Reality Check

The Book Club Debacle

What You Know (by The Two Door Cinema Club)

"And I can tell just what you want. You don't want to be alone, you don't want to be alone . . ."

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Bethany loved Saturday.

It was her favorite day of the week, because she could waste the whole day reading. Or studying. Because honestly, what better way to spend a day than flipping through books? Her mom sometimes had to drag her out of her room, to "get fresh air" and "hang out with friends" (not that Bethany had more than one friend). But Saturday was a day for leisure, for learning about new worlds. Or if nothing else, just getting to be home or at the library for a full day, instead of spending the majority of it at school.

The problem that often occurred, though, was her mandatory school book club.

Okay, it wasn't mandatory. And it wasn't always a problem. She'd joined the club a year ago, once she started high school. An easy excuse to talk about what she loved most: reading. She got to hang out with her friend Liz, too, who she'd met through the club. They were given a list of books and had to read a book per week, and every Saturday, they discussed what part they were at. It wasn't all that bad.

But she couldn't say she had to same love for the people in the book club itself. Although there were a few people in the club, Bethany couldn't exactly find common ground with anyone, because none of them enjoyed reading for fun except for her and Liz. Was it too much to hope that she'd make another friend who devoted themselves to books as much as her?

The book club meeting started at 9:30 am and went on for an hour, meeting a few times every week. It was held in her high school's library, open every Saturday for the students. Bethany thought it would be so much easier if they held it at her favorite library instead of the school. She really preferred not to go back to school again on the weekend, while the other students had two precious days to spend far away from it. She'd considered dropping out of the club before, of course, but why? She loved reading, and being apart of the club offered the opportunity to be forced to read.

The last person that attended their book club meeting was Mrs. Ugliano. She was a heavy-set woman who had taught English at her school for nearly twenty years. Over time, however, she was replaced by a younger teacher in her thirties, due to the fact that Mrs. Ugliano was in her seventies, and should be retiring soon. As an easy job, she became a counselor of the book club, and took charge of everything the girls had to read.

She led group discussions, gave them fun activities to do, and even let them perform small skits about the books they were reading. Not only was Mrs. Ugliano fun, but she was also kind, and she always prioritized the teenagers' needs before her's. She never seemed to get angry when the girls became too out-of-hand, and she'd always set aside everything she was doing whenever they wanted her attention. Once, she even took them out to ice cream, which was a double bonus.

For that reason, Bethany looked forward to every meeting, never missing a single one. It was a schedule she'd gotten accustomed to, a schedule that never changed.

So, imagine her surprise when she arrived at school at 9:28, exactly on schedule, only to find that the front door to her school was locked. That never happened. The front door was always open, except on Sundays. She tried jiggling the knob again; once, twice, three times. It didn't budge.

Frowning, she took out her phone and called Liz. After a few rings, she picked up. "Hello?"

"Liz! What's going on? I'm at school for the book club meeting, and—"

"Oh yeah!" Liz exclaimed. "The book club was canceled."

"What?" Bethany demanded, clenching the phone tighter. "Why?"