Page 85 of Sour Lollipops and Sweet Nightmares
“No. Tectonic plates rub together, causing earthquakes and all kinds of bad stuff.”
“Plates cause earthquakes?” Her brow rose. “Those must be some big plates.”
“They are.” I couldn’t believe I was having this conversation. “Aren’t you from L.A.? Haven’t you ever heard of the San Andreas fault?”
“Of course I have. But I’ve never heard of any plates in there.”
I literally had no words.
“What’s that look for?”
“Thank God you’re pretty.” And thank God her major was fashion.
She smiled back at me. “Thank you.”
Ignoring her, I went back to my textbook, which would’ve been easier to concentrate on if the head librarian, Mrs. Gatch, would stop staring at me. I could feel her eyes boring into my skull.
No one on campus liked her. She was an older lady with a stern face who sat at the large desk circling the tree and glared at everyone like she could read their minds. And whatever she thought she heard us thinking did not impress her.
I’d been in this building almost every day, and I had yet to see a hint of amusement or happiness on her face. I wasn’t even sure if she ever left this place. Honestly, if someone told me she was robot, I wouldn’t be surprised. One thing I did know was that the woman creeped me out, especially when she looked at me like she was now.
I leaned over closer to Rachel, “Do you think she can read our minds?”
She followed my stare and shrugged, “Maybe? I personally think she’s an alien sent down to study us.”
As if she knew we were talking about her, Mrs. Gatch turned her head and narrowed her cold glare in our direction.
I shook off the shiver running up my spine and whispered, “She can hear us.”
“No, she can’t.” Rachel narrowed her eyes back at the librarian. “But she might be planning to eat us.”
“I don’t think she eats.” The misery and discomfort of others were enough to sustain someone like her.
“We wouldn’t have to deal with her if you didn’t insist on extra study time.”
“Extra study time is a good thing.”
Besides, I needed it—stupid Issac and Ravi. There was no way that I was going to get outshone by a bunch of interlopers who were trying to disrupt my life. Geology was my thing. They would never understand it like I did. Someone else could get better grades than I did. That was fine. But not Issac or any of his friends. I’d die from lack of sleep before I let that happen.
On the upside, I wasn’t paranoid anymore. I was pissed off.
“History is written by the victor.” I snorted. “That doesn’t have anything to do with unconformities.”
There were no victors in geological history. It was rock and sediment.
Rachel arched a brow. “What?”
Did I say that out loud?
“Nothing,” I muttered and went back to my textbook.
“Why are you being weird today?”
I answered her with an eye-roll.
That right there was the definition of a redundant question. I was always weird, at least according to every single person in my life. My own mother called me awkward on more than one occasion.
“I can’t quite put my finger on it…” she paused to eye me, “But you seem to be… mad or something.”
