4.24PM, Tuesday, Dec. 22th
Beaumont Library, New York
I sighed heavily, massaging my eyes as I tried to refocus my vision. I’d managed to escape the apartment – currently a loud, messy whirlwind of tinsel, wrapping paper and mini inflatable Santas – and I’d run to the library, the only place I could think of that not only encouraged silence but reinforced it. And, being only several days before Christmas, it was almost utterly empty as everyone was busy greasing paper or whatever the quirky Manhattan people did at Christmas. So I was in here, sat at my laptop, trying to type.
Reading over my “book”, I’ve realized most of it is bull. In fact, this whole project has been completely wrecked because I fell for one of the test subjects. My fingers tapped periodically on the keyboard as I stared at the meaningless words on my screen.
Mr. Right Now generally is Bad Boy. Though Bad Boys hold a certain charm, and almost every girl can’t resist one, the truth is that a Bad Boy will always disappoint, while a Nice Guy – Mr. Right Now – will always surprise you, and make you smile.
Oh, God. I stabbed on the backspace, erasing about half a page. None of it was true. Jake was never a douche. He was the sweetest guy I’d ever met. I banged my head on the table, hard, trying to clear my thoughts. I took a deep breath and slowly, reluctantly, I clicked return. The deleted words flooded back onto the page. Sighing again, I resumed the finger tapping.
“Summer? Are you okay?”
I looked up, and smiled at Oscar.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, standing up to give him a short hug. “Are you back in Manhattan for Christmas? You come here so much.”
“You don’t want me to come?” Oscar said, playing hurt. He was smiling broadly.
“Of course I don’t want you to come. Kidding, Oscar!” I added, when his face dropped a bit. “I’m just worried. Isn’t your dorm really far from here?”
“It’s not too far,” he said vaguely, his eyes fixed on the laptop screen behind me. I shifted, to block his view slightly. Even though he knew and everything, I didn’t think he would want to know the gory details – even though he usually provided me with all the details of his dates. Oscar’s eyes flickered from behind my back to my face. “Anyway, I didn’t think you’d be here. What are you doing in this library? I mean, how did you even get here? There’s about a foot of snow – the weatherman said it’s going to snow heavily for the next week or so.”
“My house was too noisy,” I said, as nonchalant as I could. “You know what cheesy Christmas movies do to Mom and Sammy. They go totally hyper. I’m only here for some quiet time. I have to finish the project.”
“Oh,” he said, his voice going completely dead. “The project. Right.”
There was an awkward silence for a while. I cleared my throat, shattering it.
“What are you doing here, Oscar?” I said, forcing my voice to be jubilant. “The library hotties?”
Oscar raised an eyebrow. “I have a girlfriend, you know. Heidi.”
“Another one? Wow, Oscar. I think you should find a nice girl some day and settle down. You won’t stay young forever, you know, and your looks will probably fade. Well, more than they already have. I think third grade was your prime.”
“You sound so old and wise.”
“I know,” I sighed. “My wise-ness is a burden.”
“Wise-ness isn’t a word.”
