Another Meeting in the Library
Jan. 6th, 2024 01:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsPaige and Soorya run into each other
Paige sat in what was quickly becoming her favorite place in the library. It was toward the back, away from the windows to discourage distractions but not so far away that there wasn’t plenty of natural light. Her laptop sat on the desk in front of her with a rather dull, but important research paper on the screen. Paige leaned back and stretched her arms over her head. She was making decent (more like ok) progress on it, maybe it was time she took a short break.
"Mind if I have a seat here?" Sooraya put a stack of books down that looked like half of the contents of the young adult bookshelf. "I've got some books to sort through and I didn’t want to take them all to my office."
“Go right ahead! You lookin’ for something good to read?” Paige thought she read a lot, but that stack of books was a lot even by her standards.
Sooraya shook her head, grinning a little. "Afraid not. I'm trying to find some good books for a fourteen year old I'm working with in DX. She mentioned a title or two, so I looked up some related stuff. This..." She nodded at the books. "... is the end result of that."
“That’s a lot of options.” Paige eyed the pile. “Can I help you narrow it down any? Maybe we can pick a genre?”
"Well, if you happen to know a little about the popular young adult fantasy books are nowaday... I tried to focus on that. But every list I look at on the internet seems to mention different books, but I've knocked out a few that focus mostly on romance." Sooraya suddenly looked up. "But before we get started on that... I'm Sooraya. I don't think I've run into you yet."
“I don’t think we have either. I’m Paige Guthrie.” Paige smiled. “And I think if we can narrow down what you’re lookin’ for, we can definitely reduce this pile to a reasonable amount.”
"Oh, you must be related to Sam? He helped me out with a project once or twice in DX." Sooraya returned her smile. "It's good to meet you. I think he mentioned he'd a lot of younger siblings. Are any of them booklovers?"
“Well, there’s me, and Jeb. Jay reads sometimes, too, but he mostly likes poetry.” Paige pauses. “He probably didn’t want me to tell you that. Oh, well. He’ll live.”
Paige began to pick up books and make piles based on what they seemed to be about.
"Don't worry, I won't tell." Sooraya quickly scanned the piles, then started adding books as well. After only two books, she paused before separating out a few books. "Looks like I managed to grab a series or two. So what did you like to read when you were fourteen?"
“Marissa Meyer is pretty good, Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James. Jeb liked Once & Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor.” Paige ticked the books off on her fingers. “That’s probably a good start. If I think of any others, I can let ya know.”
"Talk about a good start indeed." Sooraya carefully put her little stack to the side before gathering up the rest. "I made a deal with Tonya... when she finished ten books, I promised to arrange for a horse riding lesson or two. Something she always dreamed of. This should help her on her way." Glancing over her shoulder, Sooraya quickly put the rest on the nearby liberian's cart. "Alani is gonna hate me for this, but for this one time..."
“Isn’t that what the carts are for?” Paige had been leaving books on the carts since she got here. Maybe she shouldn’t have assumed.
"Oh no, of course not." Sooraya quickly clarified. "It's more how many books there are."
“Yeah, that’s a good point.” Paige helped stack up the books on the cart. “Maybe we can put at least some of them back on the shelf?”
"Besides, most were pretty close together." Sooraya added the few final books, pushing the cart from the section she'd come from. "So how have you and your family been settling in? Westchester must be a pretty big change from home."
“Yeah, a very big change.” New York and Westchester were nothing like small town Kentucky. “Havin’ school to focus on has definitely been a big help. And havin’ Sam and Jay nearby.”
"Oh, what are you studying? And which school?" Sooraya glanced up, checking the various shelves. "And here we are... I think I left a bit of a mess... Oops." Sooraya looked over at the bookshelves where various books were leaning against each other and had even tipped over.
Paige immediately set to work, setting books upright and placing ones on the shelf from the cart. “Psychology. I’m gettin’ my PhD at Columbia, so I commute into the city for class.”
"Oh, have you already had the chance to meet my roommate Alanni?"Sooraya veered up immediately, even as she eyed the alphabetic order of a set of four books."She is working on the same degree and even the same school I think!" Guiltily she glanced around her, immediately lowering her voice again.
“I have, I got drinks with her and Sam the other night. She’s great, I might have to steal her from Sam,” Paige joked.
"Oh, I hope you guys had a good time. Where did you end up going?"
“We went to Kirby’s, that bar Sam used to work at. It was a nice time.”
“Oh, I've heard it's a nice place. I haven't been there myself though." Sooraya tucked the final book in place. "Did you have the chance to see a bit of the rest of the city already? Or of the area around the mansion?"
“Not quite yet,” Paige said, pushing the cart to the end of the aisle so it was clear. “Been busy settlin’ in. And Sam’s been busy watchin’ over Jay. But I think I’ll need to bug them into a trip soon.”
"I am in NYC pretty often. I'd be happy to show you a few nice spots if you want." Sooraya offered spontaneously. "Ask Alani to come along as well maybe?" She immediately added when the idea occurred to her.
“Yeah, sure. I’ll keep that in mind and let you know when I’m free. I think Sam wants to take me first, though.” Paige wasn’t trying to deflect, but she also knew Sam had been excited about being able to show her around up here.
Sooraya grinned a little. "Big brother privileges claimed? Just let me know when you have some time."
“Absolutely,” Paige smiled. She wrote down her number on a piece of paper and handed it to Soorya. “So we can stay in touch.”
