Chapter One
JULIA
Present Day
“What are you doing here?” I ask as I pull a graphic novel from the shelf in front of me. “You’re supposed to be on the other side of the room.”
Finding a misplaced book in the non-fiction section wouldn’t normally be something I find curious, but considering it’s the latest release of the most popular series in my middle school library right now, I find this highly suspicious.
“Hideaway book?” my friend, and current parent volunteer helper, Mandy Stephens, asks as I tuck the book in question into my cart.
“Yes, likely a student trying to hide it. Who knows why middle schoolers do what they do?”
Running my finger along the spines in front of me, I search until I find the numbers I’m looking for. With a smile, I slide The History of the British Columbia Gold Rush into its proper place, hoping the student who borrowed it gained a wealth of knowledge about that era.
“You have that look on your face again,” Mandy says as she appears beside me, taking a handful of books from my cart. “I’ve never understood your love of reshelving books.”
“I don’t know. There’s something wonderful about knowing that a child picked these books.”
“Likely due to an assignment,” she mutters, sliding a book onto the top shelf.
“Or because of a genuine interest. They may be young and full of slang I don’t fully understand half the time, but they have a real thirst for knowledge.”
“A thirst, huh?” she asks with a smirk.
Turning to face her, I hug the book to my chest, resting my hip on the shelf beside me. “You’d be surprised. In fact, Tommy was in there just the other day, looking for books about the Titanic.”
“Tommy? My Tommy?” Her eyes widen as her hand flies to her chest.
“Yes, your Tommy.” I chuckle. “He knows quite a lot about the ship, too. Said he may have to start looking into icebergs soon.”
“Icebergs?” Her eyebrows raise as her eyes get impossibly wider.
“Yes, he said he wanted to know how lettuce was able to sink a whole ship.” I bite my lip, trying as hard as I can not to laugh, but I lose it as soon as she replies.
“And there it is.” The hand on her chest rises to the bridge of her nose, pinching it as she squeezes her eyes shut.
Neither of us can hold it in any longer, and we both laugh loudly. Louder than would normally be acceptable in a library, but thankfully, it’s my free block.
Mandy wipes at her eyes. “Did you manage to keep a straight face when he said that?”
“At first, but then Marcus swatted at his shoulder and said, ‘Come on, it couldn’t have been a whole head of lettuce. It was probably a lettuce farm or something.’” I start laughing harder this time, my eyes now filling with tears.
I hope I won’t look like a wet raccoon when I walk into the staff room for lunch in ten minutes.
“He did not! Those two… Sometimes, I wonder about them.”
“Well, don’t worry. I corrected them; saying there are no lettuce farms in the Atlantic Ocean, then gently guided them over to our Titanic section. When I walked away, I heard them wondering if any of the books would describe if Jack could have fit on the door or not.”
Mandy blows out a breath and looks up at the ceiling. “I can’t…” The bell rings, and a rush of voices echoes through the halls. “Well, I guess that means my volunteer time is done.”
“And I get my lunch break.” I put the book back on the cart, letting out a deep breath. I’d had high hopes of getting all these back to their rightful homes, but they will have to wait until later this afternoon now.
“So… does this mean you’ll be going to the staff room?” Mandy asks, following me as I push the cart back to my desk.
“Where else would I eat lunch?” I chuckle. “If I don’t hide in there, students will find me, and then they’ll start asking questions. Then I’ll never be able to eat.”
“So then, that means you’ll see Lucas?” She avoids my gaze as she swings her tote over her shoulder, nearly knocking herself off balance.
I always wonder how she can carry that without permanently injuring herself, but she always scoffs and waves me off when I ask. Which tells me that she probably has permanently injured herself but continues to do it anyway.
“Yes, he will probably be in the staff room… Why?” I raise my eyebrow, watching as she readjusts the straps before picking at her perfectly manicured fingernails.
“No reason.”
“Mandy…”
“What?” she asks innocently, finally meeting my gaze.
“You ask me that every time you’re in here helping me, and the answer is always, yes, I’ll be spending my lunch break with Lucas. He’s my best friend, and we’re colleagues. Why wouldn’t I eat lunch with him?”
She huffs out a breath, the bangs of her blonde hair flying up for a moment before perfectly framing her pretty face. “Maybe because I’m waiting for you to realize that he’s not just your best friend.”
