Where else would Charli find herself when she's lost, but the library. During her weeks at Aura Academy, finding herself to be completley and uterly lost was becoming a frequent happening. Hence, the library was becoming to act as her safe refuge, her sanctuary if you will. And so, when Charli had no classes on today, instead of remaining safely in her dorm, she decided to go for a little wander. Why she kept putting herself in this position was beyond her, but she did have fun adventuring around the school, even if her map reading abilities were way down!

In typical fashion, Charli had taken multiple wrong turns, headed down a few too many unknown corridors and had found herself in a completley unfamiliar building. Attempting to backtrack her steps, not a tactic that had worked efficiently in the past, Charli turned around and headed away from the unknown building. Taking a left instead of a right at the end of the corridor that lead her there, Charli entered more unfamiliar territory. However, this time, she saw something that she recognised in the distance across one of the many large courtyards. It was like a light shining across the field to her, the library with it's heavenly and familiar glow. OK, so that was a bit far. But Charli was enormously relieved to have some inkling as to where she was.

So, without hesitation, Charli headed across the courtyard, remaining pleased that this wasn't like some Disney fairytale where the earth may swallow her up anytime. Charli opened the door to the library and stepped inside to the inviting warmth and smell of books and literature. She headed over to the fiction section and browsed briefly through the "P" section of books until she came across one that she had been meaning to read for a long time now. Vanishing Acts, by her all time favourite author Jodi Picoult. With a satisifed smile upon her face, Charli headed over to one of the back tables where she had been making a regular appearance, and she sat down and opened her book to begin reading, not noticing that she had invaded the space of another person already immersed in his own book who was sitting on the table opposite her...

[sorry, bad opening post!]

Gavin had been having a very boring day. All of his friends were off doing something and his homework had been done for hours. His dorm room was cramped and he was getting restless. A glance over at his large bookshelf showed him that his books were all too familiar. He'd read them over and over. This is pathetic. I don't even have anything to read!

For this geek, having nothing to read was a disaster. Quickly Gavin stood up and walked over to his closet. After putting his jacket on and lacing up his shoes he grabbed his back and headed out the door. Without even thinking his feet led him in the direction of the library. Ever since freshamn year it had been his sanctuary. A place to come without being disturbed and just get lost in a good book. Gavin pulled open the door to the expansive library and took in the site of enormous volumes and other social misfits that were reading. His first instinct was to go and randomly search the books for something he wanted. But obviously he had a much sompler way of doing things.

A cluster of computers to the side of the room were free. Gavin chose one and sat down. He looked around to see if anyone was near- they weren't. Silently he closed his eyes and placed a hand on the computer. Thinking about the particualr book he wanted, all Gavin had to do was tell the computer to locate it. With a little beep the book was found. Opening his eyes, Gavin saw that the exact location had appeared on the screen. Easy as pie. Once again he grabbed his bag and set off. The shelf that held his book wasn't far. He grabbed it and walked off to a little nook nearby. Sitting at one of the tables, he made himself comfortable. His eyes scanned the first page and kept going.

After becoming immersed into the book Gavin noticed someone had come in. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a girl about his age reading. She sat at the table opposite him. Vanishing Acts. Interesting.

"Good book?" Gavin looked timidly at her. He usually didn't talk to random people, but the library seemed to give him little confidence. Awkwardly he smiled and felt his face go sort of red. His social skills needed some major work.

Charli was already immersed in the mysterious novel by Jodi Picoult. So far she had read six of Jodi's thirteen bestsellers, this one being her seventh, although the book My Sister's Keeper was by far the most outstanding in Charli's view.

Charli's mind was entering a whole new world surrounded by literature and books as she turned the pages and absorbed the words and interpretated their meaning. Her mind was so far gone into this world, that Charli was oblivious to the other people in the library, that including the boy sitting opposite her who had taken quite a shock to Charli's sudden arrival. As his timid voice broke through the barrier of Charli's mind, she looked up and automatically flipped the book shut, her finger remaining as a marker in the spot where she was up to.

