Young Writers Society

James's eyes lit up immediately.

"So that's what you were leading up to!" he said with a little laugh. "What books are they? Where-- can I see them?"

He paused, for a moment, caught up in excitement before he smiled at Evaline warmly. "I mean -- Thank you. Thank you, for getting other books. Thank you so much."

Evaline beamed at James, pleased that he seemed excited. She spent some moments quickly studying his expression, trying not to forget it this time. It was very rare for James to show excitement, and the last time it happened was in the dark when she turned her back and gave him the books from Woodhearst. It was nice to be able to recreate some semblance of the moment, even if it was somewhat suppressed due to the sickness.

"Surprise?" she said with a high note, laughing lightly. She tore her gaze away and then walked over to the basket, lifting the cloth and revealing the two books. She grabbed them as well as the children's book and then plopped down on the other side of the bed. She had been sitting upright on the stool for hours, so it was nice to sit casually without disrupting his sleep.

Evaline slid the two books towards him, named Pride & Jaundice and Love Comes Gently.

"We're a bit limited with the genre available," she said sheepishly as she stared at the cover. "But I figured something was better than nothing."

James picked up both of the books, reading the titles on the cover. He'd heard of the Pride & Jaundice, but never read it. The other one was new. Both of them, he could tell, though, were romance novels.

He chuckled.

"You said you got these from Gabby?" he asked, flipping through the first few pages of Love Comes Gently.

"That's right," Evaline said, watching him flip through the first pages of the book. "Have you heard of them? Apparently Mikel thought they were comical, so at least there's that."

James nodded slightly. "I've heard one this one," he said, holding up Pride and Jaundice. "Never read it though. It feels like it's been forever since I've read any -- I mean, there are our two books, but before that, I hadn't had any. And honestly, I'm just happy to have books written for adults."

He looked over to Evaline with a smile.

"Thank you, again. So much."

It was nice seeing James's enthusiastic side. She knew he was an avid reader, but she didn't realize it had been a long time since he had read anything before she got him books. It felt nice to be able to help him with this aspect, and even nicer to be able to surprise him and see his eyes light up.

"You're very welcome," she said softly, returning the smile. She didn't want to ruin the moment by saying it was worth seeing his reaction and then potentially flustering him.

Evaline picked up the other book—Loves Comes Gently—and then quickly flipped through the first few pages.

"I don't think I've ever read a book in this genre, and I didn't spend too much time reading through it while you were asleep, but this one seems really dramatic," she commented as she flipped through the pages with her thumb. "First ten pages and there's already a... Well, you'll find out."

James nodded slowly, grinning and looking at Evaline out of the corner of his eyes, though most of his attention was still on the books.

"Don't spoil me," he said. "Though it could be fun if we both read the book and then shared our thoughts afterward," he said, turning the book over in his hands. "But I know I'll have a lot more time than you, so, maybe not."

Evaline leafed through the pages quickly and then closed the book with a thump. "We could do that," she said as she inspected the plain red cover. She then looked up and gave James an amused smile.

"But you're also a very fast reader. With all the extra time, you'll finish these before the end of tomorrow." She paused, pursing her lips in thought. "How can you speed through books like that, anyways? I prefer to read slower so I can absorb all the details."

James set the book he was holding down between them and looked over at her with a little shrug.

"I don't know, really," he said. "I've just always been a fast reader. I don't really have trouble absorbing it. Once I get started I kind of just... get sucked in."

Evaline looked over at him for a second, studying his expression. She couldn't quite understand since, to her, reading fast would be more like skimming to understand the big picture but not the details.

"Do you ever find yourself rereading some things because you missed it?" she asked.

James twisted his lips to the side a little. "I mean, sometimes. If the author worded something weirdly, I guess. But not often."

"Then how fast do you..." Evaline began, but then trailed off. Maybe it was easier to just show him what she meant.

She opened Love Comes Gently again and flipped to the first page, resting her thumb against the bottom corner to keep the page in place. She cleared her throat and read out loud the first two paragraphs setting the scene and main character, then looked up at James to gauge his reaction.

"So you read double or triple the speed of that without any problems?" she asked in disbelief.

James wasn't sure at first why she'd started reading out loud, but he didn't mind it. When she finished and looked up at him, he had to pause to think.

He didn't really think about how fast he read, and it wasn't exactly something he quantified. He hummed.

"I guess... twice as fast? Sometimes faster if it's easy to read?"

"Well. I'll try to keep up, then, " Evaline said as she laughed through her nose, looking back down at the pages. She paused in thought, realization seeping in.

"Or... maybe I don't need to keep up if we read together," she mused out loud. "Same book at the same time, I mean. We can take turns reading, or I can do it if it's too tiring for you."

She looked up to meet his eyes, gently smiling with a hint of a smirk.

"That is... if you're okay with how slow I read."

James returned the smirk.

"I don't mind at all," he said. "I would really like that."