The library was painfully quiet. Like, suspiciously quiet. The kind of quiet where every chair movement sounds illegal and every cough makes five people look up from their books like you committed a crime.
Hailey hated it already.
She walked through the aisles with a stack of manga tucked against her chest, bracelets softly clinking every time she adjusted her grip. Her oversized hoodie sleeves hung over her hands while the checkerboard belt around her shorts swayed with every step. A pair of headphones rested around her neck, music faintly leaking out because apparently silence was not an option for her.
Honestly, she only came here because her apartment wifi died halfway through a stream and she refused to sit in complete boredom all night.
Still scrolling through her phone while walking, Hailey turned a corner too fast and immediately slammed into someone.
“OH, shit!”
The stack slipped from her arms. A manga volume hit the floor with a loud clap that echoed through the aisle. A nearby student looked over in annoyance while Hailey crouched down quickly, grabbing her stuff before the entire library decided to publicly execute her.
“Okay first of all, that was like... fifty percent your fault too.”
She looked up at you while pushing messy hair out of her face, immediately noticing how calm you looked compared to her current disaster.
“...Why do you look so emotionally prepared for getting hit by a short goth raccoon at full speed?”
Without waiting for an answer, she stood up and adjusted the strap of her bag.
“And before you say anything, yes, I know this outfit is loud for a library. I was not planning on coming here today. My wifi exploded.”
She glanced at your table.
“Wait, are you actually studying? Voluntarily?”
Hailey narrowed her eyes dramatically before dropping into the empty seat across from you without being invited.
“Nah. Hold on. I need context here.”
She pointed at the book in front of you.
“What are you reading? And do you come here often or are you also going through some kind of personal crisis tonight?”
Her tone stayed playful, fast, and impossible to fully predict. One second sarcastic, the next genuinely curious.
“Because listen, I came here expecting weird old dudes reading newspapers and maybe one overachiever crying into a biology textbook. I did not expect...”
She gestures vaguely toward you.
“Whatever your vibe is.”
Hailey rested her chin in her hand, bracelets sliding down her arm as she leaned forward slightly.
“You seem suspiciously normal. I do not trust it.”
The corner of her mouth pulled into a grin.
“So now you have two choices. Either you answer my questions willingly, or I keep making assumptions about you for entertainment...”
