บท 50: Chapter 50
"You disturbed my nap, you fool. Do you have a death wish?" the woman snapped.
Ana almost flinched at her tone, but managed to compose herself. "I was looking for the librarian…thought this might be their office."
The woman's gaze lingered on Ana, as she regarded her from toe to crown with a cloudy expression. She turned around and walked back into the room. "Come in!" She cried.
The office was small, cramped and cluttered with books, scrolls, and papers scattered haphazardly around the room. The desk and chair took up most of the space, leaving only a small pathway for her to move about. Books were piled high on the desk, spilling onto the floor. Some were even wedged between the bookshelf and the wall. Scrolls were strewn about the room, some rolled up, others unrolled and left wherever they had been read last. Pieces of paper with notes and reminders were stuck to the walls, while others lay crumpled on the floor.
The chair behind the desk looked old, covered in a worn and faded red fabric that was frayed at the edges. The desk was made of dark wooden panels and was covered in a thick layer of dust, except for a small space in the center that was cleared up for working.
Ana noticed a nameplate on the desk, partially covered by a book. She could only make out the last name, that read 'Hopkins'.
The woman, who noticed Ana staring at her name plate, spoke with an rigid tone. "My name is Madge. Stop wasting my time and tell me what you need." She sat on her chair and yawned as she opened a book.
Ana snapped her head up and quickly pulled out the book from her bag. "This book has some pages missing, and I couldn't find a complete copy. I was wondering if you could point me to one." Considering Madge's temperament so far, Ana thought it was best to feign ignorance about the missing pages being forbidden text.
Madge continued reading without bothering to take a glance at Ana's book. "Name of the book?"
"The Dynamics of Mana: An In-depth Study of Energy Manipulation."
Though she did not move her eyes from her book, Madge's left eyebrow shot up at the book title. "That information is forbidden. You won't find a copy on the regular shelves and you can't access the forbidden section."
"Where is the forbidden section?" Ana's tone leaked with curiosity.
"How does it matter if the section is forbidden?" Madge looked up at her in annoyance. "Now scram!" She barked.
Jumping at her retort, Ana muttered a thank you before leaving the stuffy office. She heard the door slam behind her before she exited the tiny hallway. Unable to suppress her intrigue, she walked the entire library covering every floor to look for the forbidden section, but to no avail.
Slumping her shoulders, as she made her way down to the exit. It was her fault to even try after Madge told her she would not find it. What did she expect? A rope tied around a few shelves with a forbidden sign over it? Feeling stupid and defeated, she made her way to the dining hall, leaving a message to Meghan to meet her there.
The smell of freshly prepared breakfast lifted her spirits. Grabbing a breakfast burrito and a glass of juice, she looked around to find a table when she heard George's voice call her name.
He was sitting by a table towards the windows with Alex and Austin, waving for Ana to join them.
"Hey Ana! Long time no see." Austin greeted her with a wide smile.
Alex smiled at her as she took a seat beside him. "How are you feeling Ana?"
"I'm all good now." She muttered. Although she was at peace with the incident at Natalie's party, Ana still felt uncomfortable whenever somebody mentioned it. "What have you guys been up to?" She diverted the topic from her.
"We were just discussing the soccer match coming up next Thursday. The winning team gets to skip training on Friday and that prize is bigger than the cup itself."
Ana grew excited. If Khai's team won, he would have Friday off and they could spend an extra day on their trip. "Are you all playing?"
"I'm only a sub and Alex plays for the Strikers. Austin, Khai and I play for the Raiders." George replied.
"Well Alex, you can kiss your long weekend goodbye, because we're winning anyway." Austin smirked. His eyes moved behind Ana for a split second before he asked her, "You're supporting us, aren't you Ana?"
"Definitely! I'll be there early for front row seats."
Alex's feigned exaggerated dejection as he placed his hands on his heart. "I'm heartbroken!" He cried woefully.
Ana broke out into giggles at his theatrics when she suddenly felt a hot gaze land on her.
"That acting deserves a Tony Award. You belong to broadway, Alex." Khai was brooding down at Alex from behind them, shooting a thunderous glare at him.
Alex's face went beet red and then pale white as he turned around to look at Khai. "I was just joking around. We were talking about the game next Thursday." His tone was flustered.
Ignoring him, Khai's gazed moved to Ana. "I was going to drop off some breakfast at your dorm room." He brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers.
Ana's flushed lightly at his public displays of affection. "I was at the library, so I stopped by myself."
He said nothing and simply took a seat next to her.
Meghan came to join them almost immediately, exhaling loudly as she took sat next to George. "Metrology has an evil sister named Isometry." She looked at Ana with a weary expression. "Let's study in the library today?"
Ana pressed her lips together, nodding at Meghan. "I'll see you there after class." Metrology was one of her weaknesses, so she knew Isometry would be no different. They would have to work extra hard on these subjects to catch up with the rest of their class.
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