Chapter 2
"Lily!"
"Hm?" Lily sat up straighter in her math class, she was in the back of the room zoned out, and found that all eyes were on her.
"Lily, could you answer my question please?" Mr. Mais asked looking very impatient. Lily was wearing a blue shirt and jeans, thinking frantically of what question he was referring to. Was he talking about the one on the board or was it just some random question that had nothing to do with what was on the board. Lily felt pressured by every eye in the room and she was about to admit that she hadn't been paying attention, when someone else broke the awkward silence.
"Yeah Lily," Came a voice from her left, "should we use the quadratic formula or the distributive property to answer the question, on the board?" Lily smiled to her friend, Tanja Sage, and sneakily checked the problem on the board.
"Quadratic formula." Lily answered looking at Mr. Mais who wasn't looking at her but at Tanja.
"Sage with the save." He said giving a small smile. "Yes, that is correct, Lily." He walked back to the board and picking up a marker continued his lesson. Lily's best friend Anna Reeve sat in front of Tanja and reached back under the desk to give her a high five. Lily smiled to herself, but then began to frown as she sunk back into her mind where she stayed vacant for the rest of class.
"Lily!" Lily jumped, banging her knee on the underside of her desk, grabbing onto her knee she looked round to find Tanja and Anna standing on each side of her, both of them yelling her name into each ear.
"WHAT!" Lily yelled back with equal volume. Looking at each girl as if they were crazed lunatics.
"School is over." Anna said as she blew up at her red bangs that were hanging over her brown eyes, her hair was long and hung loose down her back, and the rest of her body was covered in freckles.
"Come on!" Tanja whined stubbornly, "We are going to get stuck behind the buses. MOVE!" she grabbed Lily's bag and started walking away, her long black braid swinging as she left the classroom.
Lily got up and ran with Anna after their Indian friend, Tanja had brown skin, glasses and an orange beaded necklace, and a newly installed nose piercing. Lily and Anna caught up to Tanja at the stairwell; she was wearing her old basketball shoes and her favorite sports jacket. Lily smiled as she took her bag back from Tanja and the three girls started talking as they continued to descend the stairs.
"You seem really out of it today Lily," Anna spoke with concern in her voice, "is everything okay?" she asked as they reached the ground floor and walked out to the parking lot. Tanja walked over to Anna's lime green jeep that was parked next to Lily's blue bug.
"Of course everything is okay." Lily responded with a why-would-you-ask-such-a-ridiculous-question face. The girls hung outside the cars for a moment, quietly looking at each other until Tanja broke the silence.
"Can we please go to the library now." She complained to her friends. "I would drive myself but, you know, I didn't get a car for my 16th Birthday so." Tanja spoke with a fake miserable voice that made Lily and Anna look at her with peculiar what-the-heck-are-you-talking-about looks.
"Well, you shouldn't have failed that math test." Anna informed Tanja raising her eyebrow in gentle surprise.
"Well you know if you hadn't told my mother that I had failed I would have a drivers license right now." Tanja countered tossing her head to the side with attitude.
"Yeah Anna why'd you do that?" Lily jumped into the argument grinning playfully at her friends.
"Well Lily if we want to point fingers why did you give her the wrong study guide?" Anna countered back sarcastically, as the girls continued to play the blame game with each other.
"Yeah Lily, what was that all about?" Tanja asked pointing a finger at Lily looking a small bit annoyed.
"I don't know." Lily said grinning. "Maybe you should have done your own study guide for homework like you were supposed to instead of copying mine." All three girls looked serious at each other then broke out laughing.
Anna still smiling at Tanja started the teasing again again. "You can walk if you want It's not like I have to give you a ride." She was digging through her backpack trying to find her keys.
"Think very carefully about this, Tanja." Lily said looking at her seriously. "It is something she would actually do." Anna was smiling at this as she unlocked the jeep door.
"No she wouldn't." Tanja said waving her hand dismissively at the absurd idea as Anna slid into the driver's seat smiling mischievously. Tanja pulled the passenger door handle but the door wouldn't budge, instead the window rolled down to reveal Anna's gleeful face.
"Hit the road Jack!" All three ladies laughed as Tanja was finally allowed into the car.
"Okay." Lily said getting into her own car. "Let's go then."
The girls got to the library a few minutes later, it was all lit up in the daytime and it was bustling with the talk of high school and college students. It also had plenty of middle age and old geezers walking around reading, checking Email and checking out. The three girls however were just there to study, but first they walked up to the front desk to say hello to Miss Gail. However when they got to the main desk she wasn't there in her normal spot; instead Mrs. Olson occupied the space.
"Hello sweeties how are you today?" Mrs. Olson asked smiling at the young girls.
"Fine Mrs. Olson." Tanja responded. "Where is Miss Gail?" She asked looking around the lobby for her. Mrs. Olson joined her, looking around the room, but Lily noticed it was more out of caution and fear than curiosity. She turned back to the girls and leaned over close.
"She has been acting very strange." She whispered looking up at the girls but focused most of her gaze on Lily. "It isn't just the British stuff anymore, although she is speaking it much more fluently."
"What is she doing?" Lily asked her voice filled with concern.
"Well," Mrs. Olsen spoke anxiously, "she is working in the Tech Department, with Mrs. Muller." She said letting her voice become quieter with each word she spoke. "But normally she can barely start her own computer much less do what she has been doing." Mrs. Olson was flustered.
