The following days passed in monotonous succession.
Courtney visited Jagged Pass to take strolls with Mightyena each morning, as per her typical routine, but she didn't spot that red-haired stranger again. It wasn't as if she went there PURPOSELY searching for him. She merely made the observation that she and Mightyena were the only ones on Jagged Pass each time she went.
She tried not to think too much into it. It was heavily unlikely that he was a local. He was probably just a tourist or a traveler passing through the area. It would explain why she didn't know him at all. Lavaridge Town was such a small community that pretty much every resident could recognize each other by face, if not by name. That being said, if she had seen him before, she certainly would have recognized him.
So by the time a week passed, Courtney had all but forgotten about him.
She carried on with her daily and weekly activities as usual.
"Business is slow today," Courtney's grandmother commented aloud as she swept the wooden floors of the lava cookie shop. Courtney was seated at the front counter, leaning over a piping-hot cup of green tea. She sighed as she looked up to survey the empty tables and chairs.
"Yeah," she agreed, before lifting her cup and gingerly taking a sip. "But it's always slow on Sunday..."
Her grandmother smiled. "Well, it would be nice to have at least ONE customer. Oh well! We'll probably have more business tomorrow."
"Hopefully." Courtney finished her tea and set the cup to the side. She looked down at the floor where Mightyena was snoozing peacefully. He appeared to have a cluster of cookie crumbs around his jaw, which made Courtney smile in amusement.
The lava cookie shop was small, but it was cozy and quaint. Mightyena loved to take naps on the floor while she and her grandmother worked. He would sleep like a baby for hours.
But sometimes business was so incredibly lacking that Courtney had to resist falling asleep herself. Not that she would ever dream of falling asleep in the middle of work! She willingly chose to spend her weekends helping out since she didn't have much better to do. Still, her head began to loll to the side as she drummed her fingers on the counter.
There hadn't been a single customer for the past two hours. It bothered her a bit that she wasn't doing anything productive during that time.
Courtney sighed and stood up. She reached behind her back so she could tug at the straps that were holding her white apron in place. Once she had loosened the apron, she folded the material neatly and placed it on the stool that she was just sitting on.
"Grandma, can I take my break now...?" she asked. "We're not busy..."
Upon hearing Courtney's request, her grandmother stopped sweeping for a moment so she could glance at the small analog clock hanging on the wall.
One o'clock.
"Well, I suppose that's okay," her grandmother replied, pausing in her sweeping. "I'll watch Mightyena for you, while you're gone."
"That would be nice."
"Just leave it to me, dear." She watched Courtney head over to the door. "Are you heading off to the local library again?"
Courtney turned her head towards her grandmother and nodded. "You know me well, Grandma..."
Her grandma chuckled before resuming her sweeping and saying, "You've only been living with me for fifteen years!"
Courtney smiled and she felt relieved that her grandmother neglected to mention her late father. That was another reason why her grandmother knew her so perfectly. She knew that the topic made Courtney uncomfortable.
"That's true," Courtney said before opening the front door. "...I'm leaving now."
"Be back by five, alright?" Her grandmother called. "I know you like your books, but don't get carried away!"
"Okay, Grandma," she replied.
And with that, Courtney stepped outside and closed the door behind her.
Courtney liked Jagged Pass.
But she preferred the local library in Lavaridge much more.
Even though the building was small, the shelves were tall and overflowing with all sorts of reading material. From encyclopedias to fiction to non-fiction, the library seemed to have just about everything.
After politely waving to the librarian seated behind a large and cluttered desk, Courtney made a beeline for the non-fiction section. When she reached the first shelf labeled "non-fiction", she immediately headed down the aisle.
Since she came to the library regularly, she fingered through several books that she had already read. She had already browsed several other books and found no interest in them. Usually, she ignored the history books and paid a bit more attention to the scientific books.
Courtney didn't discriminate between different topics of science though. Whether it was chemistry or physics, she always at least browsed a book about science. They just naturally drew her attention and provoked her interest, ever since she was a small girl.
Courtney craned her neck so she could look upwards. Surely there had to be something interesting here that she hasn't read yet.
At first, she didn't see anything that caught her eye. There were some books about the anatomy of an oddish and its evolutionary line. Then there was a book about the rare crystal onix.
"Hmm...?" Courtney walked closer to the shelf and peered at the title written on a book with mahogany binding.
The Biology of Evolution.
She never noticed that book here before. It sounded interesting enough, though.
Courtney tried to reach for the book with her right hand, but she soon realized that she couldn't reach it even with her arm fully extended. What was even more frustrating was that her fingers just barely grazed the binding, yet she was unable grasp the whole book.
She frowned after a few more attempts. It was pretty much pointless to keep trying because it would be impossible for her to reach the book without some sort of elevation.
She quickly glanced around. Surely there had to be a stepladder somewhere... She knew that the librarian kept a couple around, but there didn't appear to be any nearby..
How unfortunate.
Courtney turned to her left, intending to walk away so she could go search for a stepladder. It would be a hassle, but it was minor so she supposed it had to be done.
"Excuse me." Courtney was startled a bit as she heard a masculine voice behind her. She turned her head around abruptly to look at who had addressed her.
Time seemed to slow down as she looked at the individual in front of her. All of a sudden, she could feel the tension in the room multiply.
Her violet eyes met the man's sharp grey orbs.
It was HIM.
She was absolutely sure of it. She would never mistake those eyes or that head of red hair. Nor would she fail to recognize those large, thick-framed glasses. He was even wearing the same attire from before, except that none of the articles of clothing were stained with ash! The only thing she could discern as different was that he wasn't holding a gray thermos of coffee.
