EVEN IF IT was the middle of the grueling winter season, Meadowbrook High School's media center was as cold as ice. You'd think that in the middle of winter in such a public room in a school would be warm and cozy. But that wasn't the case. According to the signs Alexander Choi saw on the school library's swinging doors, the heat system was broken, and the air conditioning was running effortlessly.

Surely, it was unlucky to go through, especially since he had no choice but to spend his free period here. He couldn't go to the lunchroom because it was busy and loud. He couldn't go to the theater because theater fundamental classes were taking at the moment. His only reasonable choice was the school library, which was currently freezing him to chills. Even through his bulky, black hoodie, he felt goosebumps crawl over the surface of his arms. The cold cup of coffee he brought to school that morning wasn't helping, either.

After he tossed his empty cup into a nearby trash can, he popped a breath mint into his mouth and began to chew it as he flipped through his American Government textbook. Normally, he'd use his free period to study, but today, he felt completely different. Instead of reading through chapters to take efficient notes, he took out his phone and began to play a mobile runner game, Subway Surfers. As soon as the app was loaded up, soon enough, he was running through a subway, dodging his way between trains, tunnels, and such.

Frankly, the best part about having a free period was how he could do whatever he wanted as long as it was quiet. No one could stop him from not studying because really, no one was around. Sure, with all the free time he had in his hands, he could study. But after a few grueling classes of non-stop learning, it was completely ideal to take a small break. It wouldn't hurt at all, especially if he only procrastinated for a few minutes.

That's what he thought he would do at least. Up until someone stood right behind him mysteriously, causing him to jump. His finger unintentionally slid to the right, which caused him to crash right into a barrier.

With a heavy sigh, Alexander turned his head, only to see Inez Archer, who was hauling a few books in her hand. "Inez, you made me crash. Now I have to start over," Alexander pouted like a little kid as he pointed to his phone.

"Looks like I scared you that much, huh?" Inez questioned as her eyelashes fluttered.

"No, not at all," Alexander stammered as he shook his head in denial.

"Liar," the girl insisted as she took a seat right across from the boy. "I saw you jump when I snuck up behind you."

The boy rolled his eyes. "Okay, you win, Nezzie. But what brings you here at this hour? Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"Don't call me Nezzie," the girl insisted. "I finished my work early, so my teacher let me come to the library to return some books that are almost overdue, maybe check out a few while I'm at it."

"Looks like you wanted to come visit me, then," Alexander teased as he placed his phone face-down on the wooden table.

Inez's eyes rolled to the back of her head. "Shut up, I just don't want to go back to class. It's literally dead silent in there. Can't even relax a little."

"I see, I see," Alexander nodded his head curtly. "I guess we're both stuck in the same boat, Nezzie."

"Alexander, for the millionth time ever, don't call me Nezzie," Inez said as her fingers brushed against the cover of one of her checked out books. "I've already told you that I hate it."

"I just love watching you squirm, and you know that. I just want to have a little fun," the boy chuckled as he planted a hand on the girl's shoulder from beside him. "It's become a habit.

"A bad habit," Inez shook her head with a crooked smile. "That's what makes you so annoying, Alexander. Why are you like this?"

Alexander nodded. "We're both bored — so can't we just have just a little bit of fun?"

"This is your idea of fun?" The girl questioned with a giggle. "I swear to God, you have the maturity of a fourteen-year-old. I'll say it once, and I'll say it again."

"I'm eighteen, Nezzie," the boy reasoned. "Plus, you're obviously entertained by my 'fourteen-year-old antics' since you're sitting here with me. You know that."

"Okay, alright, whatever you say," Inez gave in as she threw her arms in the air playfully.

Soon enough, Alexander took a bar of granola out of his backpack and unwrapped it before taking a big bite. The bar would only nourish him for maybe thirty minutes at most, but it was the best he could have as a late breakfast.

"Late breakfast, huh?" Inez asked as her fingers brushed on the smooth rim of the table.

"Yeah, something like that," Alexander shrugged before he retrieved his cell phone. He began to scroll through his gallery, which contained a lot of images — cursed ones, in fact. His gallery was filled with weird, close-up selfies, unrealistic photos, and weird carnival ride signs. Alexander tapped on a picture, which contained a skeleton on the floor. But it wasn't just any skeleton — it was a skeleton that was shaped as a spider. It had eight legs, eight eyes, and the body of a spider. "Look at this."

"Ew, what the fuck is that, Alexander?" Inez gagged as her head leaned back.

"It's a spider, duh," the boy snickered before he exited the photo to glimpse over the rest of his gallery.

"A cursed one, you mean. That's so scary, I can't believe you right now," the girl shook her head. Frankly, she was ultimately disgusted by what her eyes just saw. She wished she could erase it from her memory, but there was no way to make that possible. "You're so annoying and disgusting."