"I am sure she will be fine Mrs. Olson." Tanja started. "She has probably just taken some classes on computers and is just showing off her new skills." Anna nodded in agreement and Lily began to speak again.
"Yeah and she is dating this British guy so she is learning the slang to probably get closer to him." She said trying to add some more logical explanations to their theories.
"And the computers?" Mrs. Olson started again, "Lily she is changing the firewall and protection on the computers so much that she has me change my password every ten minutes." Lily was about to say something that might have been more comforting but Mrs. Olson had cut her off saying, "She won't stop muttering 'Upgrade' and 'Delete'. I am afraid I might be made redundant."
"What?" Anna asked confused.
"'Fired', it's British slang, I was reading the book Miss Gail has been using to learn it." Lily explained to Anna and Tanja who were now thoroughly lost in translation.
"She won't stop talking like that," Mrs. Olson started worry was smothering her voice, "and every time I ask her what she is talking about, she just tells me I am some 'stupid American' and that I should be either 'upgraded' or 'deleted'. I am just so scared for her." Mrs. Olson was very close to tears at this point.
"It is going to be fine," Anna spoke softly bending down to hold Mrs. Olson's hand, "Lily can talk to her," 'Why me?' Lily thought to herself annoyed but seeing Mrs. Olsen she softened up, "maybe she is just having some trouble with the guy she is dating." Anna said trying to sound supportive. "But first we need to study, just hang in there. Alright?" Mrs. Olson nodded and turned to Lily she reached out and took her wrist and started to speak.
"Be careful when you talk to her," Mrs. Olsen informed Lily, "she is on a delicate string." The girls said goodbye and left Mrs. Olson for a cubicle toward the back corner of the Library. When Tanja and Anna left Lily decided to go to the tech room to talk with Miss Gail. When she walked in though Mrs. Muller was the only one there.
"Hello, Mrs. Muller." Lily greeted the aging woman.
"Hello, Lily. Are you volunteering today?" Mrs. Muller gave a grin but her eyes didn't seem to smile back.
"Yes I am," Lily answered smiling a little, "I'm probably going to stay late too. How is it getting on back here?" she asked politely.
"Oh Miss Gail is changing everything!" all of a sudden Mrs. Muller blew up and become very upset. "She is messing around with the equipment, and telling me I am inadequate and that I am an insult to humanity." Mrs. Muller then proceeded to collapse into a chair throwing her face into her palms. "She said that later she would have me deleted!" Mrs. Muller started to sob very loudly. All Lily could do was put a hand on her shoulder, to attempt to comfort her and at that moment Miss Gail decided to walk in. Lily tried to keep her face straight but the metallic smell that came with Miss Gail was overwhelming.
"Hello Miss Gail, is that a new perfume?" Lily asked trying to keep a straight face through all the tears starting to well up in her eyes from the strong odor. "Don't you think it might be a little much though?"
"Shut up!" Miss Gail demanded, Lily's mouth snapped shut, her shock shown brightly through her eyes. "And you!" Miss Gail yelled at Mrs. Muller. "Don't get your knickers in a twist, you daft cow!" Miss Gail practically screamed her head and hands shaking, and as she moved strands of her short hair behind her ears she revealed some sort of Bluetooth earpiece. "You are all in shambles, go home watch the telly get some chips and do your bits 'n bobs!" Lily looked at Miss Gail astonished by what she was hearing. 'What has gotten into her?' she asked herself as Miss Gail turned back to her.
"Lily," Miss Gail started again now, "I need you to go organize the card system in the back. It is all messed up, and I want them to be sorted by the Dewy Decimal System, and I want it done tonight." Lily now showed obvious anger and frustration toward Miss Gail. She was glaring at her, trying to burn holes right through. "Remember you, horses for courses cause I am the gaffer." And with that finale of words Miss Gail left the room.
It was late again when Lily finally finished up the sorting, but she stayed where she was and pulled out the British slang book, that was in her book bag. Lily was trying to find some of the things Miss Gail had said earlier in Mrs. Muller's room and after finding the words she could not help but feel insulted. It was 10:50 when her mother sent a text message suggesting that it would be a good idea to get home. Sitting there Lily realized there were no other sounds in the library; and Lily was just hopping she wasn't locked in. She did not want to have to call Miss Gail, at 11 o'clock to ask her to come and save her.
Lily was walking down the stairs from the Teen section when she noticed a light coming from the tech room it was flashing bright blue. Lily started to slowly make her way toward the light when she heard a computerized voice speak.
"Muller you are to be deleted. Good Bye." The blue light became stark white and Lily recognized Mrs. Muller's voice as it screamed out in agony. Lily had to hold her hands over her mouth to keep herself from crying out, and when the door to the room started to open she ducked behind the front desk trying very hard not to breathe too heavily. She could hear footsteps walking toward the back office, and Lily dared herself to look out the side of the desk just in time to see Miss Gail walk into her office and close the door. Lily ran to the doors and out to her car, when the door had closed she started to cry.
Lily didn't know what really happened but she couldn't help but think the worse. While she was crying Lily heard a noise that startled her; she looked around and didn't see anything but a light in the children section and a small structure. Lily didn't really see it and was about to take a second glance when her phone alerted her that she had a text message. Lily wiped her tears with the back of her hands, not bothering to look at the text, knowing it was her mother she just drove away. What Lily did not see was that on the second floor Miss Gail was watching her as she and pulled out of the parking lot.