The Big Bang

Chapter 6 - The Library and the Photography Club

It was now time to come home, with the noisy and high pitched bells reminding us about it. I grabbed my bag in my locker by the crowded hallway when Stacey and the two walked near us. Stacey started with, “So, do you have a club yet?”

It is then that I realized that today was club day. Obviously, I was decided on taking photography club, but I was still open to join other clubs.

“Yep, photography.” I say.

“You’re into photography?” Doran asks while we walked. Cass was munching on popcorn. Stacey was fumbling with her jacket zipper.

“Yep. It’s basically what I do most of the time.” I say.

“That’s great. I love photos.” Doran says.

“Which ones? I take mostly landscapes and moody ones.”

“Hmm. Mostly the ones with clothes and models.” He replies with a laugh.

“Well, I can take pictures of models in landscapes if you’d like both.” I say with a laugh.

Doran replied with a “Uh-hm” with a smile.

“ I’an draw landscapes” Cass says.

“Oh you do? You like drawing?” I ask.

“Kin’-of,” Cass says with a sing-song tune.

Stacey changes the topic with, “Odee, you might want to check out the club guides in the library. No one will be looking at that anyways since all of us a club already.”

Stacey gives me directions to the library and they wave at me as they enter their own clubs. Stacey was in Earth club, Cass in art club, and Doran in Calligraphy club.

I looked at the oak door of the library and sensed a feeling of excitement. It suspenseful to think about the possibilities of the arrangement of the library here. Will it be like a standard library or will it more of like a classic one, complete with wooden furniture, a circled shelf, and several floors?

I nervously pushed the cool handle of the door and took a deep breath.

The library could’ve easily been a house. It had three floors, with the first floor having the librarian in the middle with her computer and office materials. The shelves were arranged in a circular manner around the room, just as I had fantasized about. Most of the furniture were wooden, and there were a single row of tables with computers on it.

The floors had a black and white checkered design. The ceiling had a large circular window in the middle, giving off light naturally when the sun is up. This was definitely something the school must be proud about.

I was in a daze. I barely read books, only when it was important, but this will definitely make me want to read more. The book selections here were unlimited, at least in my reading interests. With the wide range of human knowledge, this library served made you read about 5% of it, which was enough for me.

However, I remembered that I had a job to do so I quit my fantasy and went to work.

I made my way to the librarian’s counter. Behind it was a small brunette woman in her fifties, painting her nails out of obvious boredom. I scanned the building again and noticed the lack of readers.

“How can I help you, dear?” she asks while not looking at me. Her voice was calm yet obviously non-caring. Neon pink nails. A bold option.

“Hi. I need to read about the club descriptions and list. Can you show me where it is?” I say.

She stopped for a while and pointed her stubby finger at a table by the right side of the room. I noticed that all of her fingers had a blue ring on each one.

“Ask that guy,” she says, then continues to paint her nails. Well, that was entertaining at least.

Slowly, I made my way towards where the woman pointed at. I was walking thoughtlessly when I was suddenly taken aback.

On the table was a guy I saw at one of my classes, probably History. He had gentle eyes, sharp cheekbones, and an uncombed hair. He was wearing a rumpled gray hoodie. On his hands were a copy of Pride and Prejudice. He had an aura of calmness and sleepiness. He was charming, in summary.

I opened the conversation with, “Hi. The librarian pointed this area for the club descriptions. Is that correct?”

He was obviously startled with my sudden approach, given his sudden, military-like jolt and his eye widening. He combed his hair stressfully, cleared his throat and fixed his posture. It was obvious that he was composing himself. He, however, failed. He was now staring at me with no idea of what to say.

“Uhmm.” I say. How do you talk with nervous people, I wonder. I rarely became nervous myself, so I didn’t have an idea. Should I make him comfortable by using friendly terms and such?

“Y-yeah.” He says, snapping me out of my thoughts. His voice was deep and husky, with a bit of sand in it. That was enough response for me as to pull one of the seats in his table. I didn’t wait for an approval to do so because he’ll probably have a hard time answering me anyways.

As I took the hard, wooden seat, I noticed that he had a good frame. I noticed how his hands were subtly fumbling the book, showing nervousness, but how his shoulders stayed solid, which were quite contrasting.

“So… what club?” He says. He closes his book and rests his hands on his lap like a good dog. Poor guy.

“Wait, you mean, there’s no written guide or anything available?”

“Yes. All the students here already have a club of their own so they didn’t need to have a g-guide.” He answers. I was now hearing his foot tapping under the table.

“Oh.” I say disappointed. I was not planning to take his time by inquiring about the clubs. With that response, both of his eyebrows raised as if he said something wrong.