"Uh, yeah, it's an excellent book." Charli replied just as awkwardly to the boy's initial question. She felt herself blushing already and wished she could have been granted the power to prevent embarressing moments, not that she wasn't happy with her omni-linguistic skills, that is.
"Sorry, I didn't see you there," Charli felt that she should apologize for interrupting this boy's reading time, and so she blurted out the words, wishing that she could have more control over the rate at which words came out of her mouth when she was nervous. "Wh-what are you reading?" Charli asked, feeling more and more awkward by the second, but trying to redeem her appalling social skills all the same.

Gavin listened as the girl talked. She had a thick Australian accent. It had a very nice ring to it. She seemed to find comfort in the library just as he did. This made Gavin come out of his shell even more. Even if the girl seemed awkward too Gavin couldn't help but feel sort of t ease.

He gave a brief nod of understanding when she said she hadn't seen him. He knew better than anyone how distracting all of these books could be. In a quick, practiced motion, Gavin placed a bookmark into his book and held it up to show the girl. Angels and Demons, by Dan Brown. So far it was a good book. And the guy was a great author.

"It's pretty interesting." His face was still a bit blotchy. His lopsided grin faltered a bit. Maybe he was being too outgoing. The thought alomst made him laugh. Too outgoing? That would be a first. Just think of what Benji or Jordan would say if they even knew he was thinking that. Gavin tried to assure himself he was acting like a normal teenager. But from the awkward look the girl across from him had, Gavin wasn't so sure.

But what were the chances of seeing her again? Sure they both liked the library (so far as he could tell) but Gavin didn't recognize her from class. That meant she had to be younger. So why not go out on a limb? Actually, Gavin could think of thousands of reasons why not, but it was worth a shot.

So with a shaky voice he said, "I'm Gavin." That was a big step for him. He made a slight motion as if he were going to shake hands with her but stopped. Overkill.

Charly disliked the awkwardness that she was presented with everytime she tried to start a conversation. She mentally slapped herself and told herself firmly to calm down as she listened to the boy talking. Why she felt so nervous all the time was a mystery to even herself. Charli just wished she could be outgoing and confident...instead here she was feeling so self-conscious even in her favourite place in the school.

Angels and Demons.
Charli had heard of that book, but she had not yet read it, she had, however, read other books by Dan Brown.
"Oh, a Dan Brown book?" Charli said, trying to present herself with as much confidence as possible, "he's an amazing author. I loved the da Vinci Code. It made me even more eager to go to France and other places in Europe.." Charli realised once again that she was beginning to ramble. She halted her fast talking and caught her breathe before asking, "Have you read the da Vinci Code?"

Charli wondered if she was making as bigger fool out of herself as she felt she was. As he introduced himself in a nervous tone, Charli wondered what year he was in. She hadn't seen him around before, but she hadn't met many people in her year at all. She supposed the odds were that she would hopefully meet him again in the library, if she was over her shyness by then.
"Oh, I'm Charlotte.."
Argh, Charli thought as soon as she said her full name,
"But everyone calls me Charli."
Much better...

As Charli talked, Gavin could feel his insecurity start to ebb. It seemed she talked just out of nervousness but it only made Gavin more comfortable. Or maybe that was just the power of the library. Who knows?

"I'm Gavin. And yeah, I've read The da Vinci Code. But this one is much better. At least so far." He though about continueing on. Most people liked conversation. It was something he always had to remind himself. "After I read it my family and I went on vacation to Europe. I got to visit most of the different sites." Gavin loved to travel and Europe had been top on his list for years. Last summer his dream came true on his annual family vacation. Though his family wasn't the ideal company for his trip, Gavin had a blast.

He looked around him and sort of shrugged, trying to come out a bit more. "Come here often?" She didn't look all too familiar and he was sure he would have recognized her accent. Not many people here were from Australia. But that little unique trait made things interesting. Gavin sat there wondering what her story was. Where did she come from exactly? How old is she? Silently he daydreamed suddenly oblivious that Charli was still right next to him.

Charli seemed to observe the boy, Gavin his name was, relaxing slightly and this put her a bit more at ease, perhaps she wasn't making a fool of herself after all.

