Chapter 44: Chapter 44

I immediately smiled upon seeing Maudy in front of me. "Since when did you come in?" I asked, unaware of her arrival. Annoyed, Maudy clicked her tongue before finally sitting down in the chair across from me.

"It's been a few minutes, I saw you smiling at your phone all by yourself. I guess you're exchanging messages with someone, considering how radiant your face looks," Maudy said, to which I only replied with a smile, refraining from telling her that I was actually exchanging messages with Gray.

"What's up?" I asked, causing Maudy to glance at the book in front of me momentarily.

"Are you busy?" she inquired.

"Yes, I have morning classes. Maybe they'll start in a few minutes, and after that, I have two more classes to attend. Why?" I asked when Maudy suddenly started looking for me.

"But not just that, I need your help," Maudy said, making me furrow my brows and look at her questioningly.

"Why do you need my help?" I asked to make sure.

"We can't talk about it here. What if I wait for you outside the classroom after the class, and you come with me?" Maudy said, leaving me wondering about what she needed right now.

"Does this have something to do with the club?" I asked, causing Maudy to shake her head.

"Never mind, I'll explain later. For now, focus on studying, okay?" Maudy replied, finally getting a nod from me. She left the classroom, and then my morning classes began. If this is an urgent matter, it seems Maudy really needs my help. Eventually, I met Maudy after all my classes were over for the day. I sent her a message to wait for me, and then I left the classroom. She was already waiting for me outside, smiling and extending her hand.

"Come here," Maudy said, pulling my wrist and leading me through the hallway.

"Where are we going?" I asked, thinking that Maudy might take me to the swimming pool building or perhaps the Club room. However, when we turned in a different direction, I had no idea where Maudy's current destination was.

"We're not going to the club room?" I asked again, making Maudy shake her head.

"We're going to the library," Maudy replied, causing me to look at her with a puzzled expression.

"The library, us?" I asked, making Maudy nod.

"I know you like the library. That's why I immediately asked for your help instead of the other team members, because I'm sure they would complain if I invited them," explained Maudy. After that, we finally arrived at the library. I looked around at the emptiness, probably because the school's classes were completely over for the day and only a few club activities were ongoing.

"What are we going to do in the library?" I asked, as I was certain Maudy wouldn't intentionally bring me here to read books. I knew she wasn't friendly with books, including her own study materials, which she rarely touched, even as Kylie had informed me.

"Actually, I got a punishment," Maudy said, causing me to look at her with disbelief. She asked me for help to complete her punishment, I thought.

"Here in the library?" I asked to confirm, making Maudy nod.

"Yes, because my teacher knows that I don't like being around a bunch of books, so they chose this route. I've been asked to organize the books here," Maudy said, pointing towards a towering stack of books on a large table. I immediately looked at Maudy with an incredulous expression.

"You're asking for my help to organize all those books?" I asked, making her nod.

"Yes, the list is long, isn't it? I can't ask anyone else for help, you're the only one. Okay, please help me. I promise to work even harder so that we can finish quickly," Maudy said, looking back at the massive pile of books.

"Do we have to finish it today?" I asked again, making Maudy shake her head.

"No, but we can organize them for a few hours. Then we can continue tomorrow," Maudy explained.

"Tomorrow?" I asked.

"Actually, I'm asking for your help not just for today, but until I finish organizing this library. Come on, I still can't call a club meeting if I don't finish these books. Please, I'm begging you," Maudy said, gripping my hand and looking at me with pleading eyes. I had no more reasons to refuse her. Well, let's consider it as getting acquainted with the library. I thought about how I could ask for something in return from Maudy. I took a deep breath and sighed.

"Alright," I answered, setting down my bag and taking the list from Maudy's hand.

"And I should follow the order on this list, right?" I asked, making Maudy nod.

"Okay, let's get started with enthusiasm, and hopefully we can finish half of it," I said, making Maudy smile widely.

"Yes, let's do our best," Maudy said, taking the books, and I took mine. I picked up a few books with the same list to make it easier for me to organize them. There were even ladders prepared to reach the higher shelves. If Maudy had asked me to simply clean up, I might have been more prepared to help. But arranging books on these tall shelves with my not-so-tall stature was a bit challenging.

Maybe I should have declined, I thought. But seeing how she looked at me with those pleading eyes, I couldn't come up with any reasons to turn her down. Initially, I picked books to organize on the lower shelves, so I wouldn't have to use the ladders. I was slightly uncomfortable with heights. I had no idea how long we had been organizing these books until I started feeling a bit sore in my back. I looked over at Maudy on the opposite shelf.

"Are you sleepy, Maudy?" I asked when I saw her looking exhausted. She was startled when I called her name.

"Ugh, damn, it's so boring that I can't even keep my eyes open," she said, then walked over to me. I gazed at the books we had arranged earlier.

"I think these books are multiplying on their own," I remarked to Maudy, and she nodded. It had been more than two hours, but it seemed like the number of books hadn't decreased at all.

"Actually, where are the library staff? How come they're letting these books not be properly organized?" I asked.

"It seems like they deliberately use this to punish students who have made mistakes, or maybe they just want to collect a paycheck without doing much," Maudy said, making me look at her again. I stood up from my seat, feeling a bit of numbness in my legs. I was about to go and grab some books. I had decided to help Maudy, so I intended to see it through to the end.

However, my steps halted when I noticed someone in the corner of the room. I turned and stopped Maudy, who was about to return to her spot.

"Did you notice we're not alone here?" I asked, making Maudy look at me with raised eyebrows.

"What do you mean?" Maudy asked.

"Do you realize there's someone else here besides us? Look," I said, pointing towards the person. He seemed to be sleeping, with his legs propped up on the table, and his face hidden in a book.

"Didn't you notice?" Maudy asked, making me shake my head. I thought it was just the two of us in the library.

"He came into the library an hour ago. I only noticed him now. Were you too focused on organizing these books?" Maudy asked, making me shrug nonchalantly.

"Who is he? Did he come to the library just to sleep?" I asked again.

"It's normal. This is like his sacred place. You know, his hiding spot is always here. So just ignore him, as long as we don't disturb his nap time," Maudy explained, causing me to once again look at the male student who was sound asleep in the library. Maybe the peaceful atmosphere here made him that comfortable.

"And then?" I asked again.

"He's Ramon. Don't you recognize him? Anyway, let's just get through this day quickly. I want to go home, and maybe we can start again tomorrow," Maudy said, returning to her spot. As for me, I started to ponder. The name seemed familiar, as if it had frequented my ears. But who could it be, I wondered as I kept staring at the person.

But in the next moment, he lifted the book that had been covering his face. Did he hear our conversation? He sat up straight, gazing directly at me in silence. I was slightly taken aback, so I chose to pick up some books from the shelf that needed to be organized. Even his intense gaze felt like it was drilling into my back. I was sure he heard us talking, either because we whispered or due to the quiet atmosphere of the library.