“No, it’s okay. I was just expecting like a written guide or something.” I say. I continue with, “May I know your name? Because I have a lot of questions. My name is Odette but I call myself Odee.”

“Like how people say,” he was saying something, but then changed topic to, “My name’s Charlie.”

Charlie. It sounded nice with an accent which he had. I wonder what he was about say though.

“Hi. Why don’t we start with your club? You can probably explain it to me better than anyone, right?” I say. It was the right thing to say, seeing as to how his body lightened up.

He was smiling now. “It’s all in my head.”

I smile in reply. A quick and drastic change of tone, from a formerly nervous to a confident one came. Maybe it was my friendly approach or the fact that he knew about he was going to say.

“First is the English Club. They mostly do book fairs and literature appreciation, but that’s mostly what they do. They used to be very active but ever since their leader, Dakota, had a boyfriend, their club became inactive.”

“Well that’s a shame. Was the boy really that hot?” I ask rhetorically.

“Well, not really.” He replies without thinking. He was instantly flustered though. “I mean to say, like, not really in my opinion, but then anyone can have it and the-“ he was about to go on a long speech so I laughed instead to ease him.

“Next is the Earth Club. They mainly do recycling, slogans, and the annoying.. nevermind.” He says.

“What do you mean by nevermind?” I ask curiously.

“Well, how do I say this, rallies?” He says with left cheek rising as to see my reaction.

“Well we have that too in my past school so I’m used to it.” I say with a laugh.

“Well, we have it worse here. Most of their rally campaigns are during weekends, when only the cleaning staff are present in the school, so no one really listens.” He says. We both laugh at the stupidity of that.

As time flew by, we found ourselves in our own bubble, oblivious to the quiet signs scattered around the library. We were engaged in a conversation that only us understood.

I was deep into the conversation, seeing that he was into it too. He gave very vague descriptions of each clubs, but he managed to keep it interesting, which I liked.

When were finally in the Photography Club, I decided to halt the conversation.

"This is what I've been waiting for," while smiling.

"Oh. You're into photography?" he asks while looking straight into my eyes. I liked this guy. He was sincere, gentle, and charming. Not to mention, he hasn't made any comments about me.

"Yes!" I say without hesitation. He smiled, but he his eyes looked away for a second as if he had a memory.

"Well, what's with the club?" I ask blankly. He breathed heavily for a second.

"Well, uhm. The club's pretty much dead, I guess," he says.

Oh wow. Seeing the rural town, with its naturally beautiful setting, I was surprise. Not only did this town contain picturesque views, it also had great space for photographers. I remembered, back in the city, whenever I tried to take crowd pictures, the shots would always come out either blurry or with an angry person's face included. I mean, I just wanted to take pictures of people in a hurry, but that doesn't warrant aggressiveness against me. In this town, with its small population, I will have lots of spaces for photography. Thinking about it now even makes me want to do it.

"How come?" I say, now looking intently at him. He breathes heavily again.

"I'm the only member in that club," he says. Well, at least the club had a member.

"Are you interested in photography?" I ask with curiosity.

"No. Not really," he says with a smile. He follows with, "but I'm willing to if given the chance."

A challenge. That was what it was. I would've sworn this guy didn't have any interest at all but it seems that the cue has been given.

Thinking of what I have in hand right now, I thought of the possible things I might do. Hanging out with Stacey and the rest is an option. Talking with Ledge might be one too, if he wasn't such an ass. This might be a potential year-round activity.

I smiled at the table for a second, and then looked at him for effect. "Count me in," I say.

To this, a ray of sunlight came upon his face, a huge contrast from the plaster of shyness that he had earlier. I noticed that his jaw was quite sharp when he angled it both left and right, as if he was stretching.

"We've got a deal," he says. He follows with, "do you want to be President?" I was not sure if that was supposed to be an actual question or a joke, so I just answer with, "I thought that we already agreed about that." He smiles in response.

"Not to mention, no one will care or know anyways".

He plays with his fingers for a while, drumming it on the table. I sigh silently. It was quite cold here, but I was wearing a gray, wool jacket for today, so I was quite comfortable. I put my right arm on the table and rested my head on it, as my hair fell.

He was surprised with the action, but then still looked at me anyways. I looked back in response. To hide his gaze, he looks at the high ceiling instead, acting comfortable and at ease. Funny.

After a while, with him reading an old book about Greek Mythology, I collected my thoughts and rose up my lazy position. I smiled at him as I stood, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "Bye, Charlie," I say. He nods once slowly, looking at me while tightening his lips together.

I strode out and touched the metal door to the exit. As I opened it, I immediately saw a flash of blonde hair with blue ends, with an immediate jolt of surprise coming over me. It was Dev, waiting outside the door.