Top Shelf

Maisie flipped through the book in the corner of the library, where a few chairs made a triangle against the meeting point of the history shelves. Here, a Rosebury native's book was cast, with only one copy, sitting dusty on the highest platform. She almost knocked down the entire unit climbing up to get it, but retrieved the gaudy hardcover, swiping a hand across the cover. The History of Beata Academy. The dark cover had golden etchings of text in its upward face.

Her eyes grazed the short biography on Argona, on her history and her significance. It said nothing about a force, possibly because it was published before that was a reality. She furrowed her brow and ignored the passing strangers, realizing how out-of-place she looked, sweater tied around her waist and tie nowhere to be found. Everyone in the place seemed to have ironed their uniform that day, and their eyes seemed to laugh at her. What are you doing here? This is our territory.

She hated the school more than anything. She glued her eyes to the book and turned the page, where a poor-quality picture of Argona stood. She was a young child, her eyes barely distinguishable under a thick hat. She frowned. Behind her was a forest she could only assume was that of North Dakota, the one that imprisoned her in that moment. Was she like Argona? Maisie's eyes glanced to the tall man next to her, his beard darker than his pixelated eyes, and all she could see was her uncle. Her mother was nowhere to be seen. Hers or Argona's.

She crossed one leg over the other and turned the page.

The Summer hadn't planned on staying at all, nothing more than a few minutes if he could help it. The library wasn't his idea of a good evening. It was too quiet, too stuffy, too dusty. In it's serene stillness, it lacked enough life to keep him entertained, to the point he'd find it far more amusing to go out and stare at the clouds. And yet, he had no choice to be there, to take some old book he'd rented out for English and return it before the librarian had hunted him down personally. He wasn't sure if she'd actually leave in seek him out around campus, but it was a trouble he wasn't willing to deal with either way.

Only after Liam had gotten the ancient novel off her hands did he notice her sitting there, legs crossed and hunched over the table, her nose buried into her book. In the sea of prim and proper uniformed students, he wasn't sure how he didn't see her before. With renewed interest in the library after all, he walked near silently over to her table, leaning softly against the polished wood. "Never took you for the bookworm type," he mused, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking in closer.

There were a few pictures that vaguely resembled the school offices, printed out in shit quality it seemed to him. The words on the page were so minuscule that he didn't bother to try and make them out. "Some heavy ready." He murmured.

It seemed that her efforts to ignore those around her allowed Liam to get close, to peek over her and see what she was doing. In the momentary alarm of being snuck up on, she shut the book with a start, the old relic throwing up dusk as she clapped the two sides together. She looked up, brow turned down furiously. "What the hell are you doing!?" This, of course, attracted some glares, to which she cast an uninterested glance and shrunk back. She spoke softer when she opened her mouth again. "What's so unbelievable about me reading? Do I look dumb to you?" The least he could have done was warn her.

He almost jumped at the sudden book slam. Almost, he instead let out a mere smirk at her bitter surprise, glancing around the room and looking carelessly at those who glared in their direction. Did she look dumb? Of course not. But ever since he'd met her that one fine evening, between the crowds of slurring teens and stoners, causing fights and what not - this scenario didn't exactly match up with his first impression.

"I took you more of a streets smart kind of gal," Liam mused, pulling out a chair and getting comfortable next to her. "What's got you so taken?" He glanced over the cover again, but it was so bland and faded, it was hard to make out. Honestly, he was surprised this place still even used print. It really was stuck in the past.

"You can be both." The reply seemed to fade under her breath into a self-comment than an actual retort. Despite the question he threw her way, she placed the book down on the small shelf that sat beside the chair, one stocked loosely with mangas and childrens books. She tried her best to ignore its tempting and stood, stretching dramatically, her arms raised into the air and her fingers interlocking. "If you're gonna interrupt me, let's go somewhere different. I'm not gonna have you watch me read."

He wondered what on earth had her so insistent on forgetting the whole thing. Liam looked the old, dusty book over one last time as she set it aside in a stray return cart, seated next to light novels with pictures of cats printed across the front and some of those Japanese comic books... What were they called? Mangos, or something?

The Summer held back a long yawn, sitting up straight again and holding back a small chuckle. "Yeah, whatever." It figured that she wouldn't be wanting to stay long in a dull place like this. Liam pulled himself back onto his feet, shoving his hands into his pockets once more and stepping away from the table. "You up to hitting the forest then, Blondie?" A smoke was sounding good then anyways.

"Sure, Ging, if you're supplying the motivation to go." The finger that had been caught in her hair, twirling it and whatnot, flipped it and went to the strap of her bag. She began to walk backwards, and gave him a wink before grinning deviously and walking toward the exit. The old bitch at the counter gave her something of a glare, to which she ignored, until the librarian turned away and she stuck her middle finger up in her direction. She probably didn't trust her because she looked like a basic white girl. She was not a basic white girl.

The forest's precipice looked over them with a small, elevated steep, like a ramp they had to hike up. The path offered little help, but there was no other path like it in the area. She girl began to trek up the small steep, to the recluse of the trees the loomed slightly overhead. A few times she almost tripped, cursing at herself. She tried her best not to pant or show weakness; she wasn't very well in-shape and the cigarettes didn't do her too good, but she wiped her brow and concealed it. When she'd crossed the path into the wilderness, she leaned against a tree for a short second, masking her shortness of breath in long, quick inhalations and exhalations, as silent and inconspicuous as she could make them.

