Noah and Leigh

1: Noah

           The first thing Noah Ridge noticed about the girl was that she smelled like coffee and cinnamon. She placed her things down on the table three seats away with her back to him. All he could see was the long, thick braid that cascaded down her back and the soft knitted material that covered her slender shoulders.

            He decided he liked the smell of coffee and cinnamon.

            The next day, she returned to the same table with an oversized bag. Then she started removing her textbooks and stacking them in a pile in the corner of the desk. Noah craned his neck and read the spines: biology, business, mathematics. Then she plugged in her earphones and started studying.

            He didn't know why, but he smiled.

            On Monday, she came back at the same time. She wore a black and white uniform with her dark hair tied up. At the back of her neck was a birthmark, the size of a fingernail and the shape of a crescent moon. She was a high school student.

            He was in university.

            Friday afternoon, she turned and looked at him. Her skin was golden, a soft dusting of freckles on her nose. Her slanted eyes were brown, eyelashes long. She had an Asian heritage. Her thin lips twitched into a small smile. Half Korean, maybe? Nevertheless.

            He thought she was beautiful.

            The days went by and Noah learnt something new each time she arrived. He knew she didn't like green or orange lollies. She'd always leave those in the bag before she threw it out. He knew she liked to read; she issued out a book every second day, mostly contemporary. He knew she wrote with black pens and never blue.

            He was starting to know her, without formally introducing himself.

            Sometimes she'd wear a blazer to the library; her school's crest sewn proudly on her breast. On the collar of her shirt was a collection of badges; a silver Duke of Edinburgh award, a silver cross. Sometimes she'd wear a leather jacket pierced with buttons of cartoon characters, book titles, song lyrics. The material looked worn and there was a rip under her left arm, but she either didn't notice, or didn't care. Sometimes she'd wear an oversized hoodie over her uniform. At the back, was the year printed in gold, signalling her graduation in a few short months. But that wasn't what Noah was most interested in. Right below the year was her name: Leigh.

            He repeated her name in his head, over and over. Leigh.

            Noah decided he wanted to introduce himself, so he stood; palms sweating as he slowly approached her. He felt his heart racing, so loud he wouldn't have been able to hear a damn marching band if they had strolled into the library unexpectedly. As he neared, he inhaled the scent of coffee and cinnamon and suddenly turned, disappearing into one of the aisles. Noah cursed himself for wimping out.

            He looked over to see if she had noticed, but she hadn't.

            The following day, Noah tried something different. He noticed how she always had ten minute breaks between each hour she was at the library. The first break, she abandoned her things and went to the bathroom. The second break, she headed to the east wing and browsed the Young Adult books, always returning with one or two finds. So while she took her bathroom break, he wrote a note in the corner of his book, tore it out, and left it on top of her textbook to find.

            Then he returned to his seat, kept his head down, and waited.