The library is quiet today when I first walk in. There are
only four other people here, five counting the man in sweats who walked in at
the same time as me. The Asian male is here, as usual, and everyone is working
hard on homework. The atmosphere on campus begins to change around this time as
finals approach, with less students goofing off and more students cramming for
tests and writing last minute papers. There is a woman wandering around,
possibly looking for a book, but she is doing so very quietly. Suddenly, an
older man and a blond woman enter. The blond woman seems to be escorting the older
man around the library, and she looks nervous. The older man takes his time to
stand in the corner of the quiet zone and have a good look around. He doesn’t
say a word, but nods his head when he is ready to move on. The blond woman
tells him that next they will be going around the corner as they begin to
leave. Perhaps the library has inspections and the older man is here to do the
job? The way the blond woman is keeping her distance, but staying very close to
the older man makes me think it is some sort of inspection or checkup.
The couple that was here last week is back again. This time
they decided to sit together at the same table. Now that they are sitting at
the same table, they only have one computer open and are pointing to the screen
while talking about something. They are speaking so low that I cannot even tell
what they are saying. She looks like the princess Jasmine, so I will call her
Jasmine for her pseudonym. Jasmine leans in very close to the boyfriend with
glasses, but they never touch one another. When they are done talking about whatever
is on the computer, Jasmine scoots her chair away from his and begins writing
on a piece of paper. After a couple of minutes, the boyfriend gets tired of
working and stares at the ceiling. He stays that way for a while, so I think he
has fallen asleep. The boyfriend bolts awake, however, when a man sitting in
the corner by the window begins talking. He is speaking so loud that it shocked
almost everyone in the room who is used to the silence we have been enjoying. Loud-mouth
has his headphones in, and is holding his cell phone away from him while
looking at the screen. This causes me to think that loud-mouth must be
Facetiming someone. Loud-mouth is speaking in a different language, Spanish,
and must be talking so loud because he can’t hear himself outside the
headphones. Because I haven’t learned how to speak Spanish yet, I can’t
understand what he is saying, but I can tell he is talking to a buddy by his
tone of voice and the curse words I recognize.
Another couple has settled at a table, and they both have
giant cups of iced Starbucks drinks. The man has a chain around his neck, and
the woman has a lacey see-through shirt. Lacey begins talking about another man
who is taking a lot of classes, and says that she doesn’t know how he handles
the workload. Chain-neck replies very smugly that this is the other man’s third
time taking chemistry, and they laugh about it with each other, commenting on
how many classes they have failed. Even though the man in the corner is being
loud, they are both speaking quietly and being considerate of everyone around
them. They are talking about their chemistry professor in a very disapproving
way, but chain-neck doesn’t seem to care as much as lacey. Lacey is ranting and
raving about how the chemistry professor doesn’t give any grades back until the
end of the semester, and I remember hearing about the professor from someone
else before. Lacey thinks she should be required to give grades back every week
so they can see their grades before the semester ends and they get a surprise. In
the time that I have taken notes about their class, they have moved on to
talking about how they think the drinking age should be lowered (no wonder they
are failing classes). They are interesting to watch converse with one another,
because they are sitting across from each other, on opposite sides, but lean in
to one another as they talk. Lacey does most of the talking, and chain-neck
listens and says “really,” and “wow,” and “no way,” appropriately. It seems
like he is interested in her because he is obviously a little bored, but keeps
listening. They are joined by a male in a bright green shirt, but as soon as they
start talking about friends driving under the influence, I cannot force myself
to listen to them any longer.
Jasmine and her boyfriend have now left, so there are two
open tables left in the library. The library is always quiet when I first get
here, and busy by the time I leave. This is probably because most students
prefer to take classes in the afternoon, instead of early in the morning like I
do. A man in khaki shorts has come in and he sat at a table next to a girl he
knows. They say hello to one another, very formally, and talk about their
finals. They are sitting far apart and are not as quiet as neck-chain and
lacey. Their conversation ends quickly, however, and they both get to work. Another
male has walked in, carrying a big bag of Hot Cheetos. Cheetos stands in the
middle of the room, presumably looking for a seat. Even though there are more
tables open than usual, Cheetos can’t seem to figure out where he wants to sit.
After looking from the Asian male, to me, to the man in khaki shorts talking in
the corner, he decides to sit by khaki shorts against the wall. Instead of
leaving a table between him and khaki shorts like most people do, Cheetos sits
down right next to khaki shorts, pulls out his laptop, and gets to work. It’s possible
he didn’t sit by me or the Asian male because there are no open seats near me, except
for the one directly across from me, and one open across from the Asian male. Cheetos
could possibly be observing people as well, because every time I look up from
my notes he is watching others and typing on his laptop. After five minutes,
the number of people in the quiet zone has doubled and I am happy to get a
phone call telling me it’s time to leave campus.
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