Library Fiasco

A young 'Ohp daddy, little blonde girl, Ace' and no one could forget about me; 'bangable bangs.' I was definitely quite the catch at the time, I had the perfect bulging glasses and my bangs revealed my large forehead. The four of us were best friends. We were inseparable all through middle school: Deeming the library as our most popular hangout spot.

One of those dull rainy Tuesdays, I decided to accept a dare from one of the girls. I spoke to the one librarian with a full head of hair. I had made a new friend that day. The following week each one of my friends took turns introducing themselves.

We made a ritual of going down to the library's basement and making ourselves hot chocolate. Peter (library guy) would join us during his free time. He learned a lot about us and we learned plenty about him. He went to community college for a year, but wasn't impressed. He liked to swim, fish and could make a 'mean' stew. He also went to LTHS about a decade before us.

Growing tired of the library, we drew up new areas to hangout at. I got rid of my bangs, coming to terms with it being a mistake. Eventually, Kate and I signed up for some jewelry making classes at the library after our first semester.

One of the classes, Peter recognized us. He put a note in Kate's backpack and asked about our lives, one of his last sentences rose another question. "How is your tall friend? I would love it if she and I could meet again," said Library guy. He was asking about Ohp daddy! This was thrilling news.

Kate decided to write a letter to answer all of his questions. A giddy me, with my new haircut found Peter's mailbox and slipped the letter in there.

I had stayed at the library, waiting for my ride after the following class. The library guy galloped over to me. He asked if my friend, "the tall one" and anyone else who wanted to come would come to his house to reunite. That Friday night, the four of us walked the three extra blocks, from the library, to the address that he gave me.

His house was really large, and he had one of those wrap-around porches. The consensus was that this was his mom's house. He was just staying in it. Little blonde girl and I peaked in the couple of windows where the blinds were open. Complete darkness.

The four of us stood in front, we played telephone as we tried to decide what to do. Kate being the bravest, trudged down the walkway. She walked up the porch, making as little nose as possible. Kate rang the doorbell. Ohp daddy was the first to turn around, we all took off screaming. We ran until our legs felt like slinkies. No one bothered to turn their head while we ran, so we had no idea if Peter ever came outside. One of our dad's picked us up.

Four years later, I walked up to the library guy's house. He had one of those wooden shelves that holds old books. I looked through his selection. In reality, his mother's selection. I discovered one of my now favorite books, McTeague. I stared up at the house. Hardly any of it had changed, just more flowers added to the front. The blinds open, allowing for the sunlight to peer in.

I thought about my three middle school friends and all the crazy adventures we had. One of my favorites deriving from our spot at the library.