I roll my eyes. “Not this again.”
“You two have been dancing around this since high school. Don’t you think it’s time you both stopped pretending? Even the kids are shipping you together.”
“Are you picking up Tommy’s lingo?” I wince. “I thought we agreed we would never try to use the kids’ slang. It’s like our millennial pact, remember?”
“Stop trying to deflect.” I put my hand on my hip while trying to think of some way to placate my friend, when she says:
“Speaking of…”
“Hey, Lia. I ordered us some coffee from Bean There, Brewed That, and it’ll be here in a minute. Are you almost done here?”
I turn around to see Lucas’s messy mop of brown hair and green eyes framed with thin black glasses, poking inside the door, looking as if he’s a floating head. “Oh, hey, Mandy. Sorry, I didn’t know you’d be here, or I would have gotten you one too.”
“Don’t worry about it, Lucas, but thank you. I was just leaving,” Mandy says, sending me a wink. “Have a good lunch!” She waves her fingers at both of us before leaving through the library’s back door.
“What was that about?” he asks, stepping inside.
“Nothing. She was just helping me in the library for the block.” And interrogating me about my friendship–again–apparently. “Thanks for getting me a coffee. That was really sweet of you.”
“Well, it wasn’t for completely altruistic reasons. All I could think about all morning was the lemon Danish from the bakery. And coffee…” His gaze drifts off a bit, likely thinking about food.
I could swear that man is Joey Tribbiani when it comes to food.
“Anyways,” he says, snapping out of it. “Since the coffee shop carries both, I thought I’d just go for it. Two birds, one stone, and all that.”
“Oh… I do love Danishes.” I smile, thinking of all the delicious treats at Sugar Haven Bakery. My stomach rumbles thinking about the baked goods that always pair well with her coffee.
“Don’t worry, I got you one too,” he says with a chuckle. He looks down at his phone. “It’s here. Meet you in the staff room.”
He’s gone as fast as he appeared, leaving me alone in my library. The sound of students echoes louder as the hallways fill with people rushing to wherever they need to be.
Just not here.
Grabbing my lunch from my bag, I rush out of the room, hoping no one stops me on my way to the staff room.
Knowing there’s coffee and a treat waiting for me, I move faster, weaving through the students, who are mostly near my height of five-foot-three or taller, which I still find mildly disturbing for middle school-aged children.
The sanctuary of the staff room makes me smile as I’m welcomed by the hum of the microwave, the hushed conversation from a couple of teachers at a table in the corner, and the crackled sound of a radio from somewhere.
It’s an unspoken rule that the staff room is a quiet zone, as if we are afraid the students will find us if we make too much noise. Even though we are fully aware that we are behind a door literally labelled Staff Room.
I slide into a chair at an empty table, nodding at some of my colleagues, not wanting to disturb their well-earned break.
“That was a close call,” Lucas whispers as he slides onto the seat next to me. “I almost got caught in a mob of kids with questions about tomorrow’s quiz.”
I chuckle, wrapping my hands around the latte he slides in front of me. “That’s your own fault. You never should have told them there was a quiz. The element of surprise, my friend.”
“Maybe it’s a good thing librarians don’t give tests. I feel like you’d use the element of surprise on all of them. Even finals.” He doesn’t meet my gaze as he tears into the paper bag in front of him.
“I’m not that bad.” I roll my eyes. “I thought you said you got me one too.”
He closes his eyes as he bites into the pastry, icing getting all over his fingers and chin. “In the bag.” The words are barely audible as he takes another bite.
“You’re impossible.” Reaching across him, I grab the bag and peer in, making sure he ordered my favourite.
“Don’t worry, I got you the lemon one.”
“You know me so well.”
“I know how upset you’d be at me if I got you anything different.” He gives me a smirk as he puts the rest of his Danish in his mouth.
Shaking my head, I’m about to reach for my treat, when my phone buzzes. I pull it out of my jeans pocket, eyes widening as I see what’s on the screen.
“Luc!” I exclaim in a hushed tone, smacking his arm, not looking away from my phone. “Lucas, you’re not going to believe this.”
“That I didn’t think ahead and get us more Danishes? I know. Now we’re going to have to have an actual lunch…”
“What? No…” I grip his arm tighter to get his full attention. “It’s True North. They’re doing a reunion tour, and they’re coming to Vancouver!”