Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 105734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
My life has become one big study session. Sometimes I take breaks to eat or to hang out with friends, but mostly, I’m holed up somewhere studying. At the moment, I’m in my room alone.
The paper on my desk comes from a bright yellow legal pad. I have written nothing on it, but it seems like a prerequisite for my chosen career. I’ve got my laptop open and the third question of the day is staring at me through the screen. I’m just not feeling it, so I fidget.
I press my eyes shut. I’m getting nowhere. I need to get out of the house. One thing I do to jumpstart my concentration is to change my physical location. If I can’t study at home, I’ll go to a coffee shop. If I can’t study there, I’ll go to the library.
Today I’ve had several cups of coffee already, so I decide to go to the public library. It’s not like the university library or a law library. Instead, I like to go to the little community library that’s only a mile away. It has a big children’s section that I steer clear of, but there are also tables for quiet study and a computer lab with access to legal databases.
I slip a granola bar into my backpack along with my laptop. They don’t like you to eat in the library, but I’m planning to be there for several hours and I need fuel. I hop into my car and ease my way out of my father’s compound. There’s a guard at the gate who waves me on, and once I’ve cleared the property boundary, I’m on my own.
It takes me no time to drive over to the library. I hop out of the car, grab my things, and head into the building. Inside, it’s not particularly quiet. The kids are over to one side, and they’re having some kind of story time. The fiction novels separate the workspace from the children’s area, and the aisles are full of middle-aged women looking for an escape.
I pass them all by, pick an empty desk, and spread out my things. Plugging in all my devices, I log onto the library’s free wi-fi. From there, I can access databases I don’t have at home. This gives me another avenue of study, something I’m sure will come in handy on the day of the bar exam.
I settle in, scrolling carefully through the screens so I don’t miss anything. I find one reference I need to chase down. Unlike newspaper articles or blogs, I can’t skim over anything. If I don’t understand, I must keep digging until I do. I wish Marlena were here so I could ask her. But since she isn’t, I decide to track down a book on the subject. I’m in the library, after all.
I walk to the reference section, toward the small collection of legal resources on the shelves. I’m not paying attention to the surrounding people, so I don’t see the woman in front of me until it’s too late. I run right into her, knocking a stack of books she’s carrying to the ground.
My first thought is how clumsy I am. I stoop down to help her retrieve her books, noticing that one of them is a phone book from the 1980s. I’m about to comment on it when I look up into her eyes. They are the most stunning eyes I’ve ever seen.
Her face is perfectly symmetrical. She has a button nose and long blonde hair. She’s petite but athletic, with a sweet, kind of energy that makes me wonder what she’s like in bed. I swallow what is dancing on the tip of my tongue. My mind is suddenly empty, and I feel like I have a mouthful of sawdust.
“Sorry,” she says, taking the phone book from me.
“I’m…” I begin. My brain is struggling to catch up with my current predicament. We’re no longer picking up books. Now we’re talking. I have to get a grip, or she’s going to think I’m some kind of weirdo. “You’re going to call somebody?”
“What?” she asks, glancing down at the massive yellow index in her hand. “No, it’s for research. For looking up families in the area.”
I realize I’m staring at her, but I can’t hear half of what she’s saying. There are still at least four other books on the floor. I force myself back into motion, bending down to retrieve the other volumes. But as soon as I’ve collected them, I’m not sure what to do. Should I pile them back into her arms, or should I offer to take them somewhere for her?
She stares at me awkwardly, and there’s a deathly silence. I’m afraid I’m losing her, and the last thing I want to do is let her go.