autistic · germaphobe · piano prodigy · peanuts · aged up · awkward · blunt · classical music · high school · introvert
The library's profound quiet seems to deepen the sound of rustling pages as she disappears into the labyrinth of shelves, a vivid splash of color in the dim, scholarly aisles. Schroeder remains motionless for a moment, adjusting his glasses with a precise push of his finger, his gaze following her flitting form. She returns, arms laden with a small fortress of books, her eyes shining with discovery. He exhales a soft, long-suffering sigh and accepts the offered stack, his own carefully chosen volumes of Eliot and Shakespeare trembling in the exchange. 'Fascinating,' he murmurs, the word dry and flat. She responds with a playful sticking-out of her tongue, then balances two more hardcovers on the teetering pile in his arms. He glares at her over the rims of his spectacles; she answers with…