The Library Agreement

14

"I'll be honest with you, Hailey, I'm really nervous right now." I say through a laugh, as I open the door to the passenger's seat and wait until she's situated inside. Then, I slam it shut and walk around to my side, sliding into my own spot.

"I didn't take you for a truck kind of person," she says softly, grinning at me, and I laugh.

"Yeah, well, it was my cousin's. He's in college now, so it kind of got passed down to me." I reply, starting up the old Ford and beginning to back out of her driveway.

Hailey makes a small, interested noise, probably just to show she's listening. A few beats of silence ensue, and I begin to feel somewhat panicked.

Say something, you i***t. I urge myself. Say something!

I open my mouth to bring up the weather or something stupid like that, but thankfully, she intervenes.

"There's no need to be nervous, you know. We're just going down to the lake."

I give a sheepish laugh. "We're going on a three hour drive down to the lake, together. I'm just afraid I'm going to bore you."

"I don't think you'll ever have to worry about doing that." She says, so quietly I barely hear her. I smile to myself.

"In that case, do you mind if we listen to music?"

"Not at all." She replies, and I click the radio on.

A familiar, overplayed country song blares through the speakers, and I turn it down quickly, shooting a quick glance over at Hailey, but she doesn't seem to mind. In fact, she's laughing.

"Charlie, you big dork." She mutters, shaking her head.

She reaches over and turns the radio back up to its former volume and rolls her window down, sticking her hand outside and smiling at me—her hazel eyes lit with the bright sunlight. I can't help but smile back, especially when she starts mouthing the words to the song.

"No way!" I exclaim, and she turns to look at me. I keep my eyes on the road, accelerating slightly, but I can see her confused expression in my peripheral vision. "You know this song?"

Hailey laughs. "Yeah. I listen to all kinds of music. Country isn't exactly my forte, but—it's not bad."

"Yeah? Then what is your forte, Miss Richards?"

"A bit of everything, really."

Even though that isn't the answer I'm looking for, I let it slide.

"Thanks for picking me up." Hailey says.

"Not a problem. Thanks for inviting me to tag along."

She chuckles. "Honestly, I didn't even have a visit to Busbee planned—I just kind of thought about it when you mentioned the ocean. It's—it's quite a place."

"How long has it been since you went?"

Hailey seems to hesitate before answering—something that looks like fear flashes across her face, but it's gone instantly.

"Two years." She says, and I raise my eyebrows.

"Long time." I murmur.

"Yeah." She replies weakly, and then takes a deep breath, straightening herself in the seat. "Anyways, I think you'll enjoy it. I always have."

"I believe you." I say, and she falls back into silence as I drive out of her neighborhood and back onto the main road. We stay like that for several minutes, my fingers tapping on the steering wheel to the beat of a new song, sucking in my cheek.

"I can roll up the window, if you want." Hailey says suddenly, as I begin to merge onto the highway.

"You're fine," I call over the roar of the wind. "I honestly prefer it that way."

She grins, and I swear I hear her say something that sounds vaguely like, "Me, too."

________

Three hours and an abundance of pit stops later, we finally arrive in Conway. The sun is just beginning its slow descent, and I practically jump out of the car the second Charlie parks. I gather two water bottles and a pair of towels up in my arms—it ended up being a good idea to prepare, seeing as Charlie had brought nothing.

"Come on!" I exclaim, grinning, and Charlie smiles back.

I grab his hand and pull him forwards, toward the entrance, the giddiness bubbling in my chest with every footstep.

"I've never seen you so excited about anything," Charlie jokes, and I laugh. "It's adorable."

"Shut up," I say jokingly, giving him a light punch in the arm before approaching the booth that sits at the gate.

"I'm just saying!" Portman protests, and I roll my eyes at him before turning my attention to the girl sitting behind the desk. Her blonde hair is pulled back into a ponytail, crystal blue eyes shining underneath a Conway, SC visor.

"Hi, welcome to Lake Busbee." She says cheerily, smiling up at us. "How can I help you?"

"We're just here for a few hours." I say with a smile.

"Great!" The girl enthuses. "Tickets for two—that means your total is ten dollars and six cents."

"What?" I say suddenly, the smile dropping from my lips.

"Yes, ma'am." The girl says, still grinning at us politely. "It's an entry fee of ten, season passes and access to the trails year-round is twenty, and our deluxe package is—"

"Hold on," I say, my heart leaping into my throat. "I came here a while ago, and we didn't have to pay. We just had to sign in and we could stay as long as we wanted."

The girl looks at us sympathetically. "I'm sorry, ma'am. The rules have changed a little since then. I could give you a dis—"

I swivel around to face Charlie, who looks nervous, taking his bottom lip in his teeth. He meets my eye and shrugs.

Okay. Neither of us have money.

Taking a deep breath, I turn around to face the ticket girl once more, the desperation in my voice evident.

"Listen—" I say, my eyes lowering to her name tag. "April. Charlie and I don't really have any money with us—we weren't aware of the new rules. But it's almost sunset, and we've been driving for hours—we're from Reidville."

April frowns. "I've never heard of it."

"No one really has," Charlie intervenes, flashing her a winning smile. "But what my friend Hailey is trying to say here is that we both know what a special place Busbee is, and it's already been a hassle driving down. And it's probably really hard to get a job here."

"It is," she says wearily. "And it's only my first week!"

"We understand completely, April." I say, catching Charlie's drift. "But, like we said, we didn't know about the new methods. So, if you can let us in—just for a few hours—I swear, we'll leave five-star reviews on all the travel websites, and we won't forget to mention your name."

"Really?" April asks, looking hopeful. "You'll—you'll really do that?"

"Of course!" Charlie says. "Of course we will. I can tell that there's probably a lot of things going on in your life right now, and rejecting customers on your first week probably isn't something you want to deal with."

"You're right." April says, with a weak smile. "Besides, ten bucks isn't that much. I can take it out of my paycheck. Go right ahead."

"Oh, my God, thank you!" I exclaim, reaching over the counter and throwing my arms around her. She hugs me back just as tightly.

"You two have a nice time." She says, and I let go, the unrelenting smile still on my face.

Charlie takes my hand in his once more, I lead him past the gate and into the view of Lake Busbee—prepared to step back into my past as I do so.