At lunch, he stayed in the library.

Picking up the same book from the same shelf,
he would sit down on a table and read until his afternoon classes started.

He flipped through its pages as the world around him melted away.

Immersing himself to the words on the fragile paper,
minutes passed without his notice.

Unmoving. Silent.

The clock ticked.

—Tock.
Tick.
Tock.
Tick.
Tock—

The world continued to revolve as the time around him stilled.

When lunchtime ended,
he would place the book back on its shelf and leave.