Chapter 3: Partners

5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Proverbs 3:5

The other place that Hayley liked to visit other than the bookstore near the campus was the college library. The Patterson Library was located somewhat in the middle of the campus and was adjacent to the main center where the food court along with other offices were located. It was large and wide enough for anyone to enter and make use of its various books and computers. Hayley liked to go there whenever she needed some quiet time or if she needed to find some good books for her studies and always made sure to return the books to their designated deadlines or even before. Usually it was the latter reason that she often went there as she was able to use some of the books for research purposes related to her studies. She always found herself being drawn to books as she was very much a bookworm (something that she took great pride in) and wanted to see if she could use her skills for writing in some way. However, the main issue with that was the fact that her mother, Beatrice Espinoza, would most likely not approve as she believed that her daughter should follow in her footsteps as an attorney of some kind. Out of loyalty and respect for her, Hayley agreed to become an attorney like her and even went on to borrow books related to law and criminal justice just to please her. It seemed to work given how happy Beatrice was when she heard Hayley stated that she wanted to be just like her, though whether that was a good thing or not was let up in the air. It didn't help that Beatrice was very insistent on Hayley studying rather than playing around with anyone else and even limited the amount of free time she could have had. Though Hayley tried to understand that her mother had good intentions for her, especially when her mother would claim that "it was for her own good", a small part of her wondered if what her mother did was even right for her at all. No! NO! Of course she did! Hayley tried to convince herself. Why else would she make me study a lot instead of playing around and leave me with Aranea and Aunt Latria whenever she had to go to work. Oh wow, that did not sound right in my head. She took a deep sigh out of frustration as she tried to look for the next book that she needed to add to her personal studies.

"Let's see," she said as she scanned the various shelves in the library. "It should be around here.... where is it.... AHA!"

As she finally found the book that she was looking for, which was a volume involving the history of trials and courts, she suddenly found another hand placed on top of hers the moment she tried to grab the book. She could only let out a small yelp and step back as she turned to see who it was only to be surprised (and annoyed) to see that it was Zane again. Zane was surprised to see her again before smiling again, which seemed to be his trademark expression these days.

"Hi Hayley," he began. "Didn't expect to see you here."

"Well, I like to come here whenever I need to study," Hayley said in a nervous tone as she struggled not to blush in embarrassment.

"Really? I didn't know you took courses related to law," Zane said as he looked at the title of the book and the back cover.

"Well, I have been taking some sociology and political science courses to help with my future," she replied.

"Is this really part of your course studies though?" Zane asked as he wasn't sure if this particular book, which was labelled "The Dark History of Trials", was really part of her curriculum.

"N-not really," Hayley responded. "I was actually reading that so I can get a better look at how trials have changed over the years. It's technically not part of any mandatory course materials that I need in particular but rather it's something of a hobby that I developed so I can gain a better understanding of trials have changed over the years."

"Interesting," Zane responded. "I was actually looking for this book for similar purposes too."

"Really?" Hayley asked in surprise. "I didn't know you were interested in law too."

"Well, it's something that I've been interested ever since I was a kid. My dad works as a security guard and I guess I wanted to do something similar to him. Maybe a police officer or even a lawyer myself."

"Huh neat."

"By the way, did you need this too? Here, you can have it."

"Really? I mean, it's not like I need it right now, I mean I could just wait for you to finish and then hand it to me."

"No really., I insist. You wanted it first. I can wait."

"Oh um... thanks?"

"You're welcome."

The 2 of them stood there in awkward silence that just grew more awkward the more they stayed quiet. Hayley decided that maybe it was time to break the silence and say something that she should have said a long time ago.

"I'm sorry," Hayley said, causing Zane to become confused. "For what happened that night.... during Truth or Dare."

After yet another awkward silence, Zane started to chuckle before laughing uproariously. Hayley could only look on in bewildered shock, with some of the other students looking on in confusion and annoyance. Zane only stopped laughing when the nearby librarian shushed him harshly, prompting him to apologize in a quieter tone.

"Why are you laughing? Hayley asked in confusion and slight irritation. "I thought you would have been mad at me."

