Fateful Encounter in the Library (Part 1)

The clock kept ticking, and I’m yet to find something to occupy my free time.

However, I came to the realization that this university is famous for its basketball. There should be some books about it in the library.

That’s it! I’m just going to visit the library.

Without a single clue where the library is, I followed the signs on the ceiling to go to my destination. Wandering around the university’s corridors like a maze, I finally arrived at the library’s entrance.

As I went in, a tan-skinned woman in her early 40s was standing behind a large reception desk. She had black, short bob hair, dressed in a blue receptionist uniform and square glasses. On the desk, there was a computer with an LCD screen, keyboard, and mouse.

“Excuse me,” I asked her.

“Shh!” She placed her right finger on her lips.

Oops!

As I realized I had made a big mistake, I quickly covered my mouth with both hands.

“I’m sorry!” I apologized in a low tone.

“Sure, as long as you understand. Now, your ID card, please?” She asked quietly.

Swiftly, I took the ID card necklace I wore on my neck off and handed it to her. She politely accepted the ID card and started typing on the computer.

“Okay, you can go inside. But please… Be quiet!” She told me in a hushed voice.

“Got it. Thank you, madam!” I replied, lowering my volume to match her level.

Entering the library, I was astonished by its monstrous size. There were numerous shelves filled with books, along with a few tables and chairs in the distance. However, it seemed that all the seats had been taken.

I went to a shelf looking for basketball books. I went to the shelf with the ‘A-B’ alphabet at it, as Basketball starts in ‘B’. There should be books about basketball there, or so I thought.

Holding the book in my right hand, I opened the cover with my left. Before I could realize it, my left elbow collided with something hard.

“Whoa!”

I heard a girl shout from above. I quickly turned my head in response. Behold, a girl was falling in front of my eyes. Reacting swiftly, I caught her in my arms before she hit the ground.

It appeared that she tried to reach a book placed high up, probably one with a title starting with the letter ‘A’. I inadvertently struck the tall wooden stool she was using with my elbow. Knowing myself at fault, I apologized to her that instant.

“Sorry, are you hurt somewhere?”

I quickly realized she was the same person I bumped into this morning. I started to wonder if this was all premeditated by the God above.

Is this a coincidence?

Is this fate?

I thought to myself as I recalled the accident right after the ceremonial speech.

“N-no! C-Can you put me down now? People will stare at us…”

She covered her flushed face with both hands, trying to hide her embarrassment.

Upon her request, I glanced down, only to learn the reason why her face was red like a tomato.

I was carrying her in a princess carry pose!

Knowing what I just did, my embarrassment rose to the roof. I promptly set her down and averted my gaze, wondering if my face was as red as hers.

“S-Sorry, I didn’t realize...” I placed my right fist over my mouth.

“That’s okay. I’m fine now, thank you for your consideration.” She nodded, her face was still red.

“No, no, no. I can’t express how sorry I am. This is my first day at the university and I already caused harm to you twice. I’m so sorry!” I bowed to her.

“It’s okay. I forgave you.” She nodded. “Anyway, can you help me? There’s a book up there titled ‘Art and Paintings for Beginners’. I can’t reach it even with this stool, so...”

Wait, I’m pretty tall. I could lend her a hand.

With that in mind, I stood on the stool and took the book out of the shelves. I stepped down and handed her the book.

“Here, take it.”

“Thank you.” She took the book from my hand.

We stepped back from each other, giving the other space to read. Reading in our own space, the atmosphere became quiet. Serenity filled the air as time passed.

After a few minutes, she accidentally dropped the book. To my surprise, the painting depicted a basketball player dunking a basketball into a ring.

“Whoa! It looked nice!”

“It’s a good painting, isn’t it?” She looked at me.

“Yeah, it’s a good painting…”

Upon closer inspection, I quickly realized it was a painting of Michael, a famous and legendary basketball player from the 90s.

“Wait! Is that Michael?”

“Hold on, who is Michael?”

It seems she doesn’t know who Michael is. Granted, he is a basketball legend, and she is a girl. The probability that she cares about basketball athletes was small in the first place.

A sudden urge surfaced in my heart, and I couldn’t help but ask her to surf the Internet for him.

“You don’t know who he is? He is a legendary player from the 90s era. You can browse his name on the internet.”

She quickly took her smartphone, looking at the screen for a while before nodding at me.

“I see. He is quite popular, I guess.” She pocketed her smartphone after she finished her sentences.

“Yes, he is. He is considered the best of all time, you know? He is that popular.” I replied with excitement, as I was one of his fans. After all, I wished I could follow in his footsteps.

“You know a lot about basketball, huh?” She ended her question with a smirk.

“Yeah, I am into basketball, after all. That’s why I’m here.”

“Oh, you are those who come here for the basketball team? I see. A few girls in my classroom talked about cool seniors playing basketball.”

“Yes, I’m hoping to play basketball at this University. After all, I played basketball at my high school before.”

Shortly, she started staring at my body. I began to get embarrassed by her stare.

“Wow, looking at you, you have such a good body build. It doesn’t surprise me if you play some basketball.”

Embarrassed by her flattery, I quickly replied to her.

“Nah, there are people with better body build. They are more muscular and taller than me. I’m just your average guy in the world of basketball.”

“Seriously, you are too humble. Give yourself credit, you know?”

Little did I know, I was immersed in chatting with her. I felt the library had shrunk, leaving us alone in an enclosed space.

This isn’t bad at all.

I never imagined that this chat would turn even livelier as we kept talking to each other. I pondered to myself. This entire conversation started with an embarrassing moment we would rather forget.

When was the last time I talked this long with someone? It had been years since I had a heartwarming chat with someone else.

As I enjoyed talking with her, I postponed browsing basketball books for later. I should enjoy this moment for a while longer.

Live in the moment. I thought to myself as I continued talking with her.