Talia sighed as she pushed open the doors of the library. Her current place of refuge. Lailah was an okay roommate, the Mutated Fallen never having given the shy Geist any problems other than scaring her a bit when the other’s thoughts wandered off. So why was she calling the library her “sanctuary”? Well, for some reason the bullying in the school had gotten worse as of late, and even staying in their shared dorm room hadn’t been enough. At least the library had a bunch of books that the Geist could use to escape the situation mentally. It was relaxing really. Thinking of other worlds, whether they be fantastical, or the characters go on an adventure, or maybe it was just the graphic novel that went with a video game that she liked.

For all those reasons and more, she liked to call the library her home. And the current librarian let her read in there for as long as it was open, which meant that sometimes Talia stayed in there for hours, only leaving when it was closing time. She loved to read about all the adventures that the characters got to go on and hoped that she might be able to do the same one day, though she knew that the world was a lot tougher. In the books it all seemed so simple! At least in some of them. In some of the other ones they were forced into the situation, and that was something that Talia didn’t want to have to go through. Even if they had good endings, the beginnings were something that she didn’t really care for.

Today, she had been made fun of yet again, and she had sought refuge in the quiet space. Usually anyone who was picking on her didn’t follow her inside. Apparently, the library was only for geeks or nerds or something. She didn’t mind, she liked that she got space away from them. And it was a bit silly that they seemed so scared to come in, like it would eat them or something. And yet during important projects the other students would be fighting over the use of the computers and printers if they didn’t have their own private ones.

She had found the book that she had been wanting to read today, trying to continue her reading from the day before. And luckily for her she was able to check the book out this time. It was an adventure book about a girl and a boy having to work together to save their villages. And it wasn’t set in a post-apocalyptic world. She didn’t really like to read about those even if they did seem to be all the rage these days with the young adults. She just found them to be too sad. They should find ways of getting along with each other, not fighting amongst themselves for the few resources. If they really cared, perhaps they could use that energy to learn how to re-grow and fix things. Instead, she just made sure to stay clear of those books.

She went up to the front desk where the librarian was and proceeded to check out her book. The librarian was one of her favorite “teachers” in the school, even if they weren’t on the exact same level as the others. The librarian was nice tough, and she was happy to have someone that she could talk to about books. She had been invited to join the book club several times before but had always declined. She was still too shy to try to get into any group, even if it was just a reading group!

Just when she got her book back the doors to the library opened and there were the girls that had been harassing her earlier! She stood there in shock, unsure of what to do. Could she hide? Should she stay in-sight of the librarian in case something happened?

At first the girls didn’t seem to notice that she was there, but when they headed to the desk, the place that Talia was really hoping that they wouldn’t go, they finally noticed her, and all Talia could do was try to hide behind her book.

It didn’t work of course, and the girls smirked and went straight over to her and started to make fun of her again. Talia didn’t know what to do at this point. She couldn’t go anywhere in the library to hide from them. After all, they would just follow her. She couldn’t exactly yell at them to go away either, since that would mean yelling in library! And that was practically heresy in a library! Before she could open her mouth to meekly tell the girls to go away though, the Librarian suddenly addressed them.

They told the girls that if they couldn’t get their act together, to stop bothering the poor Geist, and KEEP QUIET in a library, then they were no longer welcome and would have to earn the privilege back. They tried to argue with the Librarian, but the Librarian wasn’t having any of it, and quickly kicked them out, and said they would make sure to tell their teachers that their Library privileges were revoked.

All Talia could do was stand there in confusion as the Librarian sat back down. When she finally turned to the Librarian, thanking them profusely for standing up for her, the Librarian only said that what they were doing wasn’t acceptable and they wouldn’t have that kind of atmosphere here in what was supposed to be a quiet and relaxing environment. Talia grinned, and thanked the Librarian once again, and went off to read her book in peace and quiet. Finally, she really did have a safe space that she could go to where she wouldn’t be bothered by others. Or at least if she was, she knew that the Librarian would have her back. And it was good too, because one couldn’t fully get invested into an adventure if they were constantly being distracted!