Audrey and Brandon

One afternoon on her way home from school, Audrey decided to stop by the library. She had a few hours of alone time each weekday now that her mom started a new job. It was nice to have the house to herself, but it was getting boring, so she wanted to find a new hangout place. She went to the second floor and sat down at a table to do her homework. The quiet, relaxing environment made it easy for her to focus, and before long, her work was finished.

After packing up her backpack, Audrey went downstairs and entered the young adult section. She picked out a fantasy book and sat down on a big, soft chair to read it. Soon, she was immersed in the book and paying no attention to her own surroundings. She got through three chapters before deciding to check the book out and go home for the day.

Just as Audrey was about to leave the young adult section, she noticed that a boy was looking at her. He looked about the same age as her, and his hair was a darker shade of brown than hers. He was cute, and the look he gave her was intriguing. She smiled at him, and he got up from his chair and walked over to her.

"Hi, I'm Brandon. What's your name?" he said with a friendly smile.

"Audrey," she replied, feeling a bit shy, but flattered that he was taking an interest in her.

"Do you come here often?" asked Brandon.

"No, but I might start. I've been getting bored at home a lot lately," replied Audrey.

"It would be great if you did! I recently started hanging out here. It's nice to have a place where I can just chill and read, but it would be better if I had someone to hang with. You seemed like you were really enjoying that book. Do you read a lot?" asked Brandon.

"Only when I find a book I really like. What about you?" asked Audrey.

"Same, but there are a lot of books that I like," replied Brandon.

"Cool! I hope I see you here again. I would love to hang out and read together," said Audrey.

"Me too! I'll be sure to look for you whenever I come here," Brandon replied with a wave goodbye.

Audrey went to the front desk and checked out her book before heading home. She was very cheerful for the rest of the day. Making a new friend at the library was unexpected, but a pleasant surprise! When she first decided to go to the library, it was mostly just to stay out of the house for a while, but now she was excited to make it a regular habit. Brandon seemed like an interesting guy, and she wanted to get to know him better.

Audrey became very immersed in the book she checked out, and three days later, she had already finished it. She returned it to the library and then went to the young adult section to pick out another. When she entered the room, she was thrilled to see Brandon reading in one of the big chairs! He looked up from his book, smiled, and waved for her to come over. She pulled a book from one of the shelves and then sat down in the chair next to him.

For the next couple of hours, Audrey and Brandon went back and forth between reading their books and getting to know each other. They discovered that they had a lot in common, especially when it came to their taste in books and movies. Their personalities meshed well, and they very much enjoyed each other's company. The more comfortable they became together, the friendlier Brandon seemed to get.

Audrey was having a great time, but she realized it was starting to get late and she would need to go home soon. When she told Brandon she was about to leave, he suggested that they exchange phone numbers. She happily agreed, and they each pulled out their phones to add each other as contacts.

As soon as they finished, Brandon said,

"By the way, I think you're really pretty. Would you maybe want to go out sometime?"

This caught Audrey a little bit by surprise, but she was thrilled! She secretly wished he would ask, but didn't think he would actually do it.

"I would love to!" she replied. "I like you a lot. Your'e really fun to be with, and you're cute too!"

Brandon's smile widened. "Aww, thank you! I really like you too. You're also a lot of fun to be with, and I've had a great time with you today."

After checking out their books, Audrey and Brandon said their goodbyes and left the library. Audrey got home in a daze and went to her room, replaying the events of the day in her head. She had never gone out with a boy before, but she had been interested in them for a few years now. She was 12 and Brandon was 13, so they were both inexperienced and not ready for anything serious. Still, this felt like a major milestone in Audrey's life, and she couldn't wait to see where it would lead.