Chapter Text
Miss Benson was the favorite.
It was just a fact of life, at this point. No other teacher could compare. Maybe it was because she never had to assign tests or essays, but everyone suspected it was a bit more than that.
The library was a safe haven for students, who could come to read or use the computers or play board games. There were mandala coloring sheets and quiet corners to destress, pamphlets of book recommendations for every occasion. There was a secret drawer in the circulation desk where one would discover snacks and loose change that always seemed to find themselves in the hands of students who couldn’t afford lunch.
The real reason students came to the library, though, was for Miss Benson herself, who always seemed to be up to date on the newest drama and who was dating or fighting with who, and always had a witty remark or gentle advice to impart on whomever walked through her door.
And, to be honest, the teachers utilized her as a resource more than the students. Miss Benson knew absolutely everything that happened inside the walls of Jefferson High.
Which is why she was unsurprised when Rafael Barba burst through the library doors, with as dramatic of an entrance as always, making a beeline straight for her desk.
“L’hai giá vista?” he immediately asked quietly, as if any of the students scattered around could understand him. Olivia sighed, trying to scramble her brain into Italian mode, as she usually had to do whenever Barba barged in on his lunch break. It was his favorite method of talking without students overhearing. It was also a pain in the ass.
“Chi?”
“La nuova maestra di francese.”
Olivia shook her head. Her first few days had been blessedly quiet, as students couldn’t use the library until three days in. They were now on the fifth day of the semester, and she hadn’t seen any new faces yet. “What about her?” She asked, pointedly using English as she tried to refocus on the overdue books from last year that had never been returned. She needed to get replacements. She could not deal with mentally translating at the moment.
“She’s— she’s tall.”
Olivia looked back up and raised an eyebrow. “You came running in here like a madman to tell me the new girl is tall?”
Barba huffed, obviously frustrated. “No. You won’t get it till you see her, Liv. Seriously. She wants to help with Mock Trial.”
“Thank God, you’ll finally stop bothering me to help you run that. I like her already,” Olivia deadpanned, looking back at her computer. Kerri Hawthorne had never returned her only copy of Gone With the Wind. That was inconvenient.
“She came here from a private school. A really fancy one in the city. I can’t imagine leaving a private school to work here.”
“Wow, you really have some school spirit. Thinking of joining the mascot team?”
Barba sighed as dramatically as he had entered. “I don’t trust her.”
“The semester has barely started, Rafa. Give the woman a chance. Especially if she wants to help with Mock Trial.”
Barba rolled his eyes. “Fine. Doesn’t mean I won’t complain about it.”
“Oh, don’t I know it,” Olivia muttered under her breath, only half paying attention. She had two copies of Pride and Prejudice, but should probably order another two now that it was in the senior literature curriculum. One was basically falling apart, anyways. And they always flew off the shelves around Valentine’s day.
“Are you coming for drinks tomorrow?”
“This early in the semester and everybody already needs drinks?” Olivia re-read a sticky note near her laptop, reminding her that a student had been asking about Vonnegut last spring. She added Cat’s Cradle to her cart.
“Would you rather we sneak shots into the next faculty meeting?”
Liv snorted. “Yes, actually. That would be very entertaining.”
“I’ll take this to mean you’re coming. Mulligan’s, seven, as usual.”
“Mhm.” Olivia wasn’t even pretending to pay attention anymore. “Sounds good.”
“Miss Benson?” a quiet voice asked, and Barba took that as his cue to step away.
“Hey, Jenny!” Olivia turned and gave her full attention to the girl standing across from her at the desk. “It’s really great to see you, did you have a good summer?”
Jenny offered a shy smile. “It was fine. I wanted to return this.” She put a book on the desk and slid it to Olivia. “Thank you so much for letting me keep it for the summer, it was really good. But sad.”
“Of course! I’m so glad you enjoyed it, even if it is a bit devastating.” Olivia took the book. Beneath a Scarlet Sky. That was definitely a sad one. “Are you looking for another? If you liked the history, I just got a few new ones in that you may enjoy.”
Jenny beamed and nodded, and her smile was contagious enough that Olivia was smiling too. Jenny often came to the library to read or study, whether at lunch or during free periods, and usually after school as well. She was a quiet girl but had begun opening up to Olivia near the end of the previous school year, which made Liv very happy. She loved it when the quiet ones felt heard, felt seen. She wanted her library to be a place for that.
Olivia stood to lead her to the historical fiction section. “You’re starting your sophomore year, right? You excited?”
Jenny shifted on her feet. “I’m a bit nervous,” she admitted, looking at the ground. “I’m scared the advanced classes will be too hard.”
Olivia shuffled some books around the shelf. “You’re a smart girl, Jenny. I know you’ll be fine. Which ones are you worried about?”
Jenny hummed, tugging a piece of paper out of the planner she was carrying that Olivia assumed was her schedule. “I have biology with Ms. Warner, which lots of the older kids say is really tough, and then I have AP American History with Mr. Munch, which is my first AP class. And since Ms. Summers retired I have French with Ms. Cabot, and she’s a lot stricter than Ms. Summers was.”
Cabot, Olivia made a mental note of the woman’s name. Strict, tall, French lady. She found the book she was looking for on the shelf and pulled it out triumphantly.
“Well, I haven’t met Ms. Cabot yet, but I’ve known Ms. Warner and Mr. Munch a very long time and they’re both great teachers. Keep studying the way you do and you’ll be fantastic.”
Jenny blushed a little at the praise. “Thank you,” she mumbled, not meeting Olivia’s eyes.
“Alright, this book is a good one, but it covers some heavy topics, like sexual assault. If that might bother you then you do not have to take it. I’ll find you something else. But if you are interested, it’s about a teenage girl in East Berlin.” Olivia handed Jenny The House of One Thousand Eyes.
Jenny took it and turned it over, scanning the cover and skimming the summary. “I think I’ll be okay with that. It looks really interesting, thank you Miss Benson!” And then the bell rang, and Jenny scurried away with a wave.
Olivia made her way back to the desk in time to see Barba mouth the word “drinks!” in her general direction as he left for his next class. She smiled and shook her head amusedly. All she was hoping for at this point was a calm school year. It didn’t seem like Barba would allow her that, but she would hold on to that hope nonetheless.