I Want To Read A Book

Oh. Oh. She'd given him a book? Makara forced a little smile, giving her a nod as he led Nia away from the desk and towards the shelves themselves.

"You should probably... decide what kind of book to look for. And then you could use that to help you figure out where it is." He gestured quickly to the book in her hand, although he was truly flying by the seat of his pants. He had absolutely no idea what the book she was holding was, or how it could be used to help her find books elsewhere in the library. For all he knew it wasn't, and it was just a completely random book she'd been handed.

Makara tried his best to look encouraging, nodding along as she explained what she'd learned.

"You should sign up for the class. It would probably help to have someone experienced explain it to you, without having to take up the time of a librarian who is supposed to be doing other things." Which was as good a reason as any. "Why don't you pick out a single book we can check out, which will hold you over until then? Unless you want to read that one." He wasn't really sure how good a book about the library would be for reading. Didn't people like books that had stories? Or did that one have a story? In truth, he had absolutely no idea.

She wanted to read the whole library? It seemed like an impossible task to Makara. Like it would take several human lifetimes just to read it all. He had no real concept for how long it would take to read a book, but he assumed it would take a long time.

It seemed only fitting that she read a book in the library, so Makara paused, looking around. "There's probably a place to sit in here where you could read." Acting on a hunch, he turned, heading towards the windows and finding exactly what he was hoping for - a spot in front of the windows with several comfortable looking chairs around short tables. "You could read here, if you wanted." She could read. Not both of them.

It was like playing a game - a very complicated mind game that required him to constantly be moving his piece in an attempt to stay one step ahead. Only he was a very poor game player, and a very poor liar. He hid his lies and his secrets with silence and with obscurity. No one on the island knew much of anything about Cambodia, and so no one had ever stopped to wonder just what he really was.

Similarly, even as he'd signed himself up as a teacher, no one had thought to check if he was truly qualified. The overwhelming majority of students came from countries where literacy came more or less without question, so the idea of a teacher - an adult, even if he didn't always look like one - not being able to read had simply not occurred to anyone at all.

He was playing a dangerous game trying to avoid the subject, and it would have been better for him to walk away. He didn't though - he carried right on as he always had, unwilling to say no.

"I will sit with you, but it would probably be better for you if you looked the words up yourself. Part of going to school is learning to teach yourself, and finding your own answers." He replied, sounding too much like something someone would read off off a fortune cookie.

The answer was yes. The answer was absolutely yes. Dorm parents were supposed to help with things like that, and Makara couldn't help but glance away, his eyes refusing to meet hers.

He didn't want to tell her, but he was backed firmly into a corner.

"I.."

It took him a second to get over it, to push past the initial hesitation. Even then, he didn't get it all out--he only gave her a half truth, hiding the real issue.

"I can't read English."