Saint Joseph School

Winces a bit at Kat's reaction. Yeah, Sean. That was a smooth move. "Yeah...I guess you would know better than most of us." he looks down at the table. "I...uh...heard some about your past. And I Googled your name. I'm sorry for what happened to you. I'm glad that you're reaining some of what you lost here, though. I kinda know what it's like to have everyone watching you. Whispering around you. Sometimes, I have to remind myself that things are different here whenever you guys look at me and whisper."

Kat grimaced a little bit. "You looked me up? Oh, God. I don't even want to know what you found." Kat took a deep breath and plastered a smile back on her face, but it was nowhere near as bright as it had been. She shook her head a little. "Doesn't matter. It's in the past and the past doesn't matter. Well, except for when Mr. Norris says it does." She picked up the book again. "So, Duke- No, Archduke Fraz Ferdinand of Austro-Hungary got killed and it started a war. See? I was listening."

Kat hoped he wouldn't go back to talking about her past or the whispers in the halls. Especially the whispers in the halls. She had been among those girls whispering about him. Nothing bad of course. But she had had her friends remind her twice in the past week that she had a boyfriend already.

Sean smiled reasuringly at Kat. "Doesn't matter what I found. I don't believe most of the stuff I read about celebreties, anyways. And yeah, I know you're listening. So, the two sides of the war were the Allied Powers of France, England, Italy, Russia, and the US; and the Central Powers of Austo-Hungary, Germany, The ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria...."

Sean went on giving Kat facts and figures and helping her to form memory aids to remeber the sheer amount of information.

Kali rushed into the library in a huff.
Sister ! Sister oh gawd I need a book! I need a book and I'm late for class! Can you help?

Sister Salvation looked up annoyed at Kali's outburst.

Kali... first of all shhhh, this a library and we use inside voices here.There are other students who actually come here to study . Sister Salvation put a finger over her pursed lips making a shhh sound secondly , before I can help you I need to know what kind of book it is that you need. So what is it we need to find you?

The nun forced a bit of a smirk in Kali's direction as she watched for Kali's response.

Leaning in and whispering almost too softly Kali began, her hands in constant motion as she told of her dilema.

well you see, I need a book cause i'm supposed to do a book report and its due like... now. And I'm late for class already so if i go without even having a book I'm realllly gonna be in troubles... so please hand me a book? Any book! i don't care which one. Kali stopped and thought a second Oh wait! Maybe a really big thick book! That way I can say i'm not done cause I'm still reading it? That would work I think, wouldn't it ?

Sister Salvation stifled a laugh . Composing herself as only she could do, she looked thoughtfully across the recent returned books before lifting one and handing it to Kali.

Here you go Kali, let me write something down for you before you rush off.
Sister Salvation hastily wrote on a slip of paper handing it to Kali with the book.
i'll see you tomorrow at 3:30 Kali. try not to be late.

Kali gave a confused smile as she first read the slip handed to her .
detention? i got a detention? but I just got back to school! she half whined as she looked up.

Yes you did , now hurry to class before you have another .

Kali , knowing there was no sense argueing with this nun, turned and hurried quietly to her next class.

As she opened the library door she glanced at the book handed to her.

The Active Learner : Successful Study Strategies by Sallie A. Brown, Douglas E. Miller

She looked back at Sister Salvation with a sigh and exited the library.

Dusan strode into the library, giving the sister only a glance and a slight wave to indicate that he had seen her. Speedily walking toward the back of the library, he began glancing over the books on the shelves. It figured. Barely into his second week here, and he had already been assigned a book report. He internally groaned as he pulled out the list of books he had to choose from, looking over it with almost as much dread as the book he would inevitably have to check out.

A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens. The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas.

He sighed.

Not a Dr. Seuss title in the bunch.

It was then he allowed himself to look around the library, the chess boards immediately catching his attention.

"Hey!" He said more to himself than anyone else. "Chess. Sweet." He began his journey of interest over to the chess boards, using it as more of a distraction than anything else. He may not have looked it, and his grades may have lead one to believe otherwise, but, chess was one of the few academic things he was actually good at.

Mike appeared in a rush of wind, blowing some of the books off the shelving cart behind Sister Salvation. "Ohno!I'msorry,hangon!" he cried. The books were suddenly back in place, in no particular order and often upside down. He stopped in front of the desk and smiled his most disarming smile.

The nun was not about to be disarmed. "Yes, Michael, what can I do for you?" she said in a clipped voice. "Besides giving you a play area, that is?"

"Oh,Ineedtofind..." Mike trailed off and closed his eyes for a moment. He reopened them and said, "I need to find a book. I have to do a report, and this one sounded good. It's about a guy who counts Crisco, and it's written by Alex Dumbass."

The library, already shocked into silence by his arrival, actually seemed to be absorbing sound at this point. The sister stood up and said with quiet dignity, "You are referring to The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre DuMAH. It is in the book report section over there." She pointed, and Mike walked quickly away. As he found his book and slumped down in a seat with his face flaming, Sister Salvation quietly went into her office. Soon the sounds of muffled laughter could be heard. After a minute or two, she re-emerged and resumed her station behind the desk.