Despicable Arrogance

Chapter 3

After deciding to go to work early, I got into my car. Looking over at my phone, I noticed that I had one missed call; I saw that it was Ms. Janie and decided to call her back. “Hello?”

“You’re ready to be shadowed, right?” she asked and I felt my heart sink to my ankles. I completely forgot about that over the weekend.

“Uh, yeah, I’m totally prepared,” I lied, starting the car. I pressed my phone between my shoulder and my ear.

“Get prepared on your way here,” she laughed before hanging up. I cursed Grayson Carter under my breath, tossing my phone onto the passenger's seat. Why can’t he just drive away into the sunset on his stupid motorcycle?

I got to work an hour early and decided to spend this time preparing for the problems I’m going to have to face this week; the devil children and Grayson (who can technically fall into the devil children category if he wasn’t older than me). I remember asking my mother about his age. She laughed and teased me for a week, asking why I wanted to know. I never asked my mother personal questions about Grayson after that event, even though she told me. It wasn't worth the torment.

Luckily, today, I only have to organize books. I entered the worker’s room where we have a refrigerator, a table with 4 chairs, a couch, and a small television. I walked over to the fridge and placed my water bottle on one of the shelves. A pro about working alone during the day, aside from Ms. Janie, is the fact that I don't have to worry about anyone taking my food.

I walked up the stairs of the library, surveying the large building. Most activities are held here; girl scouts, boy scouts, tutoring sessions, school field trips to check out books that their library doesn’t have, and other activities that are based on learning. I reached the second floor where couches were set up and I slumped down onto one, taking the familiar book off of the shelf. I've been reading it for the past week.

I heard every noise downstairs, including the phone ringing and electronics working. I’m glad that the room is silent because I can’t read with any loudness. About ten minutes into my reading, I heard doors slamming and I winced.

“Anybody here?” Grayson’s annoying voice questioned. He waited for a reply. “No? Great.”

Thinking he was going to trash the library, I stood up but instead of hearing bookcases slamming to the ground, I heard singing. The singing was actually good, better than good, in fact. He continued singing Sleeping with Sirens, a band that I'm pretty fond of. Grayson is a surprisingly good singer; he’s giving me goose bumps. I slowly stood up and walked to the railing and looked down to where he was.

He was dancing around the couches. He even tripped on a chair but continued singing. He’s a good dancer, too. Is there something that this boy can’t do? The fact that he can sing and dance angered me even more, making my hatred for him grow. Why was he gifted this talent when he’s a jerk?

As he ended the song, I slowly clapped while he whipped his head around, looking for the owner of the clapping. I continued clapping and eventually, he caught my gaze. I snorted. “You heard that?”

I nodded my head. “All of it?” I nodded again. He smirked. “Aren’t you supposed to be swooning and falling to your feet, begging me to take you out on a date?”

I glared at him, my eyes narrowing. “I don’t know if you didn’t catch on, but I don’t like you, Gracie.”

“Grayson, and I caught on but it’s fun to annoy you,” Grayson replied, leaning against the bookshelf. “Besides, they always change their minds. You will, too,” he winked. I wanted to cringe at the cliché-ness of this boy. How many times was that line used in a movie or a book?

“Gracie, Grayson, they’re the same thing,” I snapped as I walked towards the stairwell. “You’re early. This means you get to do more work.”

“I’m ready," he smugly spoke. “I was born ready.”

“You were born stupid,” I muttered. “Anyway, I assume that your schedule says ‘organize books.’”

He glanced at his schedule before nodding. “We’re going to work on nonfiction and fiction books. I’ll organize nonfiction and you organize fiction. Do you know the alphabet?”

“Yes," he gave me an annoyed look.

“You can never be too sure; the books go in alphabetical order by the author’s name. You look at the book’s spine and you see the sticker with two words on it. It’s the author’s first and last name. Organize them. If you have any questions, don’t ask,” I barked before walking towards the nonfiction bookshelf.

I began organizing the nonfiction books. I took a crate of recently returned books and started placing them into their correct spots. I heard humming throughout the library and I found myself grinding my teeth together. I can’t work with noise. Instead of telling him to stop, I bit my tongue and continued organizing. His footsteps grew closer and I realized that he’d finish organizing his books first at the pace he’s going.

The footsteps grew closer and I heard them from behind me. I felt a presence directly behind me and I watched as he reached his arm beside mine and placed a book onto my shelf. He leaned closer to my ear. “Nonfiction in the fiction section.”

Instead of swooning like the majority of the female population would, I clenched my fists. “Ever heard of personal space?” I asked as I pushed his arm out of my way. I glared at him for a moment as he sat there with a priceless expression on his face. If I weren’t so aggravated, I could laugh.

---

I walked into the employee lounge and grabbed my water out of the fridge. I’m so annoyed. This boy thinks that he can use me like the other girls. I clenched my teeth and let out a slow breath. I heard the door open behind me as I opened the bottle and tipped it into my mouth, collecting the water. “That was yours? Whoops.”

I immediately spit out the water that was in my mouth into the sink. I turned on the hot water and immediately started rinsing my mouth out even though my lips and tongue were burning. I heard laughter and I turned to see him doubled over, holding his stomach.

“What did you do to my water?” I snapped.

He shook his head as he laughed, he held up his hand and waved it around. When he took a deep breath, he finally stopped laughing. “Nothing, I didn’t do anything to your water.”

I tossed the half-filled bottle into the trashcan just to be safe. As I was walking out of the lounge, I heard his overconfident voice. “You know? You should be grateful; most girls would love to drink my backwash!”

I scowled as I exited the library, thankful that I only had to work an hour for today. He may be good looking, smart, and athletic but his company is terrible; he’s too arrogant and it’s infuriating. I’d rather have all of the hairs on my head individually ripped out by tweezers than have to sit with him for two hours.