Chapter 4 - Week Two: Thursday – On Sheltered Anxieties

The young women sat in their usual arrangements in a circle, silently waiting for Jane to make some form of announcement as to what their discussion topic would be for the day. It was another sweltering day and the room did not have air conditioning or even a fan. Certainly it didn't help that the room was in the basement thus there weren't any windows to open.

"Jane, don't you think we should have a bit more air coming in here? I feel like I'm drowning in my own sweat."

Jane looked up to meet Esmeralda's pleading green eyes. Sure enough, she was sweating quite a bit while trying to fan herself with a piece of binder paper. Jane too felt miserable, but she knew there was nothing she could do.

"I suppose I can ask around the administrative office, perhaps ask Ms. Poppins for a small fan at least."

Anastasia groaned at the idea of waiting. "By the time we get a small fan it will be winter and we will be in need of a space heater instead."

Jane was about to speak up but was interrupted by the sound of someone running down to hall. The girls flinched when they heard the distinct sound of two people crashing into one another, followed by a high pitched screech and a loud thud as the two people fell to the ground.

"I'm so, so, SO, sorry!" came the Rapunzel's horrified voice from the hallway. "I was running to get to this seminar and I guess I-"

"Your hair kidnapped my legs!" The voice was unfamiliar, masculine and angry. Jane politely removed herself from the group to investigate the situation in the hall. What she found was a sight too preposterous for words: the man was sprawled out on the floor with his legs indeed caught in messy knots of Rapunzel's hair. The young woman was so flustered, trying to untangle herself from the man while simultaneously scooping up her fencing equipment that had spilled in all directions.

Jane shook her head and stepped back into the meeting room to ask some of the other girls to help. The first to stand ready to assist was Belle, already used to cleaning up strange situations at home with her father whose inventions often resulted in catastrophe. She was soon followed by Kida and Esmeralda.

Belle stepped over the man to reach Rapunzel. "Are you alright dear?" She asked, helping the nervous girl collect her fencing equipment while Kida and Esmeralda tried to untie the knots. Rapunzel nodded, still worried that the man would still be angry with her.

As if on cue, the man scoffed. "Of course she's alright. She's not the one tangled in someone else s hair." At this remark Kida took it upon herself to pin him down.

"Stop struggling!" She snapped. "Do you want us to help you or not? The more you spout your tirade, the less likely we will be able to get you out of this mess."

"Kida, there's no need to add insult to injury. He's just upset because he's embarrassed he got stuck in something so outrageous that he can't cope." Belle said, looking at the man with some form of sympathy. Meanwhile he just lay there, with Kida pinning his arms and Esmeralda steadily loosening the hair around his legs.

With a triumphant smile, Esmeralda untied the last loop and released the man from Rapunzel's golden locks. "There, you're free. Now you can be a pest somewhere else."

"Thank heaven for that! Watch where you're going next time, brat!" He spat at Rapunzel who had sunk to the ground with her back against the wall. She hastily gathered her hair into a ball and stared as he scampered off through the corridors.

Belle breathed a sigh of relief. She was glad the man was gone and silently hoped to never see him again. She and Kida reached down to help a reluctant Rapunzel off the floor and guided her into the meeting room.

"Don't worry sweetie, he's just a mindless jerk. He won't be bothering you again." Kida soothingly told Rapunzel as she and Belle linked arms with the nervous girl. Esmeralda followed with Rapunzel's fencing gear, shaking her head in the direction of the man who disrupted their meeting time.

When the group had concluded the meeting session with no particular discussion topic, Belle decided to head to the library for some peace and quiet. Most of the girls who didn't have afternoon classes decided that they would go for a dip in the pool to escape the heat. Belle knew that she wasn't a good swimmer, and she didn't feel particularly social either. The morning's events had her in an uncomfortable slump for the rest of the day.

She wasn't used to so much commotion all at once. In fact, she was still adjusting to living in a big city where people were not guaranteed to be as friendly and accepting as the people from her village. Granted, they whispered behind her back and poked fun at her father's failed inventions, and she knew this all too well. They were never outright cruel or hurtful though. There was always a sense of community and helpfulness if anyone was in trouble. For the most part, the villagers were understanding of mishaps as they happened fairly often in a rural environment.

Belle sighed as she reached up to grab a dusty book off the shelf in the 'Travel' section. She had looked up travel anecdotes the night before for some new reading material. She was particularly interested in the concept of international study and learning from other cultures. In fact, the only reason she chose to attend the University was to join the International Student group and meet other students who made the trek to England as a means of breaking out of a stagnant home life – at least, that was her reasoning for leaving France to study abroad.

The book she pulled out was The Innocents Abroad, by Mark Twain. Belle had read several books by him, her favorite being the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn which introduced her to a historic view of life in rural America. This book however, The Innocents Abroad, was one she never had a chance to read. While it was published and translated into French, she knew she wanted to read it in English to truly achieve the sense of travel that Twain depicted. She also knew that there were subtleties in American English such as satire that would be missed if she read it in French.