The man seemed to recognize her as well, because she saw both of his eyebrows raise in unison as he studied her face. However, other than the temporary chance in his facial expression, he didn't make an effort to show that he recognized her. She wondered what thoughts were going through his mind.
Neither of them said anything for at least a full minute, though it felt like so much longer. Courtney didn't think it was possible for the atmosphere to become anymore awkward, but she couldn't bring herself to break the silence.
"If you don't mind, could you step aside for a moment?" The man spoke, after what seemed like an eternity. Courtney was still in slight shock, but she managed to nod and step aside just enough for him to reach a particular section on the bookshelf. "Thank you."
Courtney watched him reach for a book on the top shelf, which he did with more success than her. He plucked a book off of the shelf, but she didn't bother to look at which book he chose.
She was fully aware of the fact that she was staring and she knew it was impolite to stare. Especially at a stranger.
But the coincidence of seeing him again still had her surprised.
Because it was just a lucky coincidence.
Right?
"Here." Before Courtney could register what was happening, a mahogany book was thrust towards her hands.
"...Huh?" Courtney's mind took a few moments to register what the man was holding out to her. The Biology of Evolution. "How did you...?"
"You seemed to be struggling to reach this," he explained while adjusting his glasses. Courtney hesitated for a moment before reaching out and taking the book from the man's grip.
She looked at the book with awe. "Thank you..." she managed to mumble.
"There's no need to thank me," he insisted as he reached onto the shelf for another book. "It was a simple gesture."
"..." Courtney clutched the book against her chest and took an intense interest in her footwear. She wasn't sure how to respond, so she simply kept her mouth shut and didn't say anything. If the man noticed her silence, he didn't show any indication that he did.
She turned away from him, embarrassed at her own immature behavior. She had already spent an irrational amount of time gawking at a stranger. There was a perfectly good book in her hands, so what was she waiting for?
As she began to walk away, she simultaneously opened the front cover of the mahogany book.
Acknowledgements... This book is dedicated to-
She didn't even finish reading the acknowledgements.
"Is science an interest of yours?" Courtney froze.
Was he trying to start a conversation with her? She looked around before facing the man and pointing to herself.
"Me...?"
"Yes, I was addressing you." She bit her lip when she heard the man's response. To be honest, she would much prefer to be reading than conversing with others. Still, some idle chit-chat wouldn't KILL her...
She gently shut the book in her hands.
"Um... you're correct. Science interests me," she answered. "Why do you ask...?"
"It was merely out of curiosity." He plucked a thick book off of the shelf. From the elaborate cover illustration, Courtney assumed that it was about volcanic eruptions. "This library does have quite a variety of science-related material, though."
"Yeah... I've read almost all of them..."
"Is that so? You must come here often," he noted.
"I do." Courtney could think of a million questions that she wanted to ask him, but she didn't know which one to ask. Did he come to the library often, and she just never noticed him for unknown reasons? Was he a local that she somehow didn't know existed? She couldn't force any words out of her mouth.
" I can see why. This is a pleasant place, Miss…" he furrowed his brow as his voice trailed off slightly. "How rude of me. I'm afraid I didn't catch your name."
"Um..." She tightened the grip on her book. There wasn't anything to be afraid of. It was just that this man's presence seemed so intense to her. She naturally felt a bit self-conscious. "...Courtney Hepburn."
He didn't respond for a few seconds as if he was trying to let the name sink in. Courtney's shoulders tensed in anticipation.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Courtney. I am Maximilian Roth." He extended his right hand towards her. "Though most refer to me as Maxie. You may do so if you wish."
Courtney shifted her gaze to Maxie's outstretched hand and stared at it with bewilderment. It would impolite to ignore it, she supposed. But she hesitated for a second before slipping her right hand into his. He squeezed her hand firmly and shook it.
Courtney winced. His hand was absolutely freezing! It almost felt as if he had just sprayed liquid nitrogen onto their hands. She glanced up at him in surprise, but his calm expression didn't even falter. She tried to keep a straight face as well.
Time was moving at such an excruciatingly slow pace... It was like she was moving through jell-o...
Courtney exhaled as she felt her hand being released from his ice-cold grip.
"It's very nice to meet you too... Maxie..." she managed to utter. It felt a little strange referring to him by a nickname, but he gave her permission to do so… Hopefully she didn't come across as rude.
Courtney still saw no outward signs of emotion from Maxie as he tucked the book about volcanoes under his left arm. The conversation seemed to have reached a grinding halt, and she wondered if the conversation was worth continuing.
Apparently it wasn't, since Maxie immediately shifted his attention to his wristwatch and let out a sigh.
"Well, I suppose I should leave you to your book," he said. "I have some business to attend to."
"Sure..." Courtney responded. "Enjoy your book..." She eyed the bright red cover of Maxie's book, which was a striking resemblance to his hair.
Maybe when he returned it, she would take a moment to browse through the contents herself. She made a mental note to do so.
"You as well, Courtney," Maxie replied, before swiftly heading down the aisle.
She didn't move a muscle as she watched him walk away. She couldn't tear her eyes away from him, even though her mind was ordering her to just read the darn book in her hands.
You know nothing about him. Stop staring. There's no plausible reason to behave this way.
Her thoughts were racing... Why were they racing...?
Maxie disappeared behind another row of books, and Courtney forced her attention back towards her book. She flipped the book open and fingered through the pages to try to occupy herself.
She was looking at the neatly-inked words on the pages, but she wasn't reading anything. None of the words registered.
Maybe she was just tired. She couldn't focus at all.
There was only a single thought in her mind seemed to make everything else around her seem negligible and irrelevant.
Courtney didn't know why she really even cared. But somehow she did.
Now she could attach a name to that enigmatic man. And it had been seared into her memory.
Maximilian Roth.