Page 52 of Isn't It Obvious?
The corner of Yael’s lips quirks. “You sure? N. K. Jemisin calledCamp Damascus‘a genuinely terrifying nightmare,’” she says.
“I’ll ask someone to hold my hand through the scariest parts,” Ravi says, earning a few scattered snickers from around the circle.
Yael stands. “Alright, well, we’re gonna have to share copies for this one, or you’ll have to get some from Multnomah County Library. We’re a little thin on book club funds, andthis doesn’t really fit within the bounds of the normal Kennedy Library catalog.” Ravi thinks he hears a little bitterness in her words.
She walks off, presumably to retrieve the books, and every pair of eyes in the room lands on Ravi. He reaches for a sip from his water bottle.
“Are you and Ms. Koenig together?” Ana asks.
Half the water goes into Ravi’s airway, and Ravi coughs violently. “I’m sorry, what?” he wheezes out.
“She’s asking if you and Ms. Koenig are dating,” Eli says.
Ravi coughs once more. “No, I got that,” he says. “I don’t think you should be asking me this.”
“I told you they were together,” Jackson says.
“We’re not together! I just don’t think it’s appropriate to ask me or Yael about our love lives.”
“Yael,” JQ repeats, and there are a couple of answering “Oohs.”
“Ms. Koenig,” Ravi amends.
“Why do you call her Yael?”
“Because I’m thirty years old. And not her student,” he says.Christ, how long can it possibly take to get a couple of books?He looks to the office for any sign of her, but the door is barely ajar and the single window is almost entirely obscured by boxes.
“Are you dating anybody, then?” Zoe asks.
“As I said, you should not be asking me about my love life,” Ravi says. Yael emerges, books in hand, and Ravi looks at her likesave me.
“Sorry it took me so long,” she says. “I lost them under a different pile of books. I trust things haven’t descended into madness in my absence?”
“They’re eating me alive,” Ravi says.
A slow smile. “Good.”
Many looks are exchanged among the students, and Ravi wants to tell Yael that she isn’t helping their case, but he knows that would only make things worse.
“Alright, dramatic reading time,” Yael says, doling out the books. “If it does end up being too upsetting for anybody, you can tell me in confidence tomorrow and we’ll pick something else.”
Ravi doesn’t take one of the copies, nor does he want to crowd over three students to read along, so as Yael reads the first page, he just listens. And watches.
That crease in her bottom lip, the way she can so convincingly fry and pitch her voice to match the twenty-year-old protagonist. The lines of her crossed legs under her long floral-patterned skirt, the bounce of her foot in her (also floral-patterned) boot. Her fingers tucking that beaded braid she always has in her hair behind her ear.
She finishes reading, and he’s slow to look away. Slower than he should be, not as slow as he wants to be. Her eyes meet his, and he simmers under her gaze.
After the club, Ravi helps Yael put the library back together, as always. A few of the students linger by the doorway, so on one of Ravi’s trips to retrieve a chair, he steps closer to her and, in a low voice, says, “What is the least suspicious way for me to return clothing to you?”
“Library office. After they leave,” Yael says.
He gives a single nod and gets back to it without a second glance her way.
When he next looks up, she’s halfway to the office, looking right at him. She tilts her head, a clearYou coming?gesture. Ravi bends to grab the bag and follows her inside, shutting the door behind him.
There’s not a lot of room to stand. The space isn’t all that large to begin with, and most of it is taken up by two oversizedesks, one pushed against the windowed wall and piled with open cardboard boxes, the other in the middle of the room and piled with papers. They end up almost toe-to-toe.
“I know, I know,” Yael says, grimacing. “I like to keep everything out there nice for the students, even the checkout counter. So, this becomes my catchall storage zone.”
