High school senior Jess Smith meets Ace of Spades, an online friend who helps her question her mask of celibacy and recognize her true asexuality. Except that their friendship begins to develop into something more.
[Featured April and May 2020 under...
Browsing aisle after aisle of all those amazing books in Dinand Library, I barely suppressed a squee of excitement. It was like meeting old friends for the first time. The library drew me deeper into its heart like a siren to sailors on the open sea.
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Never had I seen so many amazing language books. The Fitchburg and Leominster libraries both maintained a paltry linguistics section. When I'd found a battered cassette tape in order to teach myself German, I'd considered myself lucky.
"Gosh, Helen!" I pointed at a row of German books. "I wish I could take these home with me."
"They're all available to you if you decide to study here," she said, curling her lip. "But we have to start heading back to the dorm now. It's five-thirty."
"Just five more minutes?"
"Come on, bookworm." She led me by the hand back towards the main entrance. "We can come back tomorrow. Don't forget we have plans tonight."
I sighed. "Oh, all right."
"Just one more reason to transfer here for your sophomore or junior year," Helen said, giving me a gentle nudge out the exit. "I had to literally drag you out of there."
"Well, not literally..."
"Close enough," she said, checking her watch. "I mean, we need to get you ready."
"For what?"
"For your date, Jess!" She scoffed. "Come on, no one is that oblivious."
"Dude, Eric invited you and some other people," I said, trying to suppress nerves bubbling beneath the surface. "It's not a date."
"Yeah, so that he didn't ditch his friends or make it super obvious that he's into you."
"It's just a movie night," I said. "An awesome one, no doubt. But let's not read too much into it."
She rolled her eyes. "Hey, I've got an idea!"
Oh, dear!
"What about a makeover?" she asked, her eyes twinkling with delight.
"That's really nice of you, but I don't know."
"Come on, you've seen my handiwork," she said with a grin. "Don't you trust me?"
I cupped my neck with my palm. "I mean, what if Eric gets the wrong idea? I'm focused on final exams and graduation."
"Dude, the makeover is for you, not for him," she said with a scoff. "Come on, let me spoil you a little. You're a really pretty girl hidden under a tight bun and cheap granny clothes, no offense."
"Well, I brought only one other outfit," I said with a hint of chagrin. "And I'm pretty sure you're not going to like it any better."
She chuckled. "Luckily for you, I have lots of clothes."
