Sprigs from Ice

Part One// 5. Roots in Sand

David chuckled. "Don't hurt yourself."

With a light chuckle, I began to enter the library, but he only grabbed my arm and pulled me back again. I gave him a questioning look. My good humor drained every time he touched me with such familiarity. It didn't seem like he thought much of it, though.

He was preoccupied with something in the distance, drawing in a corner of his lower lip to stifle a laugh. I followed his line of sight to see what he was staring at.

Astrid and Adam were in a heated discussion. Adam looked tense, rapidly mouthing words I couldn't make out, and Astrid poked him in the chest with a finger, glaring at him. He said something that caused her to swipe at her eyes angrily and snap at him. With a sigh, Adam held her wrist and pulled her out of sight.

I pursed my lips. "What is he going to say to her?"

"Not a clue. I generally stay out of their business."

"Isn't she your cousin?" I angled my body so I was staring up at him. "You should care a lot more than that."

"So I've been told." He leaned back against the wall. "I did warn her about what she was getting into when she decided to date him. But Astrid is Astrid."

David had only started Crown Academy in JHS One, fresh from the UK and baffled by our educational system. There had never been any situations that put both him and Adam in the same place for long, aside club meetings -and they sat in opposite sides of the room for that. They weren't friends.

How did David seem to know Adam so well, then?

"Come on." He lightly tapped my shoulder. "You came here to study. Let's go in."

Only a handful of students were scattered about the library. One of the Form Ones looked engrossed in a novel with worn brown pages. One look at the cover had heat shooting from my toes to my hairline, and I cleared my throat and looked away.

God, why did they even have such books here?

David and I took a seat at an empty table next to the blinds, facing an art wall. As I set up my tablet, he placed a black notebook I hadnt noticed before on the table.

"What are you doing?" He asked quietly, peering over as I turned on the device.

"I'm just going to read something." I replied. "Didn't you come here to learn?"

He shrugged. "I was going to do some research." A thick brow slowly inched up as he watched me load a pdf on the tablet, and he frowned. "Why are you reading that?"

Mum had sent me a magazine about the various technologies in the energy sector, perhaps hoping to get me prepared for my internship at Dad's company. Staring at it, I had a feeling the air around me was getting heavier, clinging to my skin in an uncomfortable way, like clotted blood.

It was dread.

"Just because." I mumbled, but David heard me.

"You don't want to read that."

"Excuse me?"

He chuckled and picked up the tablet, swiping down to reveal the widgets pane. "I know you love to read, but a magazine like this is just absurd. Even for you."

I folded my arms across my chest and glared at him. "I'm sure I was going to enjoy reading it." Even as I spoke the words, I felt a sort of relief in my chest when he closed the document.

"You were staring at it like it contained a death sentence." He brought up the keyboard and tapped a few letters. The Wi-Fi icon at the top of the screen turned white.