A Library Interrupted
The study room at one end of the vast library hummed with an energy far removed from the quiet reverence it should have held.
Boys from Alton School and girls from Astor School sat paired off at the long tables, on benches, and even on the floor, filling every available inch.
What should have been a structured lesson in community engagement had become something far more alive—a sprawling arena of flirtation disguised as discussion.
The tenth-grade curriculum, officially titled “Community Engagement,” was being taught jointly under the name “Agent of Change.” It was supposed to be about volunteering with local nonprofits and using those hours toward college applications. Instead, it felt like the school’s version of a matchmaking service.
Of course, the more frequent topic was who was hooking up with whom.
Hunter’s blue eyes kept drifting back to the girl huddled in the corner, head bowed low over her notebook, as if the entire library might collapse if she lifted it.
‘Where the hell did that popsicle go?’
He scanned the room again. Chloe was laughing and gesturing in the middle of a group of girls, clearly mid-story. His brow tightened.
‘Jiyu’s all alone and she’s still hanging around over there?’
Every other girl had a partner. Within six feet of Olivia Jiyu Parker, there wasn’t a single soul.
Rex’s warning at recess had been spot-on, it seemed.
The night before winter break, Rex had broken his nose after defending Jiyu from a pack of bullies. The Alton administration called it self-defense; the boys got short suspensions either way.
Now they were stomping around like they owned the place, daring someone to make it a real incident.
‘Stupid idiot. That kind of shit belongs in the streets, not at school.’
Rex’s father had already decided to ship the boy off to some boarding school in the East Midlands the moment the next semester started. Good riddance.
Rex puffed out his chest as if he’d just dropped a state secret.
“Triple. I was going to step in myself, but you’re the one who always stirs the shit, so listen up. Things are about to get serious.”
The second Rex mentioned Jiyu’s name, the memory of them kissing in the party hallway flashed behind Hunter’s eyes. He hadn’t allowed himself to think about it for a while. It pissed him off.
“Bullshit. Get the fuck out of here, you pathetic loser.”
“Listen carefully, you muscle-brained mutt. If it wasn’t for Libby, I wouldn’t even be talking to you. You know the entire Astor freshman class is bullying her, right?”
Hunter stopped mid-turn, jaw tight.
“What the hell kind of nonsense is that?”
“Her dad’s news—they all saw it. Girls are whispering about her. Mean shit. They say she’s being openly harassed and isolated.”
Hunter’s chest tightened. He remembered the last time Jiyu had come over to his place and fallen asleep on the couch. She’d curled up like a small, fragile thing, face pressed into his shirt as she cried. He’d never seen her look so small. It had hit him harder than he wanted to admit.
Quiet. Shy. Too easily broken.
Why the hell did anyone feel the need to torment her?
His knuckles whitened. _Shit. Here we go again._
The extra training had apparently strained his heart. The symptoms had been coming more often lately. He pressed a fist into his sternum and jerked his chin at Rex.
“Tell me everything.”
“Libby’s the main target. The ringleaders are Sienna Reed and Beatrice Lincoln. Without you, this wouldn’t have blown up so bad.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Hunter’s teeth ground together. Rex had a talent for making people want to punch him. He understood exactly why his father lost his temper when he was around.
“Remember Kiss and Slap?” Rex smirked. Hunter’s face twisted and he shot to his feet.
“Stop talking shit.”
“Not shit—the girls have been giving Libby a hard time ever since. I heard they’ve been picking on her pretty hard.”
He dropped back into his chair.
“What?”
“Sienna Reed’s immortal crush on Hunter Hamilton. You really didn’t know?”
Hunter jerked. The constant noise around them made it impossible to miss.
“So what? There are plenty of idiots who do stupid shit.”
Guys proposing right after parties, asking girls out, showing up uninvited, trying to steal numbers—it was never-ending.
But he’d only just learned Sienna had started targeting Jiyu after the spring fling.
“Fuck. She’s crossed every line.”
“She saw you kiss Libby and figured you’d stay away. But after you two started dating, I thought you’d be all over it. You kissed her—what the hell is keeping you?”
Hunter’s mouth opened and closed. His insides felt like they were on fire. He’d asked her out. He’d been shot down. He still couldn’t bring himself to say it.
Rex clicked his tongue.
“Tch. You’re so dumb she’s been stuck playing alone in that hyena den. No one to watch her back. From what I hear, Beatrice Lincoln’s dad got hit by the Ponzi scheme. Sienna’s grudge just lit the fire.”
“...That’s supposed to justify bullying her? Her father isn’t even the mastermind behind the fraud. Even if he were, what the hell did she do?”
Hunter’s forehead furrowed. Rex laughed at him.
“This is the most believable thing my old man ever said. Women don’t want to understand. Just take it as it is. If you try to make sense of it, your head will explode.”
“Shut up.” Hunter’s voice came out low and dangerous.
“I warned you. This is on you. She’s already going through hell, and now she’s got to deal with this because of you?”
“Enough.”
“Ugh, I’m so tired of your bullshit. How long are you going to wait? If you won’t do anything, I will—tell everyone Libby’s my girlfriend and to keep their hands off her—”
Hunter cut him off with a vicious snarl.
“Jiyu’s my responsibility. Now get the fuck out.”
The words lodged in Rex’s throat like a fishbone. Seeing the girl he’d just warned about being surrounded by laughing girls made his stomach turn.
The circle of kids around him chattered and asked for his opinion, but he answered in monosyllables while his eyes kept drifting back to Jiyu.
He was already planning to pick one of the nonprofits funded by the Hamilton Group and log his hours there. Matching his tournament schedule with a group project was impossible. But if Jiyu had no one…
A chair scraped across the floor beside her. Familiar shoulders, though he couldn’t place the face right away.
Someone from another state. Transferred in September of last year.
An outsider. A nerd. Just like her.
The two exchanged a quick glance, then opened their notebooks and began taking notes with serious expressions.
Hunter’s gaze lingered on the boy. Asian features, probably Korean. Tall—towering over everyone—lean build, messy hair that looked like he’d been running his fingers through it, rumpled uniform, and horn-rimmed glasses.
While everyone else was openly flirting and flirting, these two radiated academic intensity. No reason for Hunter to feel uneasy.
He let the thought settle before his chest did something strange. _Uneasy? Him?_
He glanced at the pair again. The boy was writing fast, forehead furrowed in concentration. Then Hunter snorted.
“Nerds match with nerds.”
The bell rang. Lunch was next. The two schools shared the library cafeteria. Tenth graders were allowed to eat in Astor’s cafeteria during this period.
From eleventh grade onward, students could grab lunch off-campus. Twelfth grade had the Friday dress-code exemption. Those were the traditional perks.
So the moment class ended, the Alton tenth-grade boys swarmed Astor’s cafeteria like starving dogs, grabbing trays and trays of food.