-Celeste-

The library..., I think to myself happily as we walk down the stairs and over to the library where we're supposed to meet with Crystal and the group. It's indoors, so it's not hot at all, in fact, sometimes cold, and best of all...full of books!

Violet seems excited as well at the prospect of going to the library. But then again, I reflect. She's always excited about everything. Honestly, in my opinion, going to the library is probably going to be the best thing during this sunny island vacation.

"Ah," I breathe as I walk into the library, the giant oak doors closing behind me and Violet. The air is perfectly still and cold from air conditioning. Sunlight lets in through huge windows, dappling the carpeted magenta floor. Those rectangles of thermal energy glaring at me I avoid. 

Violet practically bounces up the mahogany stairs up ahead, while I follow more slowly. And the most beautiful sight awaits my eyes...bookshelf after bookshelf lining the corridor, with soft cushioned armchairs here and there as well as sliding ladders. There are less windows here, luckily. I could probably stay here forever.

On one side of the room is Crystal and Calligraphy, sitting down together on the couch. On the other side is a cozy crackling fireplace. I spy another smaller couch opposite the bookshelves and sit down, content. 

Violet goes over to the bookshelves and immediately scans the book spines. She stops at one, examines it closely, then pulls it out. She holds the book closely to her chest and walks over to me, smiling.

"Found a book?" I ask, smiling as well.

"Yep! It's called 10,000 Fun Facts About Animals," she declares.

"Hm, nonfiction? I thought you prefered fictional tales, like I do," I say.  

She shrugs. "When did I say I have a preference?"

We both laugh. She begins to read aloud, "Did you know that dogs sweat through their paws? Octopuses have three hearts. Penguins propose with pebbles. Chameleons use camoflauge to communicate. Sloths grow algae on their fur. A group of cats is called a clowder, and a litter of kittens can also be known as a kindle..."

I feel a sense of relaxation as I listen to Violet list off the facts eagerly. With the sound of a crackling fire and quiet conversation between Crystal and Calli, I smile contentedly. 

I ran to the library, opening the door and immediately stopped. The library was amazing! It was huge and gorgeous, with a second floor and 2 huge grand staircases, huge windows that brought in beautiful sunlight and was filled with warm armchairs, and coffee tables desks and couches. But the best part was the rows and rows of shelves filled with books! It was like a forest of books, reaching the ceiling, ladders dotting the especially high shelves. I was ecstatic, browsing the shelves filled with books I’ve read and want to read. I especially look in a small nook at the end of the row where nobody can see me. At the very end there is a small little shelf with one book. It was sage green, lined with gold and ending with a creamy colored bookmark. The title in gold read the tales and trials of. I was intrigued. The dreams and trials of what? I took the book off the shelf and sat in a particularly fluffy chair, completely forgetting about getting to the library. I opened the book to the first page. It was blank. I laughed. This must be a joke. I closed the book to put it back and to my shock, the cover had finished. Instead of reading the tales and trials of, it read the Tales and trials of Clementine Dickson. I laughed again, unsure if this was a joke. I immediately knew that I needed to take this book. I didn’t want to check it out though, then the librarian might take it away from me. I looked around to make sure nobody was watching and slipped it inside my bag before anyone could catch me. I suddenly remembered meeting in the library. I walked around a little before I relized that the group was next to the fire place. Calligraphy and Crystal were quietly chatting with each, looking very comfortable with each other, and the two girls I assumed were sister’s were sitting on the couch, the happy one reading a book of facts(?) and the grumpy one was listening to her. I should really know what their names were, but I forgot and was too shy to ask. I sat on a couch opposing both of the groups and took out my phone to check if Liara had texted me. I was really excited to see if she was here yet. Nothing yet…

@Hawkstar, are you actually in Korea? Thats so cool, I'm half and most of my fam lives there! 

~Liara~

I walked through the doors to the inside of the library. It was huge, with rows and rows of bookshelves. I spotted Clementine and waved. I walked over to her and sat down next to her. "Hey, sorry I'm late." She smied. "No, it's fine. Just wondering, why didn't you text me about it? I was kind of worried." What? I did... "Huh? I texted you a while ago to let you know. Didn't you get it?" I opened my phone and showed her. "It says it's delivered." Clementine shook her head. "I didn't get the text. I've been checking for the past ten minutes. I sent it 15 minutes ago. She would have seen it. How odd... Just a weird coincidence I suppose. I pushed the thought away. "So, how have you been?" I asked Clementine. "I've been good and I met some new people." She gestured around the room at two girls reading together and a boy and girl chatting. "Nice!" I exclaimed. "Do you want to get a book? I'll find one for you." I walked over to one of the bookshelves and picked out a fantasy with a leather cover for her and a book about different types of water plants for me. I got in a more comfortable position and started reading. At different intervals in the book, I would tap Clementine on the shoulder and excitedly tell her an interesting fact. "Did you know that a water lily filters and purifies water? They do this by absorbing carbon dioxide and expelling oxygen." She smiled and laughed. "Where did you learn this, Liara?" Clementine said with a smirk. "You sound like a dictionary." I put on a mock offended tone. "How dare you!" I playfully swatted her. "Okay. We should get back to our reading." Clementine nodded. "Yeah, we should probably do that." I got back to my book with a smile.

Crystal Jewel

Calligraphy arrives first, his jaw slack when he first takes in the library. He comes over to me like he's sleepwalking, and then plops down hard onto the couch cushion. "This is amazing!" He exclaimed, and I straightened, feeling so proud, like I had personally built and collected books for this library.

"I'm glad you think so," I said gleefully, and burst into my info about it. "This library is over 100 years old, and has over 25,000 books! Aaaaand that's not including the magazines, audio books, puzzles, games, movies or CDs. Or extra copies!"

Calli let out a low whistle. "Wowww. Have you read them all?" I smiled wider at his teasing. "Not yet," I said lightly. "But my current score, from since I was 8, is 1,34...6, I think." 

He gaped at me. I snickered. "I'm a fast reader," I explained. "And I love books! I mostly read fiction, but I'll sometimes read non-fiction for fun, but mostly I read those for school."

Calligraphy slowly nodded. I wondered what was going through his head.

@Cillian, no, unfortunetly. I don't live in Korea TT But that's cool some of your family does! South Korea, right?  

~Violet~

I look up from my book as Crystal calls out to us, "Hey y'all! Want to come over here and we could talk- and maybe answer any questions you may have?"

"Of course!" I reply. I steal a quick glance at Celeste, who nods and goes over towards Crystal. I quickly follow behind her.

I decide to go ask her a question first. "I have a question. Which place here is the most well-known and we should definitely visit?"