Fakiru Week 2016- Day 2: Books
"I'm going to borrow these books, Autor!" Ahiru said, handing Autor a stack of books she had picked from the various shelves in the library.
Autor was that month's library assistant (one of the very few who volunteered for the position) and looked at Ahiru's books with interest. "Reading all of these? Getting more studying done, Ahiru?"
Ahiru rubbed the back of her head and smiled. "Yeah, sure! That's what I'm doing!"
"...'Advanced Brush Techniques'? 'Woodworking Models for Beginners'? 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarves'?" Autor asked. "These are the books you want?"
Ahiru blinked a few times before flailing her arms and replying, "Oh, yeah! I also borrowed some of them for friends because...yeah! And I wanted to reread Snow White because it's such a classic! Heh...heh..."
"Very well, then. I won't judge you for your choice in books. Just be sure to return them before the due date," Autor said, slipping the due date slip into each book before handing them back to her. "Enjoy them."
"Thank you!" Ahiru grinned, skipping out of the library.
Fakir, who had been writing at a nearby table, had witnessed the exchange, and knowing Ahiru, she wouldn't be reading those books. Packing his things into his bag, he quickly made his way out of the library to follow her, giving Autor a curt nod when he passed by. Evidently, he didn't follow after her quick enough; Ahiru had made a speedy get away and was nowhere in sight. He figured that if there was any place she would go to, it would be here dorm room, so he made his way to the girls' dormitory.
"Fakir-senpai, how are you!" someone yelled. Fakir inwardly cringed at the screech from down the walkway, and out of politeness, he turned to face the person who called out to him. Crossing the street, Pique and Lilie waved at Fakir.
Ahiru had told him that these two were her favorite friends, though he didn't see what that meant when the blonde girl clearly had more fun teasing Ahiru. "Hello, you two. I'm doing well. Have you seen Ahiru?"
"Oh yes, we saw her, headed back to her room with a load of books," Pique said.
Lilie squealed and Fakir winced. "Oh yes, she had a lot of books, but she would never be able to finish them! Oh, what a tragedy it would be if she were not to finish them-"
"Thank you, you two. I hope you both have a nice day," Fakiru said, cutting Lilie off mid-rant.
"Bye, see you, Fakir-senpai!" the two girls called after him.
Fakir would never understand why she was still friends with them, especially Lilie, but he supposed that it was just in Ahiru's nature to be friends with everyone she met. Coming upon her door, Fakir gave it a knock and said, "Ahiru, are you there?"
He heard a squeak and something-or some things-tumbling to the ground. The door opened wide to a surprised Ahiru. "Wh-what are you doing here, Fakir?" Ahiru asked.
"I think the better question is, what are you doing here, Ahiru? I saw you borrowing some books from the library-books that you would never read-and I was curious, so I came to ask you." Fakir stepped into her room to see the very books she had borrowed lay haphazardly on the floor. He turned back to her and raised an eyebrow.
"Er-well, yeah, I wasn't planning on reading those books...well maybe I will reread Snow White, but I checked them out for a different reason." Ahiru picked up the books and restacked them, making her way to the far end of her room. "Pique and Lilie said that balancing books would help with my ballet!"
Setting the books on her head, Ahiru looked straight ahead and took a step forward. However, it seemed like that was the only step she was able to take before the books fell again. This time, she caught them before they fell on the floor; Fakir just hoped that the librarian wouldn't notice the bent corners. Not like he was condoning this practice. In fact, he should probably speak up.
Snapping out of his reverie, Fakir held out his hand to stop Ahiru from taking another step and said, "Look, I know you want to get better at ballet, but if you're going to be using those books, you need to be more careful; Autor would not be thrilled to get those books back all banged up."
"Does that mean you'll help me, Fakir?" Ahiru asked, eyes shining with hope.
"No, I-" Fakir started to say, but he couldn't look away from her big puppy-perhaps duck-eyes and just gave up with a sigh. "Fine, I'll help you, but only for a little bit."
"Oh thank you so much, Fakir!" Ahiru exclaimed, leaping towards Fakir to give him a hug. Of course, that just upset the tower of books that were on her head, and they came tumbling down with a crash. "Oops..."
"Here, let's just try one book..." Fakir said.
That afternoon, Fakir helped Ahiru balance books on her head. From one step to two steps to across her whole room, Fakir felt a shred of pride with each step she took and each piece of advice she eagerly listened to. Ahiru wouldn't become prima ballerina anytime soon, but Fakir figured that if he going to be in her company, he would get to see that happen someday.
Here's Day 2 of Fakiru Week! Hope you enjoy it :) That's all the fanfiction for this year, so head on over to my deviant art to see art for this week!