Meeting in the Library*

Being the prestigious school it was, most students lived in the posh dorms near the main building. They were basically luxury apartments for all the rich kids sent here from abroad. As such, the library and cafeteria stayed open until much later in the night. The library wasn’t a popular location to hang out at any time of the day when it was nice outside, so it was easy for me to claim a spot. The school loved showing off its money featuring a collection that rivaled, maybe even surpassed, the local city one.

With the help of the librarian, I got a collection of books on the subject of terror Gifted. Most students would have opted for Internet sources, but I enjoyed the professionalism that came from a well-researched book. I recognized a few of the names. Mathias Greene was a huge name in the Gifted field. He specialized in negative-aspect Gifts. Many of the current Super Max prisons employed security techniques he developed. Even though his focus was on the dark and painful side of The Gift, he was an advocate for people whose Gift was negative in nature. The main focus of his research was minimizing or controlling even those with passive Gifts to ensure those with them could live a normal life. His insights provided the foundation for emotion suppressants—em-sups for short. The new **** promised a new age of relief for people who suffered the ill effects of negative Gifts, though they were still in the early phase of research with only a few on market.

I focused on his books first, skimming through his opening of the Ben Patton case before starting on the chapter about Rebecka Hoss. After an hour, I had some good information to start with.

“You’re here.” Looking up, I found Chloe sliding into the seat across from me. I’d known she was coming without looking. Her Noise was easy to identify and there wasn’t anyone else around.

“I said I would be.”

“Yeah but… Never mind,” she said with a smile. “Sorry I’m late.” I gave her a nod before turning my notebook and sliding it towards her. She took a moment to glance over what I’d written. “Why not use a laptop?” she asked as she dug through her backpack. “Would be a lot easier.”

“I remember things better if I physically write them down. Beyond that, I like books. There is something about digging through a book and pulling out its secrets.” The physicality helped as well. Holding and flipping through a book was more rewarding than typing on a laptop.

She chuckled as she pulled out her laptop and set it up in front of her. I took the moment to look at her. There was amusement and happiness in her Noise now that she was with me. Curious. Beyond that, I saw the effect of her Gift on herself. Euphoria blazed brightly, mixing freely with the other emotions she was feeling. This was far greater than what I saw after she finished with Adam. My main hypothesis was she had multiple clients before meeting me here. Or perhaps her Gift was amplified if she was less hostile to the person she was with. Considering how strong the lingering effect was, I wondered what would happen if her Gift fired off several times in short succession.

“Something wrong?” she asked as caution bled into her Noise. I’d been caught staring.

“No,” I said, pulling my gaze away from her. Before she could press me on the subject, I continued. “I was thinking you could start on this part while I…”

Attention directed towards our project, we worked to put a solid outline together over the course of an hour. Chloe brushed her hair back, looking over the outline I’d written up. “Looks good, though I think we should add one more. We can end with Robert Dixon.” For the briefest of moments, my movements halted. I looked up at Chloe, who was now looking at me. “I mean, it’d be weird to do a deep dive on terror-oriented Gifts and leave him off the list.”

I **** myself to look down at the paper. “I think we have enough.”

She frowned. “Seriously going to leave off one of the most famous—er, infamous—person off our list?”

“Yes. He is already a well-known name for what he did. Putting him on the list will add nothing.”

She shrugged, sliding back into her seat. “Not sure I agree with that, but hey, this is your project too.”

We spent another hour starting our research on the names we had, jotting down notes on what we could use. There was still a bit more that I would have liked to get done, but I could see I was testing her limits. She was yawning a lot, rubbing her eyes, and taking deep breaths as she tried to focus.

“I think that’s about enough for today,” I said, closing the book I’d been using.

She let out a relieved sigh. “Thank God…”

“You didn’t have to stay the whole time,” I said as I began sorting my things. “As I said, I am more than capable of doing this myself.”

“And I said I would help—unless this is your subtle way of saying I’m only stepping on your toes.” I shook my head. “Good.”

Stuffing my notebook into my bag, I took the books I wasn’t going to use and put them back. When I returned, Chloe was still there waiting for me. She perked up when she saw me approach. There was a nervous energy to her Noise, but her body language suggested a cool detachment as she sat on the edge of the table in a way that highlighted her alluring nature.

Ah. She was probably waiting for me to bring up our next meet time.

“So I was thinking,” I began. The shift in her Noise was immediate. Hope? I had her full attention, but I wasn’t sure where her excitement and other emotions were coming from. It didn’t take much for my brain to form a hypothesis. Chloe was ostracized by our peers. The only interactions she had with other people were her clients or the hate she got from girls. If she had friends, they would be outside of school.

She brushed at her hair, the only outward suggestion that she could be nervous. I immediately shifted what I was going to say.

“I’m a bit hungry. Want to grab dinner with me?”

There was no obligation for me to do this. The past two hours had been the most we’d ever talked. Until recently, we barely knew the other existed. Yet it seemed right. The way her Noise lit up rivaled that of her lingering euphoria. Necessary or not, the decision was made and I immediately saw it was a good one.

Despite what her Noise was telling me, her voice was calm and collected. “I’d like that.”