’d mind if I found something to read for the next hour or so?” He asked as his eyes drifted to the school’s sole librarian working at computer behind the library counter.

Aliyah shook her head. “I doubt it. The librarian usually encourages people to read as much as she can.”

“Then I guess, I’ll see if I can’t find something.” He told her, getting out of his seat.

“I’m sure you will, summer is one of the few times a year they update the catalogues.” Aliyah informed him.

“Good to know.” He nodded, as he set out to find something.

He knew whatever he managed to find wouldn’t be as interesting as his books on magic back home -especially given the sources of said books- but he was sure that between his own interests and recent experiences, he’d find something of interest if checked the library’s psychology books.