Paige sat in what was quickly becoming her favorite place in the library. It was toward the back, away from the windows to discourage distractions but not so far away that there wasn’t plenty of natural light. Her laptop sat on the desk in front of her with a rather dull, but important research paper on the screen. Paige leaned back and stretched her arms over her head. She was making decent (more like ok) progress on it, maybe it was time she took a short break.
"Mind if I have a seat here?" Sooraya put a stack of books down that looked like half of the contents of the young adult bookshelf. "I've got some books to sort through and I didn’t want to take them all to my office."
“Go right ahead! You lookin’ for something good to read?” Paige thought she read a lot, but that stack of books was a lot even by her standards.
Sooraya shook her head, grinning a little. "Afraid not. I'm trying to find some good books for a fourteen year old I'm working with in DX. She mentioned a title or two, so I looked up some related stuff. This..." She nodded at the books. "... is the end result of that."
“That’s a lot of options.” Paige eyed the pile. “Can I help you narrow it down any? Maybe we can pick a genre?”
"Well, if you happen to know a little about the popular young adult fantasy books are nowaday... I tried to focus on that. But every list I look at on the internet seems to mention different books, but I've knocked out a few that focus mostly on romance." Sooraya suddenly looked up. "But before we get started on that... I'm Sooraya. I don't think I've run into you yet."
“I don’t think we have either. I’m Paige Guthrie.” Paige smiled. “And I think if we can narrow down what you’re lookin’ for, we can definitely reduce this pile to a reasonable amount.”
"Oh, you must be related to Sam? He helped me out with a project once or twice in DX." Sooraya returned her smile. "It's good to meet you. I think he mentioned he'd a lot of younger siblings. Are any of them booklovers?"
“Well, there’s me, and Jeb. Jay reads sometimes, too, but he mostly likes poetry.” Paige pauses. “He probably didn’t want me to tell you that. Oh, well. He’ll live.”
Paige began to pick up books and make piles based on what they seemed to be about.
"Don't worry, I won't tell." Sooraya quickly scanned the piles, then started adding books as well. After only two books, she paused before separating out a few books. "Looks like I managed to grab a series or two. So what did you like to read when you were fourteen?"
“Marissa Meyer is pretty good, Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James. Jeb liked Once & Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor.” Paige ticked the books off on her fingers. “That’s probably a good start. If I think of any others, I can let ya know.”
"Talk about a good start indeed." Sooraya carefully put her little stack to the side before gathering up the rest. "I made a deal with Tonya... when she finished ten books, I promised to arrange for a horse riding lesson or two. Something she always dreamed of. This should help her on her way." Glancing over her shoulder, Sooraya quickly put the rest on the nearby liberian's cart. "Alani is gonna hate me for this, but for this one time..."
“Isn’t that what the carts are for?” Paige had been leaving books on the carts since she got here. Maybe she shouldn’t have assumed.
"Oh no, of course not." Sooraya quickly clarified. "It's more how many books there are."
“Yeah, that’s a good point.” Paige helped stack up the books on the cart. “Maybe we can put at least some of them back on the shelf?”
"Besides, most were pretty close together." Sooraya added the few final books, pushing the cart from the section she'd come from. "So how have you and your family been settling in? Westchester must be a pretty big change from home."
“Yeah, a very big change.” New York and Westchester were nothing like small town Kentucky. “Havin’ school to focus on has definitely been a big help. And havin’ Sam and Jay nearby.”
"Oh, what are you studying? And which school?" Sooraya glanced up, checking the various shelves. "And here we are... I think I left a bit of a mess... Oops." Sooraya looked over at the bookshelves where various books were leaning against each other and had even tipped over.
Paige immediately set to work, setting books upright and placing ones on the shelf from the cart. “Psychology. I’m gettin’ my PhD at Columbia, so I commute into the city for class.”
"Oh, have you already had the chance to meet my roommate Alanni?"Sooraya veered up immediately, even as she eyed the alphabetic order of a set of four books."She is working on the same degree and even the same school I think!" Guiltily she glanced around her, immediately lowering her voice again.
“I have, I got drinks with her and Sam the other night. She’s great, I might have to steal her from Sam,” Paige joked.
"Oh, I hope you guys had a good time. Where did you end up going?"
“We went to Kirby’s, that bar Sam used to work at. It was a nice time.”
“Oh, I've heard it's a nice place. I haven't been there myself though." Sooraya tucked the final book in place. "Did you have the chance to see a bit of the rest of the city already? Or of the area around the mansion?"
“Not quite yet,” Paige said, pushing the cart to the end of the aisle so it was clear. “Been busy settlin’ in. And Sam’s been busy watchin’ over Jay. But I think I’ll need to bug them into a trip soon.”
"I am in NYC pretty often. I'd be happy to show you a few nice spots if you want." Sooraya offered spontaneously. "Ask Alani to come along as well maybe?" She immediately added when the idea occurred to her.
“Yeah, sure. I’ll keep that in mind and let you know when I’m free. I think Sam wants to take me first, though.” Paige wasn’t trying to deflect, but she also knew Sam had been excited about being able to show her around up here.
Sooraya grinned a little. "Big brother privileges claimed? Just let me know when you have some time."
“Absolutely,” Paige smiled. She wrote down her number on a piece of paper and handed it to Soorya. “So we can stay in touch.”
