Page 92 of Bookworm
"Oh my gosh," she said. "Ithink someone else mentioned it!"
"No," I said.
"Yes, this girl who looked about 14 asked if this was the library with the kiss, and I said sure." She shrugged. "At the time, I thought she was asking aboutromance,kissing books—which we definitely have. But now…oh, this makes so much more sense."
"Idisagree one hundred percent," I said. "This doesn't make any sense."
"It's the library kiss challenge," Natalia said, eyes twinkling.
I shook my head in confusion. "Am I supposed to know what thatis?"
"She's talking about the challengeyou and Bo inspired," Casey explained. "The one where people go to a library and film themselves kissing someone they're into."
My jaw dropped. "That's an actual thing?"
"It is."Caseynodded with a thoughtful expression. "And itwould explain a lot. Just look around."
I did, and immediately saw what she was getting at.
The Chariot Public Library was never this full. On top of that, the peoplewho came, though diverse, usually fell into one of two age demographics, children with their parents or older adults. But on this day…teenagers. Here,there and everywhere, as far as the eye could see, girls and guys in their teens seemed to be leaning against shelves, skimming over books, or sitting around reading them. And there were definitely more couples than usual.
"No wonder I saw more people hooking up in the stacks," Casey said.
"I did too," I said, thinking back to when I went for a bathroom break and passed two kids kissing, "but I just let it go. I didn't think…"
"That you were the cause?" Natalia said.
"Good grief. Don't say that," I said.
Casey grinned. "You and your boyfriend started a kissing cult."
"Ugh."
Natalia shook her head. "They inspired people to come to the library—and yeah, to kiss. That's pretty cool, Lottie."
"Mrs. Welks won't see it that way," I mumbled. "I'll be lucky if she doesn't throw me out and ban me from ever coming back."
"She's a tough nut," Casey agreed.
"She's our boss," Natalia put in then added, "but yeah, she is strict."
"Strict? The woman's got a stick up her—"
"Girls," a new voice said, and a shadow fell over the three of us, "how's it going out here?"
We each responded with some version of good as our boss, Mrs. Welks, surveyed the scene, staring unsmiling at the three of us, her stark gaze coming to rest at last on me.
"Ms. Kent," she said, voice soft yet clanging like a gong in my mind, "I'd like to see you in my office."
"Yes, ma'am," I said softly, tidying my space to play for time.
"Don'tworry about that. This will only take a second."
I gulped as she walked away, the sound of her high heels like a countdown to my demise.
"Show no fear," Casey said as I moved to follow. "Remember, you did nothing wrong."
"Well, she did letBo behind the counter…" Natalia trailed off, and her eyesshotwide. "I mean, of course, you did nothing wrong, Lottie.Everything will be fine."
