If Jem's Not Here, Where Is She?
614 Words
Quietly, Sunny slipped the cardigan on and smirked to herself.
Prepare yourself, Jem Washington, she hissed. You are about to be ~totes embarrassed~!
More articulately, please, the voice in her head replied.
MUY EMBARAZADA! Sunny cackled.
Wait. Doesn't "embarazada" mean "pregnant" in Spanish? The voice asked.
Sunny just grumbled. Look, I'm clearly a white chick, don't expect me to be bilingual.
Isn't Jem fluent in French? The voice asked.
Ooh, perfect! Sunny squealed. Time to practice my pick up lines!
Sunny, no, the voice groaned.
SUNNY YES, came the reply, as she set out the door for Jem's favorite library.
In reality, maybe calling it her "favorite library" was a stretch, Sunny reflected. To be honest Jem didn't really have favorites. She wore the same clothes, mostly because she said dark green was considered a calming and nonthreatening color (also the coat was made out of cheap recycled material found at a secondhand shop). Plus, she didn't really have any foods she really liked (Sunny had asked. She merely ate beans and rice because they were a healthy combination, anyways they didn't have much of a taste). Okay, fine, the library that Jem usually frequented. There.
Sunny brightly smiled at the sophomore who held open the door for her (at least, he looked like a sophomore) and peeked around a few bookshelves. She had once tried to fetch her own book from here, to no avail. She wasted no time browsing the shelves and quickly started searching for Jem.
"I don't understand how you can possibly navigate your way," Sunny had frowned. "Nothing's in alphabetic order."
"That's because this is a university library. They organize things differently, according to the Library of Congress Classification System," Jem had replied. "See, A is for General Works, B for Philosophy or Psychology or Religion. Now, it could be in P for Language and Literature, or maybe E for American History-"
"That's even more confusing!" Sunny had thrown up her arms. "Forget it. It could be anywhere. I give up."
"You can't just give up this quickly," Jem had raised her eyebrow.
"Well I do."
"Hm. Well, look what I just found," Jem replied, holding up "Lady Wu" by Lin Yutang.
"Bullshit," Sunny had gasped.
Jem smirked. "You just need to persist longer," she had replied.
At this point, Sunny was getting some major déjà vu. Gulping, she continue to browse through tables, computer desks, and behind each nook and cranny.
Don't give up, she hissed to herself. Keep looking.
Maybe she's not here, the voice suggested, bored.
No, she is, Sunny growled. I just need to…keep on…looking…oh, forget it! This is taking too long.
Crossing her arms, she fell into a seat at a table and huffed. The girl in front of her looked over her book and stared at her for a moment.
"You looking for someone?" The girl asked.
"Yeah. My friend."
"Ah. Hot date?" The girl asked.
Sunny smirked. "Yes, have you seen any study groups in here, around this time?"
The girl raised an eyebrow. "This is one of the biggest campuses in the state, and this library is accordingly large. There's always a group of people in here."
"Oh." Sunny looked down. "Thanks anyway, I guess."
"No problem," the girl replied accommodatingly. She held out her left hand. Looking down, SUnny noticed she had kept her right hand on the table. It appeared to prosthetic. "By the way, I'm Mia."
"Nice to meet you. Sunny," she took the hand and shook it.
See there, counselor lady? I've made one friend. I am functional, Sunny declared triumphantly.
That's pathetic, the voice in her head replied.
Yeah…
- Writer
