Silence in the Library [Adaryn]

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Libraries were meant to be silent.

Penelope gritted her teeth, trying to ignore the boy chatting quite obnoxiously on his phone. Did people have any idea sense of respect these days? There were many other places a person could chat on the phone, so why did he feel the need to do it in there? It wasn’t even a quick conversation; it had been going on for thirteen minutes now.

It was becoming increasingly harder to not give the boy a piece of her mind. Penelope stood, walking away from the table she claimed as her own and headed towards the fantasy section in hopes to distract herself from the noise.

She glanced at her watch. Fourteen minutes.

That was it. Penelope let out a quiet, frustrated sigh. With determination, she walked up behind him, tapping him on the shoulder. When the boy turned, she grabbed his phone and ended the call. “Are you even aware that people are trying to work in here?” She stated quietly but sternly.

The boy was clearly annoyed, but Penelope had stopped caring at that point. She simply turned on her heel and headed back to looking for her book. The boy muttered something crude under his breath, but left anyway.

Oh. Silence. How she loved it.

Scanning the shelf, Penelope caught sight of a familiar book and reached a hand out to grab it.

[Adaryn Breslin]

Adaryn was in the library for peace and quiet, as it was the only place in Hammel, that would provide that. She could probably go to the pond, but there was more of a chance of that being a bit more occupied and chatty than the library. Well, not usually. Today, however, it seemed that Adaryn wasn't able to have the luxury of silence as a guy was obnoxiously chatting someone up on the phone.

Couldn't they do that somewhere else?

Of course, Addie wasn't a confrontational girl. Well, unless she was heavily depressed. But she wasn't, so the brunette was simply fuming within the confines of her own mind. God, this guy is such a jerk, was typically what she kept repeating, except each time, instead of a jerk, it started to become a string of derogatory and inappropriate terms. It seemed like 15 minutes he was on the phone. Adaryn shoved down her growing frustration as best she could and continued to browse the books. But then she noticed a girl walk straight up to him and take the phone and hang up.

Adaryn's jaw dropped.

If only she could do something like that! Life would probably be so much easier. Afraid of looking like a stalker, Addie She continued to browse the books, idly, not really paying much attention to where she was going. until she had found a book she may have enjoyed. Reaching out a hand to grab it, Adaryn felt the warmth of another hand against her own, and she jerked back, only to be greeted by the sight of the girl who had the audacity to confront that boy.

"Uh, sorry..." Adaryn said with a small, embarrassed blush.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Penelope hadn’t been expecting someone else to reach for the same book, and she instinctively pulled her hand back. She looked at the girl, and gave a polite smile, a completely different attitude than how she had treated the chatty boy. In general, Penelope was actually very polite, or, at least, she treated someone fairly until she deemed that they did not deserve it.

“No need to be,” Penelope stated quietly, keeping her volume at a library appropriate level. She brought her hand up and tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear as she looked at the stranger with curiosity. Penelope had never seen her before – not that she really paid much attention to people anyway. “By all means, it’s yours. I’ve already read it.” There wasn’t really a need for her to read it again, she had just been looking for a bit of casual reading, and it wouldn’t be hard to find a book instead of that one. “Are you a fan of the author?” She inquired, not really one for chitchat, but books were the one thing she could talk about all day.

[Adaryn Breslin]

Adaryn appreciated the fact that this girl did respect the most basic of rules that were to be followed in a library. Her hushed tone reflected that respect. She smiled softly as the girl gave her the permission to take the book, and her intrigued was piqued when the girl said she had already read it. Adaryn had heard it was a fantastic read from online sources and some small chatter she overheard in the library.

Adaryn, being the introvert that she was, didn't really know how to respond to the girl except by saying. "Thank you, and uh, yeah I am. I've read the previous series she had." By this time, Addie usually had a first impression. Her mental shield fell ever so slightly so she could determine her emotions. For the most part, the brown eyed girl in front of her seemed relatively calm, her annoyance from the whole ordeal with the loud mouth fading quickly.

"And I really wanted to delve into some historical fiction, since it is a genre I never explored," The girl added quietly, her eyes falling to the cover of the book.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

A hint of a smile played about Penelope’s lips as she listened to the girl. It seemed like this girl knew her stuff, and Penelope always appreciated a fellow book lover. It seemed rare in today’s day and age to find someone their age who treasured a good read.

Penelope was, too an introvert, which was one of the reasons she was often found in the library. Tons of books and the perfect excuse to avoid unneeded social situations. Yet, when she thought that she could have a conversation that was stimulating, then she found herself rather enjoying them.

“I love her writing style. Very powerful. Such raw emotion.” Penelope said softly, putting her finger to her chin. “It’s a great book, really.” She offered a true smile, “And if you like it, I have more from this series that the library doesn’t have.” Penelope didn’t often offer a book to someone else, but she got a good vibe from the girl.

[Adaryn Breslin]

"I agree. The way she was able to convey emotion... I definitely appreciated it." Emotion was a tricky thing for Addie, considering she was an Empath. So when she could feel the emotion through the pages as strong as she could in everyday life, well, that was something Adaryn enjoyed very much.

The book talk seemed to relax Adaryn, and though her posture still remained stiff, her eyes softened and her stuttering minimized. There still was a slight fear of saying the wrong thing, but for some reason, she felt that this girl wouldn't find anything that she said to be wrong as long as it stayed on the topic of books.

"I would appreciate that," Adaryn said, her tone indicating slight shock. She would never lend a book out to anyone unless she trusted them, let alone someone she just met. She took pride in maintaining the book, keeping it in a condition that would always be described as 'like new'.

