The air has grown cold again. It nips at my exposed hands and legs as I walk to lunch. It's beginning to reach that time of year when sitting outside in the lunch yard becomes a death sentence for hypothermia. The girls like to get away with our ludicrous dress policy by wearing the closest thing to pants under their skirts, but leggings can only reach a certain thickness before the teachers start nagging at us to just wear the khaki pants instead. I have a few thin leggings, but they don't replace a warm, heated room and an actual pair of pants.

Hazel, in particular, is shivering this afternoon. She did not check the weather before school today, and so she wears only her skirt and some sneakers.

"Why don't you just keep a spare pair of leggings in your backpack?" Abigail suggests as Hazel sits there with her arms crossed, teeth chattering and body quivering.

"I don't have any good ones," Hazel complains.

"Could always wear the pants," I add, teasing her just a bit.

"Then I'll look like all the lesbians that sit in The Corner," Hazel says, eyeing the area of the lunchyard that is now exclusively known for holding every LGBTQ+ student at this school.

Juliet and Allison are laughing, but I grow quiet and place my sandwich away. I'm suddenly not very hungry anymore, and besides, I have a load of homework I need to get done. In my mind, the overly-stuffy library is suddenly equated to a cozy room in front of a fire. I'll take anything over this cold.

I start packing my things away, even if the bell isn't set to ring for another thirty minutes. My friends eye me up and down as I zip my black backpack closed.

"Going somewhere?" Allison asks.

"Library. I have a load of Calculus problems to do," I answer.

"Aw, c'mon, Callie! You're always running to the library during this time of the semester! Don't you want to stay here and keep me company?" Hazel begs, blinking her eyes such a ridiculous number of times that I'm sure it hurts.

"I have a lot of homework to do, and I'd rather not have to do it at home. I'm practically a tutor for my siblings these days. I don't get as much peace and quiet there," I explain as I stand up and swing the bag around my back.

"Good luck. See you later," Abigail says.

"Thanks. I'll sit with you guys the entire lunch period tomorrow. Promise," I say before turning around and walking around crowds of girls sitting around the courtyard. I quickly arrive to the library and manage to snag a small little table near the window.

This is my favorite table in the library. It's secluded from the main section of the library, far from the girls that claim they're going to study together and then end up chatting a little too loudly while our elderly librarian naps behind her desk.

At this spot, I get a clear view of the sky, tall trees, and the various flowers that are outside the window. It's a calming sight to witness when I'm stressing about a test and need a break. I simply lift my head, admire the beauty of outside, then find the motivation to look back down at my paper or laptop.

I'm working pretty well on my homework for ten minutes or so, until I start getting stumped on some word problems. I tap my pencil impatiently against my paper and stare up at the sky. It's getting cloudy again. I wonder if we're in for a rainstorm later, and of course, I didn't bring my umbrella to school today.

There are countless eraser shreds on my homework as I try to wrack my head around this problem. As I'm furiously staring at the ominous white sheet of paper, I fail to notice the red curls approaching until I see that same pale hand with light pink nail polish slowly touch down on the wooden table.

I glance up, staring into Aurora Gray's green eyes. I jump at first, not having even noticed anyone approaching. She's so quiet on her feet, like a graceful ballerina. It makes sense, I guess. A perfect student wouldn't drag her feet like I do.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you," Aurora says, giggling some. She has her backpack on too, and I realize she must have just come in from lunch. "Is it okay if I join you?"

Normally, I am vehemently against people sitting at the same table as me, unless it's crowded. I find it harder to focus when my classmates sit next to me. But somehow or other, my head is nodding, not wanting to be impolite. She smiles and takes a seat across from me and begins to pull out her various binders and notebooks.

"I just realized recently how often you're at the library, especially during lunchtime," Aurora whispers.

"So you've been stalking me?"

"What? No. I'm here a lot too, especially during lunch. I thought it'd be smarter to share a table, in case the library fills up," Aurora says.

"It's not anywhere close to finals. I doubt the library will be filling up this lunch period," I state in a pragmatic tone.

Aurora shrugs. "Oh well." Her eyes then fall to my homework, with its multiple eraser marks and pink eraser shreds coating it like a fine layer of dust. "Is that the Calculus homework?" Aurora asks.

I nod slowly.

"Do you need help with it?"

"I don't always need help with Calculus homework," I mutter, slightly annoyed our conversations always seem to revolve on whether I've understood the homework or not.

"Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to assume. You're very smart, I know."

I let out a sigh. Now I've offended her kindness, which is the last thing I want to do.

"Actually, I am having trouble with some of these word problems," I admit, pushing the paper close to her. "I get the concept, but when it comes to application...well, I always struggle with those."

Aurora scoots her chair closer to mine and studies the problem before nodding and grabbing her pencil. Slowly, she begins outlining the problem to me, guiding me through it until the gears in my brain finally click and I know the way to the right answer. She helps me with the second problem, then leaves me alone to do the third.

"Thank you," I say.

"No problem. I have difficulties with those ones too. I like to search up extra practice problems online to get those down," Aurora explains. Of course she would do something like that. I'm striving for straight As, but not A++ in every class.

I work hard on the next problem, finding that it comes much easier to me now that Aurora has explained it in detail. I feel an odd mixture of frustration and contentment. I'm irked Aurora keeps poking her nose into my life, but I'm also glad I was able to get a little extra help on some math problems today. I can't exactly ask any of my friends, who are all in PreCalc or Algebra II, for math help, and my parents are of no help either. They barely can aid my siblings' algebra homework these days.

Aurora studies diligently across from me, not saying word. Well, I suppose I don't mind her sitting across from me, then, if she's not going to bother me at all, save to offer help when I need it. I find the silence comforting. I work fine, if not better, than I did when I was alone. It's strange. Most of my friends won't study with me, so it's unusual to work beside someone else and still manage to get work done.

The bell rings right as I finish my last math problem. I start gathering my stuff together, already hearing the loud cacophony of teenage girl voices filling the hallways as everyone rushes off to their afternoon classes.

"If you ever want some tutoring help, let me know," Aurora states.

"Is that part of your service club or something?" I ask.

"Oh, no! I am an official tutor in the free time, but I meant informally. I'm not going to use you for credits or grades or anything," Aurora states, giggling some. "I'm a nice person, you know."

"I know," I answer. And that's what irks me the most. Why does she have to follow me around and be nice when I have my own friends and she has hers? We belong to different years and different social circles. By high school criteria, it should stay that way.

"Oh! I've got to get to class! See you around, Callie," she says as she turns and walks away, her corkscrew red curls bouncing with each step.

"See you," I quietly reply as I depart as well. Something tells me this won't be the last time Aurora Gray finds me in the library.