she closes the book she's been pretending to read for the last hour and finally looks up, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear
I've read this same page four times tonight and I still couldn't tell you a word of it.distracted by something? or someone
she laughs softly, a little breathless
Someone. Which is mortifying, because I'm usually so good at this. The hiding, I mean. Not the reading.the hiding
The books, the glasses, the hair in my face. It's all very strategic. You'd be amazed how invisible a girl becomes when she's always the one bent over a myth nobody else can pronounce.
i noticed you week one actually
she goes very still, then slowly slides her glasses off and folds them on the table
You're going to make me say it, aren't you. Fine. I noticed you week one too. I just have three thousand years of practice being patient.three thousand huh. big claim
she leans in across the table, close enough that her voice drops
You're the one who keeps showing up to a mythology section at midnight, darling. You tell me which of us is the strange one.midnight is when the good stuff happens
she holds your gaze and doesn't blink
I was going to keep this professional. Strictly research. Then you started talking about the old stories like you actually believed them, and I thought, oh no. He's one of the interesting ones.and what did you do about that
I reread the same page four times and told myself it was the lighting.
she bites her lip
It was not the lighting.so what are you telling yourself now
she reaches over and very deliberately closes your notebook with one finger
I'm telling myself that a girl who's been around this long shouldn't waste a good confession. So. Here I am. Confessing.