"I'm Adaryn," She said, thinking that if the girl would lend out a book, then she should at least know her name.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

“Penelope,” she returned, not offering a hand. She never did in those situations. “It’s a pleasure.” For once, Penelope actually found herself meaning it. She very rarely liked interacting with people, but this girl seemed polite enough, and of course she liked books, and good books at that.

“It’s not a problem,” Penelope felt like the girl could take care of these things, and if not, well, she’d have problems when they happened, but it was worth the risk of spreading the love of the series.

She paused a second, unsure where to go with the conversation. She was never the best at socializing.

[Adaryn Breslin]

Adaryn was adverse to touch, but to avoid seeming rude and losing a potential friend, Addie took Penelope's hand and gave it a quick squeeze and shake. Adaryn already liked her, even though they had just met. She couldn't quite say that she had the best with her judgement of people, but this girl definitely seemed different. Maybe she would have a good time getting to know her?

The conversation seemed to fall, and Adaryn panicked a bit internally. She was a crap conversationalist, and didn't really have much to say usually, unless it was coaxed out of her. She enjoyed being spoken to and responding to that. To try to save them from the impending awkwardness that would ensue if this silence kept up, Adaryn pulled something from the depths of her mind, and spoke. "So I admire you for going up to that, uh, guy who was talking on the phone. I wouldn't have been able to do that myself."

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Penelope looked down as Adaryn took her hand, eyebrows knitting together as she slowly reciprocated the handshake. There wasn’t anything wrong with it, of course, but Penelope usually avoided such contact with anyone.

Surprisingly, the contact didn’t deter her first impression of the girl. She seemed nice. Smart. So few kids were these days, so Penny knew that she had to appreciate the outliers.

As silence fell between them, Penelope shifted on her feet slightly, eyes glancing over towards the bookshelf. She had only looked back when the girl spoke again.

It took Penelope a moment to even process the statement. She had already forgotten about the guy – he was unimportant and not worth remembering, in Penny’s opinion, but once she did realize what the girl was talking about, a small genuine smile tugged at her lips.

“Thank you. I have little patience for those sort of things.” At least somebody appreciated her efforts.

[Adaryn Breslin]

"I don't either, but I'm too afraid to even do anything about it."

How sad was that? But she was going to be honest, since Penelope seemed to be a person that she could be honest with. Adaryn may not have been the best judge of character from first glance, since her motto was 'push away and stay safe', but if they managed to break the initial wall, it was a lot easier to get to her.

The smile that Adaryn managed to put on the Brit's face caused a small blush of her own. Even to this day, getting used to making others happy, even in the slightest, was a difficult thing for her to do.

"I'm learning though. Being incredibly shy never does me any good."

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Penny gave a small nod, “Sometimes it can be hard to approach people.” That was something Penelope knew well; when she was younger, she had been much more shy than she currently was. Although she was still an introvert, over the years she had gained more confidence to approach people if she felt the need to.

Today, Penelope wouldn’t call herself shy; instead she just chose to ignore most people. She wasn’t quite positive how to handle the comment though. Her lips pursed in thought as she remained silent for a few seconds.

“It’s not bad to be shy, unless you dislike it.” She said carefully, thinking over the hundreds of times she was told not to be shy.

[Adaryn Breslin]

"I know the feeling way too well," Adaryn nodded, the comment on approaching people reigning true, and honestly dictating a lot of what she didn't do. It was more a fear of hurting, since past experience showed her that she could. It was a matter of waiting for people to hurt her. But if she didn't approach them, they never could hurt her, right? But being afraid all the time only held her back. She gave a smile to the brown haired Brit on her next statement.

"Being shy is fine, I think. But when you let it get in the way of living your life, well, it may not be the best thing." Adaryn explained, her eyes gazing at the book in her hands. She always had an obsession with which printing the book was. First Editions were the most exciting. She flipped to the credits page. 3rd printing. Reasonable.

"Your accent," She then asked out of curiosity. "You're English, yes? Where from?" She really hoped she wasn't pressing.

[Penelope Serrano-Blaise]

Penny nodded at the statement; she wasn’t one to bring her own experience into things, and so she remained quiet. She did agree with the statement, but she always felt that people took the saying ‘living your life’ too far. Someone could live their life, say, reading and studying instead of going skydiving or something equally absurd. It was all about perspective.

Penelope watched as the girl flipped through the book, taking note that she paused to look at the publishing information. Her expression remained neutral, but Penny appreciated when people did such things. After all, she always did the same.

An eyebrow rose at the question, simply because she wasn’t expecting it. “Yes, I am.” She said, not thinking it was important information, but the other had asked, so she answered politely enough. “I was born in Blackpool.”

[Adaryn Breslin]

A crap conversationalist was what Addie was. After the whole 'Oh where are you from' comment, she didn't know how to continue on. It took her a few moments, but eventually she came up with something decent. "First off, I apologize for my lack of social skills but I'm trying," She gave a nervous laugh then.

"Do you want to come with me so I can check this book out?" It was getting a bit strange just sitting there, and personally, she wanted to sit down for a bit and maybe speak that way. She waited for Penny to agree before making her way towards the librarian's desk.

"So, how did you manage to get transferred to Hammel? I always assumed kids from Europe went to Kocher instead?" Addie came from Illinois, so it was a given she came to Hammel. But she had always assumed all the European students, unless they specifically asked for Hammel, would go to the school in Switzerland.