At this point in her life, Belle was ready to crack open the binding of the green, hardcover library copy in front of her. She was finally ready to read the long awaited semi-autobiography of an expedition she had always dreamed of reading about. Now that she was finally on her own expedition, she was ready. Though something gnawed at her still as she began to read the introduction. The morning's events were still raw in her mind and she hardly could focus on the text. Instead she kept replaying the man's voice in her head, and his blatant disrespect to her and her friends.

Belle shivered as the scene continued to haunt her through the afternoon. She was frustrated that she couldn't shake it off and put the morning away into the past (where it belonged.) There was no doubt in her mind that she was bitter at how sheltered she was growing up and how isolated she was in her village compared to city folk who experienced this outright disrespect on a regular basis. So with an aggravated huff, she closed the book and headed to the checkout counter.

As she waited in line to check out her book, Belle was suddenly alarmed to hear the deep, familiar voice she heard in the morning. "I told you already! I'm not paying anything to you people! I just need to return this stupid book I didn't even need."

The voice behind the counter was stern and unmoving. "Gaston, you stole that book two years ago. You need to pay the fine or the University will not let you graduate."

The man from the morning, Gaston was fuming again and threw the book at the library clerk. The young man behind the counter dodged the blow, and Belle flinched at the crack of hardcover hitting linoleum."Fine, you play your little game Adam, I'll play along too. But I'll tell you now that you're not getting out of this one this time. No more second chances."

Within an instant, Gaston turned around to face Belle, a sly grin emerging on his face in recognition. "Well, if it isn't the rescue squad leader. Pleased to make your acquaintance once again my lady." He sneered and gave a mock bow. Belle's legs began to shake as she watched his eyes slither over her body. "I'll definitely be seeing you again..."

Gaston gave one last threatening look at the library clerk before stomping out. "Remember what I said, Adam. Don't forget." He announced over his shoulder.

Belle let out an exasperated sigh and leaned against the check-out counter for support. Her legs were still wobbling. The clerk, Adam was obviously irritable. "That guy...I swear, if he crosses my path again..." He shook his head in disdain and looked at Belle. His eyes softened a bit, but still held a bite. "Are you alright?" He asked with some hesitation.

The young woman looked up into the young man's still somewhat cold and unwelcoming blue eyes. She nodded softly and remembered why she was there in the first place. "I would like to check out this book, if that's OK?"

Adam grabbed the Twain book out of her hands and placed it under the scanner. He shook his head. "So that's it? You have nothing else to say about what just happened?"

"Excuse me?" Belle was perplexed.

"I mean, you were bothered by him too weren't you? And you have nothing to say? No thank-you or anything?"

Belle was taken aback. "Thank you for what? You stood there and took his abuse. You let him threaten you, and then you stood behind your desk in safety while he harassed me!" Her voice was rising. She was becoming unglued once again, this time in anger at Adam's ridiculous questions.

Adam put his hands up in surrender. "Whoa, hey alright. I see your point, no need to get bent out of shape over this. You're stressed, I understand. I spoke out of line out of my own stress at the situation. Just trying to make conversation..." He handed the book back to her with a receipt on top and extended his hand in peace. "Let's start over. My name is Adam, I'm a student and the assistant librarian."

Belle relaxed and hesitantly took his hand. "I'm Belle, I'm an international student from France."

The young man gave her a small smile, all signs of anger erased from his face. "It's very nice to meet you Belle, maybe I will see you again soon, hopefully without a theatrical performance."

She was still feeling overwhelmed, especially after the second encounter with Gaston but she let herself relax slightly, even if only to show that she was willing to start over. "I love libraries, so I will definitely be back again in the near future." She picked up her book and gave a nod to Adam on her way out. "It was nice to meet you too."

As Belle wandered out of the library she began to wonder if Adam might someday become a friend. She thought back to his face and realized that she couldn't remember exactly what he looked like. All she could think about were his piercing blue eyes that made her feel both uneasy, yet somehow comfortable. She couldn't figure out why he made such an impression on her or even if he had made an impression at all. He seemed friendly enough, a bit harsh but polite. Then she remembered the words Gaston said to him "No more second chances..." Second chances for what? It was his association with Gaston that made Belle queasy, and she couldn't shed the thought that if she and Adam did develop a friendship that Gaston would inevitably make an appearance once again. Nauseated and unsure of herself, Belle was content with putting the day's hazy events into the back of her mind, but she was continuously intrigued by the strange library assistant and definitely wanted to know more about him.

Author's Note:
Hi again everyone! Thank you so much for the reviews!
disney-fr3ak, risingstar9328, and AndieTiggerPyro, Solaria Daughter of Apollo, Justdance111, Ms. Emily Vega, yeahIwentthere69, supersmashkingdomhearts1999 and all my mysterious guest reviews! You are all fantastic!

An extra thank you to yeahIwentthere69 for inspiring me to write Belle into this chapter. I was having so much writer's block that I couldn't even figure out a decent starting point!

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and I will do my best to update more frequently =] Let me know if you have any suggestions, requests, critiques, or any other thoughts that you would like to share. Your voices are important!

-Suzerenma