the last summer before adulthood
a vivid and philosophical story about restlessness, willful ignorance, growth, and anything else you think it’s about.
Here is my friend’s link for those who need it to overcome the paywall.
We were in the library. He had just kissed me. The Brooklyn Public Library is a microcosm within a microcosm. Poor people can charge their phones for free, rich people can feel accomplished for getting their asses out of the house, horny people can watch youtube videos of thicc women shaking their booties, and anyone can wander the endless aisles filled with books on nearly any topic.
A library is a place of awe. A safe haven for everyone. Any question can be explored at the library. In a library, each person is absorbed by something.
For two months, we’d been meeting every Monday at 7 a.m. to read together and talk about our thoughts. It had begun because we had both independently started going to the library at 7 a.m. during the summer break. Me, because I needed answers. Him, because he just wanted to and had nothing better to do.
I’d first noticed him staring at me from three tables away in the religion, history, and culture room. Luke had a buzzcut, the kind of hair I’m into, and bright turquoise eyes, like…
