Two days passed after that moment with the dictionaries. Dan was back in his seat taking notes in class.
The bell rang and the teacher left the classroom. His friends quickly approached him forming their typical circle of seats.
—Hey Dan, how's the bet going?—Brando asked.
—What bet?
(Sometimes he forgets important things, he's always been like that)
—Really? Two days and you already forgot?—Jhonatan said
—You know I sometimes forget things.
—The bet to win Noemí over.
—Ahh, okay I remember now—he snapped his fingers—I'm doing great, in fact two days ago I helped her carry some dictionaries.
—And she didn't run away again?—Josias asked.
—No, because I had the dictionaries and she needed them for her class. So she couldn't escape.
—Wow. But did you at least talk a little?
—Well... Not much, it was more like awkward silence.
Jhonatan could already imagine that awkward scene.
—Well, that's better than not making progress. Take it easy.
—Yeah, I know that, better get ready to lose because I'll win really easily—he said confidently although the truth was he didn't even know how to approach her again.
Brandon rolled his eyes but played along.
—Sureeee... We believe you
The next teacher entered the classroom and the three quickly returned to their seats. Dan stayed thinking about how to get another chance to talk to her: "Oh, I wish they send her for dictionaries again".
Class ended and Dan stretched in his seat, the next class was free because the next teacher had gotten sick yesterday so he wasn't coming to school today.
—And now... What do I do? Hmm... Oh I know!.
He quickly stood up from his seat.
—Hey, does anyone want to come with me to read in the library?—he asked his friends.
The three pretended not to hear him because they didn't like reading. Dan sighed and left the classroom.
—Then I'll go alone.
When he entered the library as if by fate he found Noemí reading alone at a far table
He was surprised to see her and quickly grabbed a book from a nearby shelf to hide his face.
—If she sees me she'll probably run away again—he whispered to himself.
—Hmm... What do I do, how do I talk to her without her avoiding me... I know, I need to know her interests so I can talk to her about something. I've read a lot of books so I must know some of her favorites.
From his seat he tried to see the cover of Noemí's book.
—"The Lord of the Rings"... Well I don't know it.
—Rings... Rings... Lord... Could it be a book with a romantic story? I never thought she'd like books like that.
Dan took out his phone to search for the book online.
—Ha, so it wasn't romance—he laughed at himself.
He stood up from his seat and searched the shelves for the books in that saga.
—Let's see... The first one, the second one, the third one. Wow there are a lot.
He grabbed the first book of the saga.
—And now I should read a bit so I can talk to her about this book but she probably knows way more about it than me.
Dan ended up watching a video summarizing the whole saga since he thought it was the easiest and fastest way.
When he finished watching the video he stood up and smiled confidently.
—Now yes, I can talk to her about this.
He sighed before approaching Noemí's table.
—Oh. Hi Noemí, I didn't think I'd find you here.
She tensed up when she heard his voice and looked up surprised and nervous. She couldn't answer him.
—Do you like "The Lord of the Rings" saga? I read it too although not much.—he sat down at the same table facing her.
Before he could say anything else, Noemí was no longer at the table. Dan was shocked by how quickly she had left.
—Why? Yesterday she didn't run away. It can't be... Does she hate me?.
Noemí left the library and leaned against the hallway wall, she didn't run away because she didn't want to talk, she ran away because her nerves got the better of her.
Her cheeks were blushing from embarrassment at running away for the second time. She still didn't understand why Dan was talking to her, the girl you barely noticed was there.
Sofía who was walking down the same hallway saw Noemí and approached her.
—Noemí—she noticed her blush—You're red.
She put her hand on Noemí's forehead, she tensed up slightly.
—Do you have a fever? You're a bit warm.
—No, it's not that, it's because... I was in the sun for a while
—Oh? Well if you say so.
The two went back to their classroom. Dan leaned back in his library seat.
—This will be harder than I thought.