Perfect | Book 1

04 |

Chord looked for Scarlett the next day, but he couldn't find her. He searched the cafeteria for that fiery red hair but all he saw was dull colors and lost a few brain cells watching the others.

She wasn't in the outside area or her class. When classes changed, he expected her to pop up and walk alongside him but she never appeared.

This happened for two days. By that point, a pit grew in his stomach though he didn't understand why. Did she finally take his words to heart and stop trying to talk to him?

Even if she had, that didn't explain why he didn't see her during breaks. The school isn't that big in the first place. She just wasn't at school.

By day three of no sign of her, he resigned himself to his usual corner of the library.

However, someone was already there, curled up in fetal position asleep under the bottom shelf of the anime selection. When the initial surprise wore off, he noticed the ends of bright red hair sticking out from the hood.

It couldn't be. . .?

He nudged the sleeping person with his foot. "Scarlett?" When she didn't answer, he nudged a bit harder. "Scar-?"

"Don't warn the tadpoles!" She bolted awake, her head hitting the shelf above her with a loud SMACK! as she curled in on herself. Some of the manga fell off the shelf and onto the carpet as she muttered a string of curses. Clutching her head, she turned her head to look up at Chord. "Mind giving me a hand?" She held out an arm to him and he took it, pulling her out from under the shelf. How small was this girl? I barely used any strength.

"Thanks. God, I would leave my aspirin at home the day I bang my head." She winced when she touched the top of her head, her lips pouting.

"Tadpoles?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow up.

Scarlett's face turned pink and she covered her head with her hood. "S-Shut up. I have frog fear. Don't laugh."

Chord felt his mouth turn up in a smile, but he quickly covered it with a cough. "Is there a reason you were sleeping under the shelf? Also, I'm surprised you can fit under there."

Scarlett shrugged. "Being small and under five feet has its benefits. I was the Queen of Hiding and Seeking as a kid." She smiled. "I was hiding."

"From what?"

"Xander. He's been following me for days." She scrunched up her nose, scratching at the bandaid across her cheek. "I'm afraid he's probably gonna try to ask me out. I can just imagine the originality in that. 'You're hot. I'm hot. What do you say we do something Friday night?'. It didn't take much of my brain cells to figure out what department he was thinking with. I'm not sure why that neanderthal thinks I'll ever entertain him."

"But why in the shelf? I doubt Xander knows how to read, so you should be safe in here."

Scarlett knelt down to pick up the manga. "I. . .ended up falling asleep here. I can fall asleep anywhere, to be honest." She looked at the covers as she started putting them back on the shelf. "Oh, Haikyuu volume 6." She handed him the book. "Hold that for me."

When she was done, she stood up with four other manga books, holding them to her chest like a child. "What are you doing here?" she asked as he handed her the last volume back. "You come to raid the manga too?"

"Uh, well, I usually have lunch here. The cafeteria is always a bit . . ." Bigoted for my tastes.

"Crowded?"

He nodded, looking at her for a moment before looking away. His aunt's words echoed in his head again and he shifted on his feet. Talking wasn't a strong suit of his, let alone with a girl, so this felt worse than it normally would.