Our Destiny

8. Hey Black

***

The lesson hours flew by for Alex relatively quickly, and before she knew it, she found herself in the same company as in the morning, except this time they were sitting in the cafeteria. Trays with something resembling spaghetti lay on the table, untouched by any of them so far.

"We still have that history project due tomorrow," Mike groaned unhappily at the thought of the next day. He really didn't feel like spending several hours writing about something that happened so long ago and had almost no impact on the present.

"We don't even have the materials, and we don't know which books to look in," Collins mentioned, taking a sip of water from his bottle. At these words, his friends' faces soured even more.

"Alex can help you," Katie said immediately.

"What can I do?" the brunette asked, sending her a surprised, pitying look.

"She always helps me and George find books," she replied, as if she didn't see the murder in the eyes of her friend standing beside her.

"I'll stop..." she muttered angrily, and seeing Logan's amused look, she became even more irritated. However, she tried not to show it, so she forced a fake smile, which made Black unable to hold back and simply snorted quietly. The whole situation seemed immensely amusing to him, especially when he saw the frustration on the brunette's face.

"Will you really help us?" Collins asked gratefully.

"No" she immediately grumbled, and suddenly felt Katie jabbing her in the shoulder with all her might. "I mean, yes, gladly."

"How nice of you," Logan said sarcastically, finding it increasingly amusing compared to the girl.

"Just come on," she grumbled, walking ahead without even checking if they were following her. She just wanted to get it over with. Eventually, however, the four of them stood between the shelves, waiting for the brunette to find the right shelf and book.

"This library is huge," the gray-eyed boy noticed, turning around with shock written all over his face. The room was truly huge, and finding anything here bordered on a miracle. Dozens of tall wooden shelves surrounded everything from every side, and books practically spilled out of them. Additionally, in one of the corners, there were several small tables with chairs and lamps placed on them. Students sat at them, doing overdue homework or reading another story, thereby entering a completely different world. There was only one window in the room, but it occupied half of the wall. Logan had to admit. This place had an amazing charm.

"But you've never been to any other library before, so how do you know?" Chris retorted provocatively, and strangely, right after those words, a large, heavy book fell on his head. The boy hissed, massaging the sore spot, then looked at his friend with a hostile look. Alex, seeing the situation unfold, looked up in surprise, examining the place from which the book fell. She had no idea how it could fall when it was tucked among others. She picked it up, examining it closely.

"I was just looking for it," she said, then grabbed two more lying on the shelf next to it. She handed one to each of them, then turned and headed towards the exit. Chris, however, grabbed the book he received in the hardcover and smacked his friend hard with it. A slight grimace of pain appeared on Logan's face, and he began to massage his left shoulder, where he was hit.

"Idiots," she thought, picking up her pace.

***

Alex spent the following days studying, meeting with friends, and, to her dissatisfaction, also with Jake and his friends. They bumped into each other more and more often, which usually ended in conversations followed by various outings. They started bumping into each other so frequently that they eventually started arranging meetings with them as well. Thus, hanging out in cafes or at dormitory parties became the norm. Alex was happy to see smiles on her brother's and her friend's faces, but she still couldn't come to terms with the thought that this would be the new normal. Despite many moments spent with her new acquaintances, she still couldn't warm up to them. And this time, she really tried.