The bell rang. Students gathered their things and headed out to hang out with their friends, emptying the classroom. As Raine was packing her bag, she noticed Miss Lopez walking toward her.
"Raine, I need you to take over the library for me. I have a family emergency involving my mother. I hope it isn't too much trouble," Miss Lopez said.
Raine nodded. "It doesn't bother me at all, Miss Lopez. I can take care of it."
The teacher gave her a grateful smile and left immediately. Raine sighed, finished gathering her things, and went straight to the library. Once she arrived, she sat in the librarian's chair just as Miss Lopez had asked. She set her bag down and looked at the piles of abandoned books on the tables. Because she was the type of person who hated making multiple trips, she gathered all the books at once, piling them high in her arms.
She spent the next hour fixing the mess on the bookshelves and keeping an eye on the remaining students. As the sun began to set, casting long shadows across the room, Raine finally sat back down. She leaned her head back against the chair and closed her eyes.
"God... I'm so tired as fuck," she muttered to the empty room.
Just as she started to relax, she heard a muffled thud on the table. Her eyes snapped open, and she saw it: her favorite coffee, a Dark Americano Espresso. She looked up and found Nick standing there.
"Nick? What are you doing here?"
Nick shrugged nonchalantly. "I saw you looking stressed as fuck. Really stressed. I figured I'd bring you a coffee, maybe as a bit of appreciation for your hard work," he said, his voice cool and indifferent.
"Really? Thanks," Raine said, taking a sip. The caffeine hit her instantly.
Nick smirked, watching her over the rim of the cup. "You know, if you're that exhausted, you could just ask me for help. You clearly can't beat me if you're too tired to keep your eyes open."
Raine's annoyance flared instantly. "Shut the fuck up, asshole. In your dreams."
"Just giving you a little advice, princess," Nick said, giving her one last arrogant gaze before turning to leave.
Raine glared at his retreating back. "That fucking man... he really needs to get over himself."
As Nick walks away, he stops at the library door. He doesn't turn around, but he looks back over his shoulder.
"By the way, Raine," he calls out, his voice echoing in the quiet library. "Don't get too comfortable in that chair. You look better when you're chasing me for the top spot."
Raine throws a pen at him, but he dodges it with a laugh and disappears into the hallway. She looks down at the coffee cup and notices something written on the side in his messy, genius handwriting.
"Drink up. I don't want to see you stressed." Raine rolled her eyes and smirked.
"He's paying for his arrogance probably." Raine stared at the door for a long minute after he "left," her heart still hammering against her ribs. "Arrogant, annoying, golden-boy prick," she whispered to the empty rows of books.
She took another long sip of the espresso. It was exactly how she liked it—bitter, hot, and strong enough to wake up a corpse. She let out a long, dramatic sigh and slumped back into the librarian's chair, spinning slowly. She thought she was alone, so she let her Bitchy side mask slip. She kicked her shoes off, tucked her legs up onto the chair, and started humming a random song, unaware of how soft and vulnerable she looked in the dimming library light.
She get bored because she's only here and maybe all students are already in their houses. Raine pick out her phone and play some online games on it.