How Green Becomes Wood

"Oh, thanks," Claire said, lightly touching the loose ends of her hair between her thumb and forefinger before hugging the book Alec had taken down for her close to her chest, a little embarrassed and a lot fluttery that he had complimented her hair, "If it helps, you're always the tall one with me." She swallowed hard and then shook her head, her blonde hair bouncing around her shoulders, "I mean, pretty much everyone is! But, you are too."
 
"I, um, thanks," Alec said with an awkward chuckle, smiling at her. Well, he was still looking more at his feet than at her, but the smile was aimed at her. "So. Um. What book are you reading? I didn't really look. Did I get the right one?"
 
"Oh, uh," She looked down at the cover, for the first time checking to see if he had grabbed the right one, pretty much convinced she'd end up reading whatever he had grabbed. If at this point she had to tell him he grabbed the wrong one, she was pretty sure she'd have to crawl into a hole and never reemerge. Thankfully, he had been correct, "It's Looking for Alaska, by John Greene? He's like... my favourite author."
 
"I've heard of him, but I've never read him. Er, his books. He's the one who wrote about star faults, right?" Alec asked. "I'm here looking for Invisible Man. It's supposed to be around here somewhere, but I think it's been misshelved."
 
"The Fault in Our Stars, yeah," She answered, a bright smile in her face, "It's really good. My favourite is probably Turtles All the Way Down, but I've been wanting to read this one for ages. It's always checked out." She looked down at the cover for a moment and then said, "You're braver than I am, I can't read horror."
 
"Oh, it's for an assignment, I'm not really into horror, either," Alec assured her quickly. "And you're thinking of The Invisible Man, instead of just Invisible Man. It's a really easy mistake to make. Invisible Man follows a black man in the... uh, forties, I think? And it covers things like Marxism, nationalism, and racism. Which is kind of Horror, now that I think of it," he admitted with a frown.
 
"Oh!" Claire replied, feeling a little bit embarassed, "I had no idea. I feel kind of dumb, now. My English classes never assigned that. It sounds like an important book, though.'
 
"That's alright. Who would think that a simple article like 'the' would be so important?" Alec asked with a lopsided smile. "But you said you're reading The Fault in Our Stars. My mum had that book when she was our age, actually, but I've never read it. What do you like about it?"
 
"I've read it before, but I'm not currently reading it," Claire clarified, "I like it because it's just sort of, like... blunt, I guess? I just think the author is really good at showing characters the way they like to be seen, and then also as how they are."
 
"You'll have to tell me what you think, if you read it," Claire told him, really, really hoping he'd like it, because if he hated it, and he knew that she liked it... then he might think she likes bad books, and that would be awful. After a pause she said, "I have a little time before I need to go back to class, I can help you look for your book, if you like. Maybe it's on a lower shelf, so you can't see it. Since you're so tall." Gosh, she hoped that joke landed.
 
Alec laughed at the joke. "I'd like that. Thank you!" He started moving down the row again, looking for his book qnd hoping he wouldn't find it too soon. He tried to think of a topic to talk about, but his mind went blank.
 
Claire walked along with him, also trying to think up something to say, but all she could think about was that they were, essentially, just the two of them, since she couldn't see anyone else in this part of the library. Sometimes, she'd steal a quick glance at him before diverting her eyes back to the books, pretending like she was really trying to find the one he was looking for. She didn't even know the author of Invisible Man, so she was hoping she'd spot the title. Finally, since she felt like she needed to say something, she asked, "Do you have a favourite book?"
 
Alec had to think about that for a while. "Hmm. Yes. There's a book called, um... I always get the name wrong because it's a long one. Always Remember: The Horse, The Boy, The Fox, and the Mole. I think that's it. Also, The Way to a Beautiful World. They are both rather philosophical books, and very- Oh! There it is!" He bent down and picked up the book he needed. "Invisible Man! What was I saying? Oh, right, they are both practically art books. Absolutely beautiful and peaceful to look at."
 
"Oh!" Claire replied, looking at him, "I think my mom used to try to read that to me when I was a kid? I'm not totally sure, I used to not like reading very much, but... There's that movie of it, isn't there?"
 
"I don't think either of them are a movie, no," Alec said, thinking about it. "Unless maybe there is one and I just didn't hear about it. That's totally possible. I don't watch a lot of movies. Why didn't you like to read?" He hesitated. "Unless that's not the kind of question you like to answer. That might have been rude of me. Sorry."
 
"I think the Boy and the Fox one does," Claire said, "It's animated, and has a sketchy kind of look. Unless I'm really misremembering." She looked at him, and then rubbed the back of her neck, "And it's okay, you can ask. I'm actually dyslexic, and it was diagnosed pretty early and now I've learned all these strategies so I can enjoy books and reading, but before we figured it out and I was getting help, it was just really stressful and annoying. I'm still a pretty slow reader, but it's okay."
 
Alec paused to look it up on his phone. "Oh! The first book got a movie. I didn't know that. That's cool. I'll have to find it and watch it sometime." He put his phone away and looked at Claire as she explained. "That sounds like a lot of hard work and a lot of frustration while you were figuring it out. I'm glad you found out and that you're doing... better? No, that's not right. That sounds bad." He smiled sheepishly. "That you have found ways that work for you. That's awesome that you can read more easily now so that you can enjoy stories."
 
"It was really frustrating, but it's okay now," Claire told him, "I get fatigued sometimes, especially if I'm writing a lot, but I get extra time to take tests and stuff, which is pretty sweet. I think it's why I've always been pretty active, though."
 
"You are very good at the active bit," Alec assured her. "Getting extra time is nice. I used to think I needed extra time, but it turns out I'm just really distractible. Shocker, I know," he chuckled. "I've gotten a better handle on it. Sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound like it's the same kind of hardship or like I'm comparing..." He trailed off, flushing. "Sorry. Um. How's the active activities going?"
 
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