"I'm not mad at all," he replied with his smile still plastered on his face. "Far from it. As a matter of fact, I was never mad at you in the first place."

"You weren't?"

"No, to be honest, I actually wanted to apologize to you first." As Zane said this, his smile fell for a bit as he looked rather guilty. "I felt bad for humiliating and aggravating you that night and wanted to make it up to you but I couldn't find you anywhere. I genuinely had no idea that you were going to be at that bookstore and at the mall that day and wanted to apologize to you there but didn't want to bring up any bad memories or make things even more awkward in front of everyone."

"I see," Hayley responded. "In that case, I forgive you."

"Really?" Zane asked in slight surprise. "I thought you'd be more mad."

"Oh no I was definitely mad at you," Hayley replied with a stern tone and a frown before grinning. "But that doesn't mean I'm incapable of forgiving and showing mercy."

"Well, then I guess we're cool now?" Zane asked hopefully.

"Yeah, sure," Hayley responded.

After another awkward beat between them, Zane decided to break the silence.

"So.... wanna sit somewhere?" he asked.

"Sure! Why not?" Hayley responded before heading off to find a nearby table for both of them to sit at. They were able to find a seat near one of the windows, as they were still on the first floor, before deciding to talk some more. Turns out, they had a lot more in common than Hayley thought.

"You mentioned that you were a fan of the Cabell Family books as well?" Hayley asked.

"Oh yes," Zane responded with glee. "I've been reading them ever since I was a kid and read all of the books."

"Really?" Hayley asked in amazement. "I only started reading them since high school. There's supposed to be what.... 10 volumes in total?"

"15 actually," Zane responded. "The volume that you got is technically the final volume of the main series whereas the other 5 are actually prequels or midquels that elaborate more on the other world that the Cabell Family find themselves in."

"Wow, you know more about the series than I do and I've literally done research on them," Hayley responded in awe.

"Well, I did read all of them in the past and managed to remember the main plot points," Zane said proudly.

"At least I can talk with you about this stuff," Hayley said in a glum tone. "Tasha and Lynne don't seem to understand why I like the Cabell Family series so much. Lynne is more into sports rather than books whereas Tasha seems to lean more towards more fantasy and romance."

"But the Cabell Family has bits of fantasy and romance in it, at least when it comes to Samantha Cabell and Zenmoney."

"Yeah but the Cabell Family series leans more towards sci-fi rather than pure fantasy and the romance is mostly downplayed in favor of its adventurous themes."

"That's true."

"Besides, the only other person that likes the Cabell Family series is Janine, or at least that's what Tasha told me."

"Right, I actually remember talking with Janine about that."

"Really?"

"Yep. We actually like to talk about it at the Crowning Café on Saturdays. I'm actually planning to go there this Saturday. You wanna join?"

"Sure! Though I'll need to check my schedule as I may have some leftover homework and assignments. Plus I have an essay due this Friday so it may take all night for me to finish."

"Really? What kind of essay is it?"

"It's something related to finding more humane methods of interrogation and how to tell when someone in court is telling the truth or not."

"Why don't you try watching 'Night Court'? I'm sure they have plenty of answers for you to find."

They both got a laugh at that before deciding to see on what Hayley needed for her essay to be completed. As it turns out, according to Hayley's pages, she was around 50% done but still needed some decent primary sources for her assignment to be completed.

"You could try using the book that you wanted earlier," Zane suggested as he slid the book to her. "Judging from the contents inside, it could provide some crucial info for your essay."

"Yeah you're right!" Hayley responded as she flipped through the book and skimmed through the pages to find the right amount of information. "This could actually work! Thanks!"

"No problem," Zane said. "It's the least I could do."

"For what?"

"For giving me another chance."

As he said this, Zane gave her what was probably the most sincere smile she had ever seen. Sure, he smiled at her in the past but it seemed rather shady and suspicious (at least to Hayley) at the time. But now that he was here, offering her advice and even talking with her about her favorite book, she began to wonder if Zane even counted as one of those "bad men" that her mother would warn her about.

What if.... what if mother was wrong?