Chapter 6 - Matchmaker, matchmaker

Bailey's cheeks moved towards her eyes as she smiled in delight.

"Thank you so much, Joanna!" Bailey was smiling and trying to control her emotions. "But what will you say to Cameron?"

I have no idea, Joanna thought to herself but said the exact opposite to Bailey. "I have it all under control."

Lab class ended early, as they had all finished the experiment. The groups spent some time talking to each other before Cameron arrived.

"Mixed Sciences. Glad to see you again, how was your first time in the lab?" Cameron waltzed into the room with his usual smile and broad gestures. "It is always a pleasure, isn't it? I really enjoy experiments… But enough about me. Do you have any questions so far? Anything I can do for you? Those of you who would like to see the library please just follow me." He left the room smiling without answering any questions.

Cameron led Joanna, Bailey, and a few others through the halls and up a couple of stairs, before he stopped in front of a massive double door, made of old wood, with engravings along the sides of it. Joanna wondered, what the ancient text meant – could it perhaps tell us something about the secrets of the universe, some old observations or discoveries lost in history?

"Allow me to introduce you to…" He walked towards the door, "the library!" He swung the double doors open and a gust of wind overwhelmed them. "Welcome to the pride of our school!" Cameron smiled broadly and stepped into the library with great confidence.

The library was as huge as Joanna had imagined it to be, the colors, however, wasn't quite what she had expected it to be. There was less gold, white and bright marble, instead, the shelves and stairs were made in a dark wood with engravings. The windows were big but covered by something that darkened the glass, allowing little daylight to enter the room, some of the windows even had curtains drawn. Around the free areas and in the corners stood big tables with up to twelve chairs, in matchings tones of dark wood. Lighting up the room were modern chandeliers in a countryish style.

"CAMERON!" someone at the other end of the library yelled. Out from behind a tall bookcase popped a small man, with a top hat giving him double the height of himself. He rushed towards the group and pulled them inside before he quickly closed the door behind them. "how many times have I told you not to make such noise," the man scolded Cameron and looked down at him, though Cameron was far taller than the small man. "And do not leave the door open. We must keep the books safe from outside wind and light and… Oh, you have heard all this before. Will you never learn?" The man stopped close to Cameron, tilted his heads upwards and frowned before his expression softened and a smile appeared on his face. "And what do you have to say for yourself, young man?" The man chuckled as he waited for Cameron's reply.

"Sorry, Mr York." Cameron looked down at the floor, but his mood wasn't kept down for long before he lighted up again.

"Everyone! Let me introduce you to Mr York, our librarian and his lovely, very well-kept library. Please keep in mind that a lot of the books are very old and that Mr York loves them more than anything else in this world," Cameron said and laughed at the look Mr York gave him.

"Thank you, Cameron," Mr York narrowed his eyes and frowned at Cameron, "I can introduce my library myself." He turned towards the small group. "Fell free to walk around and pull out the books you desire to read. But. If. You. Hurt. Them…" He paused, but then didn't finished his sentence. "I'm sure you will be kind to my books." Mr York smiled softly at the group who including Joanna and Bailey nodded eagerly.

"I will leave you then." Mr York nodded and walked back to the other end of the library, where he disappeared behind the same bookshelf he had appeared from.

"Go explore, please!" Cameron said and spread his arms out, stepping aside and allowing the group to walk further into the library.

Bailey walked forwards when Joanna stopped her by grabbing her by the arm. "Didn't you want my help?" Joanna whispered and lifted her eyebrows.

"Are you sure we should do it now?" Bailey bit her bottom lip and scratched the behind of her ear. "We can wait. It's not like we aren't going to see him again."

"If we wait till later, we will be overworked with homework," Joanna pointed out. "We're doing this now, so we can get it out of your system." Joanna smiled a wicked smile. Either Bailey would succeed in her relationship with Cameron or she would fail. Either way, she would be more focused on their studies, than if she kept dreaming about him. Her smile faded when she realized that she perhaps should apply this argument to her own dilemma. She quickly pushed away the thought to focus on the present. She could think about her own problems later.

"Cameron," Joanna addressed him, guiding his attention towards him. "Have you met Bailey Brown?"

Bailey stared Joanna down with wide-open eyes and a hint of anger as if saying: Are you serious? THAT was the best you could come up with?

"Bailey Brown?" Cameron turned towards Bailey, smiling broadly and then their eyes met, and Cameron's mouth dropped down when he truly noticed the beautiful girl standing in front of him. He felt a sudden urge to protect her as if some primal instinct had kicked in and now directed his every decision. "Bailey Brown? A.. Pleasure. Great Pleasure. To meet you."

He smiled a foolish smile, which brought back the image of him as a puppy into Joanna's mind. It wouldn't have surprised her if he had been sticking his tough out and drooled a little. It seemed that Bailey's feelings were returned.

Bailey blushed and giggled. "Hello. It's great to meet you too – formally."

"Can I take you out for dinner?!" Cameron suddenly asked yelling it, directing every person in the library's attention to them. Including Mr York, who popped his head out from behind the shelves in the back of the library. "I think I love you, Bailey!" Cameron said still not lowering his voice.

Joanna's mouth dropped and she stared from Cameron to Bailey. Joanna thought she had been quick to fall in love. Well clearly, it could happen way faster.

Across the town Mina Davis sat by her computer, ordering two tickets for the Saturday play she had invited Joanna to. Mina's friends hadn't had the opportunity to come on that exact day – they were all attending a small music performance that day, which Mina had remembered but, how could she have known they didn't have time for a play that Saturday? She could have been wrong about the day? Alas, it would only be her and Joanna attending the play that Saturday, which Mina didn't mind, she might even have hoped that her friends didn't have the time… Perhaps something in her still hoped that she hadn't been wrong in her first expression of Joanna. Perhaps Joanna liked girls too? But that wasn't something you could ask the first time you met someone, Mina reminded herself, still thinking about Joanna and her awkward smile, her stunning hair and fashionable style.

She blushed at the thought of what could happen at the play the following Saturday. Was there a chance for a kiss?