She sure was one hell of a tease. Despite telling himself that he knew better, Liam found himself watching her all the same. How many guys did she drag along for the ride, like him... or like Bubblegum? With beauty and grace, she shot him a wink and walked away, pausing only to flip the bird to the old crone behind the librarian desk. Truly a sight to behold.

The walk up the steep mountain hills did prove more challenging than he'd liked. True, it was quicker up towards the top of the slopes this way, but couldn't they have gone the longer way around? And there was no way she was fooling him. If it was tiring for Liam, the climb had to have been exhausting for a little thing like her. In the same, stupid way, he straightened himself as she finally paused for a break, catching his own breath and calming himself before twisting the corner of his mouth into a smile.

"Something the matter?" He leaned up casually against the tree, propping her arm up and hovering closely beside her. Maybe a bit too close. "We've barely just got here." Although, if you asked him, this was a perfectly good spot to stake out with her. Private enough. who needs to climb more anyways amirite

Maisie looked up at him, and for a half second seemed to say nothing, seemed to even be in a moment of tranquility, her eyes looking up at him and her chest rising and falling from the climb. She turned her face from him quickly, however, and planted a hand on his chest. "Back up," was her words, riding on a peeved tone. It was matched with a light push, one that wouldn't be able to move him too much. "I'm fine. I'm just thinking this is good enough, is all."

To cement this, Maisie withdrew a cigarette from her bag, as well as a silver military lighter with the faded message of 'John Meyers, War is Hell.' A skull was etched, smiling upwards to the sun. A flick of the wheel, and the cigarette was lit. She handed it out to him, but did not offer him one of her own to light.

For a brief moment, things seemed almost peaceful, before she put her hand to his chest and gently shoved him away. "I think I felt some of my motivation die off just now," Liam mused, smirking despite the awkward tension in the air. He soon conceded, taking a step back and wiping the smile off his face, eying the silver lighter she pulled out. It was hard to make the worn words out in the evening, the thing looked it'd gotten more than it's fair share of use over the years.

Now where'd she get a nice piece like that? "John, huh?" The red-head took a moment to pull out a smoke of his own, tapping the stick against the carton a few times before holding it out over the flame. "Someone close?" He guessed. He half-expected her to dodge the question, like many others he'd asked before. Liam thought he was only filling the silence at that point.

She didn't dodge it. What she did do was look away. "My father," the girl said briskly, and after the shortest of pauses, made sure to add monotonously: "He's an asshole." Of course, everyone was an asshole to Maisie, including Liam, so that wasn't such a prestigious group. "I stole it from him two years ago. He thinks he left at a bus stop, why correct him? Ignorance is bliss." She gestured back for it, outstretching her hand and curling tow fingers toward herself up-and-down.

Before Liam could say anything about her response, she quickly turned to him. Her eyes were still bored, but there was that mischievous smile of hers, the one she'd given him at the part they met at. "What were you doing sneaking up on me like that in the library, by the way? You could be a little more discreet about your thirst, you scared the shit out of me"

He shut the lid on the lighter, turning it over in his hands a few times and gazing at it thoughtfully. Liam hasn't met many people who kept mementos of commonplace assholes on them on the regular. It might have been sweet, but she didn't exactly strike him as the Daddy's girl type either. He tried to imagine some staunch, towering man beside her. It left an odd taste in his mouth and he passed the lighter back over to her.

"Sneaking?" Liam repeated abruptly, her question catching him seemingly out of nowhere. She made it sound like he was some sort of top class creep, which he sure as hell wasn't. And yet he found himself stalling, taking in a long drag of his cigarette and letting the smoke leave slowly with an even sigh.

"I just happened to be in the area and wanted a little chat. There a problem with that?" He paused, shifting his weight around and looking to catch a good look of her face again. "Better question: What were you so hell-bent on hiding from me?"

Ah, so he threw the question back. She was hoping it would be a harmless joke to carry the conversation along, and she knew she took a chance with that one. "Some history stuff," She smiled, a bit thinly and nervously, like someone broke through her exterior somewhat. She took a drag from her cigarette. "Don't want to look like a nerd to my favorite Ginger." Maisie leaned further into the tree. "My family technically runs this school, after all. I may inherit this place."

And burn it to the ground. She omitted that part.

For some time, he said nothing, looking down curiously before taking in another quick breath of hot smoke and tapping away the ash onto the ground. 'Some history stuff about the school', she mentioned. Liam hasn't the slightest clue about the school's oh-so prestigious record, now that he had thought about it. He wasn't one to care about alumni or whatever. The Summer only showed up so he wouldn't have to share a bedroom or food anymore. There was also some sweetness in not having to worry in who saw you throw fire around.

"I didn't know I was standing in the presence of royalty," he mused. "Should I start calling you 'Princess' from now on?" Liam turned a glance back in the direction of the school. It was hard to see through the trees, but one could still make out the campus from where they stood. "It's a few old buildings in the middle of nowhere where they stuff together the freaks, demi-god wannabes, and insane internet cable boxes. What else is there to it?"

Despite his musing, the girl flinched. "Old buildings have been around for a long time, shithead." Maisie acknowledged, a little bristled by how dismissive he was to the whole thing. She hated the school as much as the next person, but that was because she was forced to go there, because she was always monitored and made to do work. "It's a school in Bumfuck, North Dakota for secret magic people. It's not just a shack in the woods." She wished she could just call the people there freaks, but they were a next level.