"I'll make sure I read that book then," Charli said in reference to Angels and Demons which was apparently more interesting than the da Vinci Code.
"Ohh, you've been to Europe?" Charli asked, her eyes widening slightly. If there was something Charli loved to discuss, it was most certainley about Europe, France in particular but anything related to travel suited her fine. "I'd love to visit France, and England of course. Germany and Scotland would be marvellous also. Where did you visit?" She thought she should ask the question, seeing as he had actually been to Europe, and she had only dreamed of going there.

She saw him glance over his shoulder a bit, wondering if she was boring him. She hoped not. And in that instance, Charli grew more annoyed at herself for always questioning herself, something that would dissolve with time, she hoped.
"Oh, yes, I've been coming here a lot," She said in answer to his next question, "Since I arrived here, it seems to be the only place I can find without getting lost." She added with a smile. "So, um, what year are you in?" Charli added in, her curiosity getting the better of her as she couldn't help but wonder if perhaps she had seen him in her year and not noticed, or if her was older or younger then her..

So she hadn't been here since her first year. Now they were getting somewhere. "I'm a senior here. Finally, my last year of highschool. When I got to school this was the first place I came. And even in this big school I found it easy to locate." Though Gavin loved school and learning he honestly couldn't wait until graduation. Then college and life afterward. Everything about it excited him. Even paying his own bills didn't seem too bad if he got his own freedom. And there were other libraries in the world. Maybe not ones he liked as much, but books were books. "What about you? What year are you in?" She looked a little younger than him though.

He was going to stop to let her answer, but he didn't. Something about talking had caught him. Odd as it sounds, once he started, he couldn't stop.

"On my Europe trip I flew to France. We stayed there for a few days then went to Spain, Italy, Germany, and England. The places were scattered all over so we spent more time traveling than site-seeing, but it was great." He took a breathe. "I didn't go to Scotland though. Spain was highest on my list. It was really interesting." Now he paused. It occurred to him how it odd he must seem. Talking nonstop for no reason. This was something he never though would happen. He blushed a bit but tried to keep his cool. Charli seemed cool though. Even though her nervousness at first was apparent, Gavin felt that she could be a good friend. Eventually. When (or if) she ever got used to his strange attitude.

So Gavin was in his senior year. That meant that he was a year older than Charli. She was still struggling slightly to adapt to the American schooling system. Back in Australia, she would have been in year eleven, not junior as she was over here.
"Oh ok then," Charli said as he spoke, "Me? I'm a junior. I only moved here this year from Australia, so it's all a bit new to me."

Gavin then proceeded to tell her about his European holiday, something that Charli was willing to hear about.
"Oh, that must have been fantastic! Spain must have been amazing, and all the other places, of course," Charli said, her genuine interest in this topic showing clearly. She was still struggling to engage in conversation over here, for fear of being judged or people looking at her strangley with her Australian accent, but Gavin didn't seem to think she was odd at all, which reassured Charli a lot. As Charli began to realise this, she was certainley glad that she had coincidentally met Gavin.

[arghh! sorry...*attacks the shortness of this reply*]

So he was from Australia. Well, duh. Of course Gavin knew that already, but here she was saying it. Not that she would deny it... He could have smacked himself. Gavin wondered if anyone else had a mind that bickered with them. The stupidity of it was obvious, but his lack of social skills did lead to odd and geeky things like this.

"Europe was great. I thought the language barriers were going to be a problem, but many people actually spoke English." Excuse the ignorance o this American boy. He studied months of French and years of Spanish to prepare or this trip. But of course his boring old family kept to the typical tourist attractions. The places where many people spoke English. And all that hard work had no use. Gavin decided to keep from Charli the few mistakes he had made on the trip. Simple things like 'I'd like a coffee please' were mixed with phrases like 'Where is the nearest restroom?'. But he needn't mention those.

"This place must be a world different than Australia. Especially this place." He smiled. A school for people like this can be difficult to adjust to. But if you're coming in this late in highschool that can't be any easier. "How are you liking it here so far?"