Antebellum Awakening (The Network Series #2)(40)

“It’s hard to tell.”

“Look for hair,” I said. “You can’t miss anything so white.”

Leda’s head popped up, armed with her usual thin glare.

“I heard that.”

“Oh good,” I said. “You’re alive. I thought the scrolls drowned you.”

“Are you here to study with me?” she asked with an arch look. “If not, leave. I have no time for you.”

“Right,” I scoffed, running my eyes over the towers of books and scrolls. “I came to study because I just love it. What are you working on today?” My eyes caught on the gold lettering of a tome nearby. The Political History of Antebellum Before the Reformation.

“I’m finishing up my political history class. Miss Scarlett is going to test me tomorrow. She had to go back to the school to get a copy of the exam.”

I know. I just saw her, I almost said, but stopped just in time and reached for the book instead.

“Stop touching things, Bianca.”

Despite her protests, I pulled Policies and Procedures of the Central Network from the top of a pile. It landed on the table with a heavy thud.

“Be careful!” she muttered, shooting me another glare. “That’s borrowed.”

“Grief, Leda. You’re only seventeen. Did anyone tell you that? We’re supposed to be off getting in trouble, not reading about policies and procedures.”

She sniffed with an air of haughty importance.

“You do that enough for all of us.”

Ignoring her jab, I ran my fingers over the old cover and peeked inside. Several styles of handwriting filled the pages, testament to the many years, and many Councils, the book had been through.

“Where did you get this?”

“That doesn’t matter,” she snapped, trying to snatch it back. I turned and blocked her with my shoulder, perusing the writing. “Just give it back! You can’t ruin anything or I’ll be in trouble!”

You could use a little trouble, I thought.

A movement in the corner of my eye caught my attention, and I looked up to see Camille walking next to Brecken. Without his Guardian armor on, he was hardly recognizable, but his dark curls were unmistakable. Something he said made Camille smile with a warm flush and jabber in excitement.

“What’s this?” I asked quietly, setting the book aside. Leda snatched it, then followed my gaze, the color returning to her face.

“Camille is in the library?” she gasped, her mouth going slack.

“She’s in the library with Brecken,” Michelle corrected quietly, as if we were observing a deer. “Doesn’t she hate him?”

“She adores him, but I thought he didn’t like her.”

“Doesn’t look like it,” Michelle said. “Not with that smile on his face.”

“Let’s find out. Merry meet, Camille!” I called, waving to her. A nearby librarian hushed me with a quiet hiss. Camille jerked to attention and froze mid-step in the library walkway.

“Oh, merry meet,” Camille stammered, her cheeks and ears blooming a bright red. “W-what are you doing here?”

I cast an eye at the algebra book tucked under one arm and then up to Brecken, who smiled and nodded, as if strolling around the library was a common thing for him.

“You didn’t show up for your algebra class with Miss Scarlett today,” Leda said with impressive haughtiness, as if Camille’s slack approach to education offended her on a personal level.

“I-I was busy,” Camille said, tugging on her skirt.

“The date for the test hasn’t changed. You’ll still have to pass even if you don’t show up for classes.”

“I know,” she said simply, readjusting the scrolls in her arm to hide the book beneath them. “I-I’ll be ready.”

Brecken took a step back with an awkward wave.

“Well, I’d better be going. Merry part, ladies. Camille, I’ll see you later.”

She stared after him in surprise, managing a weak “Merry part” to his back. She remained that way until he disappeared from the library. When she looked back at us she struggled to put an innocent smile on her face.

“Want to go see if Fina will let us have some of her fizzy water?” she asked with a hopeful tilt of her voice.

“All right, what’s going on?” Michelle asked, looking to where Brecken had gone and back at Camille. Camille opened her mouth and hesitated. Her shoulders slumped.

“Oh, fine,” she sighed. “I can’t keep it from you any longer. Brecken is tutoring me in algebra.”

Leda’s eyes widened. “Really?” she asked.

Camille nodded. “Yes. He stumbled on me during a . . . well, let’s just say I was having a bad day and couldn’t figure out an equation. He prevented me from throwing the book against the wall and taught me how to do the problem. Then I asked him to tutor me.”

Her cheeks bloomed bright pink yet again. I grinned.

“It’s all part of your plan to win his heart, isn’t it, Camille?” I asked in a droll tone. She ran a hand over her curls and straightened her dress.

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said with a purse of her lips. “Anyway, all this studying has me parched. Fizzy water or no?”