Hello! Welcome to my story! This is just the introduction, more will come soon!
Every turn of a page stepped on her loneliness more and more until she didn't even know it was there anymore, and every chapter silenced the hunger pangs.
Sitting on the edge of the smooth wooden seat, she opened up today's book, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 1. As she continued her education, she grew more and more irritated with how the textbooks only scratched the surface of these complete train wrecks throughout history, and Hermione was determined to learn all that she could. A small part of her was hopeful with each lesson she learned from the world's past, that when she was done with high school and college and all that, she might be able to use her immense knowledge of former mistakes to learn, remember, and make the world a better place.
Mr. Ressendorf entered through the computer lab and was not surprised to see her, but asked anyway, "Shouldn't you be at lunch?"
"Not hungry," Hermione lied, turning the pages of the enormous volume until she reached the introduction. He pursed his lips.
Mr. Ressendorf was a smart man. As a smart man, he knew that the girl was lying. As an educator, he knew that he should try to pry more information out of her to figure out what is really long, and that he should encourage her to eat a healthy meal. As a man who had chosen the profession of surrounding himself with books instead of people, he was uncomfortable and unsure of how to even begin to form another question, so he retreated to his worn blue desk chair that made her flinch when it squawked under his weight. It's on his last legs, as he's informed the principal, but unfortunately the budget is so tight right now that they cannot be bothered to waste money on frivolities like new chairs.
From five feet away, he heard her stomach growling, and she immediately wrapped her arms around it, as if she thought it could be silenced. Mr. Ressendorf has no children, no love; only a cat. A stubborn one at that, who eats, sleeps, and moves on her own time. He eyed the peanut butter crackers he was saving for his mid afternoon snack, glanced at the girl hiding under a magnificent bush of brown hair, and sighed. It took him about five minutes not only to work up the courage, but also to form words in his head, repeat them to himself a few times, and try to work out any strangeness before they are released into the air.
"Don't get any crumbs in the books," he mumbles, setting down the pack of crackers in front of her. "You can stay here, you can read, you can bring a snack, as long as you are quiet and don't get crumbs in the books." It's not as if anyone actually uses the library anymore, he reminded himself. These poor books are gathering dust and the only ones who might pick them up are the troublemakers that get sent down her so they don't bother anyone else. And even then, if they're picked up, there's a good chance that they'll be chucked across the room. He tried not to think too hard about why she wouldn't be eating in the lunchroom.
Hermione smiled at him, embarrassed, but grateful. "Thank you." The librarian left for another room, and Hermione scooted back, a foot away from the table, careful to follow his instructions. She wouldn't dare to leave a book in any condition less than pristine.