Before Alexander could say anything else, the school's librarian, Ms. Dunn, a middle-aged woman with a Kris Jenner-like pixie cut, walked by with a screeching cart of books. "Please keep your voices down. Other people are trying to concentrate," she reasoned before her index finger pointed to Alexander's empty granola bar wrapper. "And no eating is allowed in the library."

Before they knew it, Ms. Dunn walked to the nearest set of shelves and began stocking the empty parts with books. Alexander and Inez faced each other with bland faces before erupting into laughter.

"Sheesh, I can't even grab a bite to eat in this place," Alexander grimaced as he crumbled up his granola bar wrapper before placing it in the side pocket of his backpack.

Inez pointed to a sign plastered on a nearby wall. "That's because food isn't allowed."

"Whose side are you on here? My side, or the lady who is literally the Walmart Great Value version of Kris Jenner?" Alexander questioned with a chuckle. "A granola bar is barely food. Plus, I wasn't going to make a mess. I'm not that annoying."

"I guess you have a point," Inez shrugged. "But in that case, don't let the Walmart version of Kris Jenner tell you what to do. She seems a little cranky today."

"Finally, we can agree with each other on something," The boy said. Then, he turned back to his phone as he scrolled through more images — cursed ones, in fact. He tapped on an image of Ronald McDonald standing in a corner with his fingers clasped together with a cheeky grin. "Look at this."

"Is that Ronald McDonald? Why does he look like that?" Inez gagged in disgust. "I'm not going to lie; he's always creeped me out as a kid."

"Maybe he's a little creepy, but the look on his face, though. It's priceless," Alexander remarked as he zoomed in the image. "He looks like he's about to murder somebody."

"That's what makes Ronald so creepy," the girl shuddered. Like a lot of people know, Ronald McDonald is McDonald's discontinued clown mascot that was aimed for children. However, a lot of children tend to find him creepy — and Inez Archer happened to be one of those people. Even as a teenager, that didn't change her opinion on the overly creepy clown.

"He's mid to me," Alexander shrugged before he turned to the girl, a smirk crawling up on his lips. "What, are you scared of Ronald?"

"What? No, not at all!" Inez shrieked in denial.

"They say that the loudest person in the room is the one who's lying," the boy teased.

"No one says that," the girl shook her head. "Literally no one."

Within seconds, the librarian stopped stocking shelves mid-sentence before storming up to the pair's table. "That's it," Ms. Dunn fumed, her pale face reddening as she threw her hands in the air. "Out! Get out!"

The pair took a glance at each other before they erupted into small giggles as they gathered their things so they could leave. Inez dropped off her borrowed books at the circulation desk before they both settled out of the library.

"Sheesh, she's really cranky today," Inez mused as she shook her head. "She didn't even give us some kind of last warning or something."

"Yeah, you're right about that," Alexander grimaced as he held the door open for the girl. "But to be honest, she's probably like that because her husband isn't satisfying her enough in bed."

"Alexander," Inez hissed before she cupped her hand over her mouth. "You're so wrong for that."

"But it's probably true. She might be dick deprived," Alexander shrugged with a chuckle.

The statement caught Inez off guard. "Okay, that's disgusting. That's giving me a bad mental image of Ms. Dunn doing the nasty with her husband."

"It's traumatizing to visualize," Alexander grimaced with his eyebrows furrowed.

Inez felt the sides of her mouth ache from all the laughter. Frankly, coming to the school library wasn't a mistake. It was way better than staying in class, slumped away into a textbook. Even if Alexander and her got kicked out, it was still fun to experience. It definitely made the class period pass by quicker.

"This period will be over soon, so you should head back to class, Inez," the boy insisted as they rounded a broad corner. "Your teacher is probably wondering where you are."

"Yeah, I've been out of class for a while," Inez admitted as she looked at her feet as she walked, step by step. "But where are you going to stay since you got kicked out? You can't just roam the halls."

"I might go to the lunchroom. It's loud but fuck it. It's somewhere, at least, and I wasn't planning to do any studying," Alexander shrugged. "See you later?"

"See you later." 

a/n: "the Walmart Great Value of Kris Jenner" i'm crying 😭. if you live in the United States, Canada, or any other country that has Walmart, y'all should know that Great Value is an absolute knock-off of popular brands. for those of you living in other countries who may not have Walmart, Alexander is basically saying the cheap, knock-off version of Kris. he has jokes for sure 💀

speaking of Kris, i wrote this chapter when "getting Krissed" started to become popular (july 2022). i don't know if y'all have seen the video, but it's so ✨aesthetic✨. what cool memes have y'all seen lately? any favorites? feel free to share in the comments →

like always, thank you so much for reading. take care of yourselves. love you, kings and queens 💗