“Hey!  I’m looking for a textbook for my class, mind helping me find it?”  Jackson leaned over the library counter as he spoke to the boy working there.

Jinyoung looked up from his book for a moment then looked back down.  “Find it yourself.”

“What the hell Jinyoung, you work at a library; you’re supposed to help me find stuff.”  Jackson grabbed the spine if Jinyoung’s book and pulled it down so he was forced to look up at him again.  “If you don’t help me I’m going to write the nastiest comment about you and put it in the suggestion box.”

Jinyoung sighed as he marked his page and put his book down.  “Fine, which textbook are you looking for?”

“It’s for my math class.”

“Do you know the ISBN?  Title?  Author?”

“Hmmm… I think it had a blue cover.”

Jinyoung gave him an exasperated look before reaching for his book again.  “Forget it, you’re hopeless.”

“No, Jinyoung, please!  I need to find the book I have a quiz today and I need to study!”  Jackson grabbed the book out of Jinyoung’s hand and held it close to his chest.  “You’re not getting this back until you help me find it.”

“Jackson, how on earth am I going to find a book you know nothing about?  Why are you just getting the textbook the day of your quiz?”

“I don’t need to actually buy the textbooks for classes; I just need to borrow them the day of the quiz!  It’s the perfect way to save money.”  Jackson had a smug look on his face.

“Sounds like a stupid plan to me, especially when you don’t even know what textbook it is.  Do you even know what the class is about, or have you never attended the lectures?”

“Hey!  I didn’t come all the way to the library to be judged for my personal study habits.”  Jackson held the book up to Jinyoung’s face threateningly.  “If you don’t help me I’ll take your bookmark out of this book! Look at how massive this thing is! You’ll never find your page!”

Jinyoung stared him down.  “You wouldn’t dare.”

Jackson opened the book up to the page Jinyoung had marked.  “Try me.”

“Okay, seriously Jackson, stop.”  Jinyoung leaned over the counter and shut the book in Jackson’s hands. “I want to help you but I really can’t do anything unless you give me some sort of information about the book.”

“Okay, I think it’s a linear algebra class.  The book is about,” Jackson estimated the size with his fingers.  “This thick.”

Jinyoung just typed ‘linear algebra textbook’ into the computer then turned the monitor around to face Jackson.  “Is it any of these?”

Jackson stared at the screen before a familiar book caught his eye.  “AHA!  There it is!  That one!”  Jackson excitedly pointed to the fourth book on the screen.

Jinyoung turned the screen back around and started clicking.  “Excellent.”  He deadpanned.

“What section is it in?  Can you go get it for me, pretty please?”  Jackson finally put Jinyoung’s book back safely on the counter and started bopping up and down in place because he was so happy they managed to find the book.

“Uh, bad news Jackson.  We only have one copy of that book and it’s currently on loan.”

Jackson’s jaw immediately dropped.  “What?!  Who has my textbook?  I need it right now!  This is absurd!”

“First of all, it’s not your textbook it belongs to the library which is a public domain.  Secondly, I can’t tell you who has the book, customer confidentiality guidelines you know.”

That’s when Jackson practically jumped over the counter.  “Let me see the screen!  Jinyoung, stop pushing me, let me see the screen!”

“Are you crazy Jackson?! What the hell are you doinmpfff—“Jackson’s elbow landed in Jinyoung’s face as he flopped right over onto his lap. 

Jackson stared up at the computer screen. “Mark?  Mark has my book?!”   He scrambled off Jinyoung’s lap back over the counter.  “I didn’t even know he was taking that class!”

“How would you know? You’ve never even been to the class.” 

Jackson threw a dirty look at Jinyoung before he continued his rant.  “I thought he was my friend!  I feel hurt, stabbed right in the back, I can’t believe he would do this to me!”

“Jackson be quiet, you’re in a library!  He’s your roommate; you just need to ask him for the book and he’ll probably lend it to you, right?”

“I mean… probably.”  Jackson was still trying to calm himself down when someone came up next to him and shoved a book right in his face.

“Looking for this?”

Jackson gasped when he realized he was face to face with his math textbook.  “Mark!  How did you know I was here?  Did you just hear my heart screaming out your name?  Did you descend from the heavens as my guardian angel?”

“No.  I was upstairs studying but you guys were so loud I could hear you from all the way up there.  I didn’t even know you were taking this class.” 

Jackson took the book from Mark and held it close to his chest.  “Yeah, well.  I’ve been busy you know, can’t expect me to attend every lecture!”  Jackson rubbed the back of his neck with his hand as he laughed awkwardly.  “So, why are you borrowing the book today?”

“Well, I don’t really think I need to buy the textbook as long as I just borrow it from the library so I can study for the quizzes.  I can save money that way.”

Jinyoung looked up at Mark with a smile.  “Wow, that’s so smart Mark!  I should’ve thought of that.”

Jackson sneered at Jinyoung before leaning down so their faces were close enough that Mark couldn’t hear them speak.  “You’re a fraud, a big, huge fraud.  I hope you know that.”

“You’re not supposed to say ‘big, huge’ Jackson, that’s redundant.”

Jackson glared at Jinyoung about to start yelling but he was able to rein in his anger and stop himself.  “Fine, you want to play that game?”  Jackson turned back around to Mark and immediately jumped onto him, circling his arms around his shoulders and holding him tight.  “Mark!  You still need to study, right?  We can study together until it’s time for the quiz!”

“Jackson, what are you—“Mark tried to push him out of his personal bubble but was unsuccessful.

Jackson got even closer so he could rub his cheek against Mark’s.  “Come on Markie-pooh!  This is going to be the best study date ever!”  Jackson started to drag Mark away but made sure to throw a smirk back towards to library counter before leaving.

The look on Jinyoung’s face in that moment had made his trip to the library completely worth it.