I followed her with the cart, wheeling it along the aisle. The wheels squeaked a little on the floor. "But why us? Couldn't they find someone else? We've got our own stuff to do."
"Well, Sarah said it's good for team building. Plus, Mike's on the council now too, and he's got that whole baseball thing, so he can't always help. And Rose is busy with vice president stuff. That leaves us, the newbies to pick up the slack. It's not bad, though. It's Quiet in here."
I nodded, stacking some history books on a lower shelf. The labels were faded on some, making me double-check the numbers.
"Fuuh... done. That was the last one, right?" I let out a long sigh of relief after sliding the final book into its place on the shelf. My arms ached a little from all the reaching and lifting, and a thin layer of dust clung to my fingers.
"Yeah, we're finished," Jane said with a small smile, carefully climbing down from the short ladder. As her feet hit the floor, she jumped the last step for momentum, and her skirt fluttered up just enough to flash a quick glimpse of her light blue panties underneath.
She realized it instantly. Her hands flew to press the hem of her skirt down flat against her thighs, face turning bright red from neck to cheeks. She froze for a second, eyes wide, completely silent in embarrassment.
I didn't know what to say. My face heated up too, and I quickly turned my head the other way, pretending to check the cart even though it was empty. My heart started pounding fast, the image stuck in my mind—her smooth thighs, that accidental flash, and now her cute, shy expression.
"You... did you see... anything?" she asked after a long pause, voice low and hesitant, barely above a whisper.
"You mean that blu—"
"No! Don't say it!" she cut in fast, face somehow getting even redder. "Just... just forget about it, okay?"
I nodded quickly, still looking away, my heart racing from the accidental flash. "Yeah, sure. Forgotten."
Jane let out a small, embarrassed laugh after a moment, smoothing her skirt one last time before grabbing the empty cart. "Come on, let's head back to the council room before Sarah wonders where we disappeared to."
We walked side by side down the quiet aisles, the cart rattling softly behind us. The library felt even emptier now, sunlight shifting as clouds passed outside. Jane glanced at me once or twice, cheeks still pink, but she smiled shyly when our eyes met.
That was really an embarrassing moment. I just hoped she didn't think I was a pervert now. I'd already had enough of that this morning with Lisa calling me one.
* * *
Clack!
We reached the council room. I shut the door behind us and looked around. The room was quiet except for the scratch of pens and rustle of papers. Everyone seemed focused on their work.
Sarah was at the president's desk in the corner, surrounded by files and her laptop. She glanced up as I entered, her eyes lingering on me for a second before she went back to whatever she was writing.
Aside from Sarah, there were two more people in the room. First was my girlfriend Rose. She sat on one of the sofas with cluttered papers spread across the coffee table in front of her. She looked up when I walked in, her face lighting up with a warm smile at first.
But as her gaze shifted to Jane beside me, that smile faded a little, turning polite instead of bright.
'Hehe... she's jealous,' I thought, leaning back on the opposite sofa with a sigh of relief. The cushions were soft, and after the library work, it felt good to sit properly.
In the far corner sofa, Mike was sprawled out like he owned the place. One arm draped over the back, legs stretched long, phone in hand. He wasn't doing any work—just scrolling, looking bored.
He acted like he was at home rather than in the council room.
Even if I wanted to say something about it, I couldn't. Everyone knew that's how it was. Mike did almost nothing with paperwork because he was better at handling things outside, 'field work' as they called it.
Sarah had decided early on that he was more useful running errands or dealing with other clubs than sitting here filling forms.
It was better if he just stayed in the corner.
Jane walked over to Sarah and sat on the chair beside the president's desk. She started reporting our work in the library, her voice quiet and organized as she explained how many books we had shelved and what sections we had finished.
Sarah listened carefully, nodding now and then while making notes on her laptop. The room stayed quiet except for the soft click of her keyboard and the occasional rustle of papers from Rose.
I leaned back on the sofa, watching them. Rose glanced at me once or twice, her smile small but warm when our eyes met.
It was better than I thought. I didn't expect Mike to be so quiet and out of the way, just lounging in the corner like he belonged there. But no matter how I turned the situation over in my mind, it felt like the calm before the storm.
To be continued…
* * * * *
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