Life Designed (Life Plan Series Book 1) by Eliza Taye (mini ebook reader TXT) 📕

of them to the back wall and into an elevator. Pressing the up button, the door opened almost instantaneously. Walking inside, Opal and Garrett waited as the doors shut and they rose to the fifth floor.

Eager to see the sequestered room, Garrett peeked around the librarian’s poufy hair as soon as the doors began sliding aside. All that greeted him was a sleek gray floor and walls. The entire room was empty and not quite as expansive as the lower floors of the library. At the end of the room, another doorway with the same steel gray as the walls and floors stood waiting, almost taunting him.

The librarian proceeded forward, stepping onto the floor, her two-inch heeled shoes clacking against the surface. A few feet from the door, she stopped, “Thank you, young man, but I will take it from here.”

Garrett panicked but refused to let it show on his face. Instead, he put on his most charming smile and said, “Ah, it’s only a little further, what kind of gentleman would I be if I didn’t continue carrying it all the way and stopped here?”

The librarian smiled a little sheepishly, “That’s very sweet of you, but I must insist. Only authorized personnel are allowed behind that door. The two of you must remain here while I carry these inside.”

To Garrett’s chagrin, the librarian took the books from him, tugging against his tight grip on the books. Annoyed, Garrett allowed her to take them.

“Now, if the two of you wouldn’t mind turning your backs, I need to use my security code.

Always the good kid, Opal dutifully turned around, picking a spot on the bland wall to focus on. Garrett turned slowly but glanced out his peripheral vision over his shoulder.

But the librarian was waiting for it. “Turn around all the way.” She spun her finger in a circle, eyes focused on Garrett.

Winking, Garrett made a you got me face and turned around.

Waiting for a few moments to ensure Garrett wasn’t going to turn around again, the librarian twisted around and began entering her passcode.

Twisting his head to the side, Garrett used a side-long glance to see the last four digits of the code. Based on the beeping sounds for every key entered, the code was only a five-digit passcode, he’d have to guess at the first number, but now he knew the way in. All he had to do was remember the numbers 4256 and correctly guess the first number—then he’d have a way into the secret room.

Chapter 12

 

“That was a complete waste of time! We didn’t find any information pertaining to the requirements to become a council representative!” Opal threw her hands up in frustration, but then her gaze softened. “I’m so sorry, Garrett.”

Feigning disappointment, Garrett shrugged meekly, his head down. “It’s okay, Opal, we tried.”

“No, Garrett. It’s not okay. You finally found something you’d like to do for the rest of your life and now I can’t even help you achieve it. I said I’d help you, but all I’ve done is fail you.”

“You didn’t fail me,” Garrett sincerely replied. “You tried your best. The library just doesn’t have what we need.”

Garrett and Opal sat in a mostly deserted section of the library combing through the various books the librarian helped them find. None of them had yielded any indications of what one needed to do in order to become a council representative.

“But that doesn’t make any sense. This library is supposed to have every book ever written!”

Furrowing his brow, Garrett corrected, “That’s not true. I was once told that Anaxia Library only maintained a collection of all the books written in the last 300 years.”

“That’s true,” frustrated, Opal slammed her hand on the open book in front of her, then glanced around to see if anyone had been annoyed by the loud sound. “Oops, sorry.”

“Opal, I’ve never seen you like this.” Garrett stared at her in confusion.

Eyes downcast, Garrett could have sworn he saw the shine of a tear drop from her eye. Glancing down at the page she was hanging her head over, he noticed a small wet circle on the page. “Opal, are you crying?”

“No,” Opal raised her head, but her pink eyes contradicted her statement.

Shocked, Garrett called her out on it. “You’re crying! You’re seriously crying over this…why?”

“It’s just. I know what I want to be. I always have…”

“You don’t need to rub it in,” grumbled Garrett.

“…but you’ve just figured out what you want to do…and just in time, I might add. Now, it seems like the entire city—including me—are failing you in helping you to formulate your Plan. It doesn’t seem right.”

Garrett wished he could tell her the answer to his question probably lay just behind the door in the Secret Collections Room, but he knew he couldn’t. If he expressed that to her, then she would guess his plan to break-in. He had to keep it a secret from her. Not just because she would probably try to talk him out of it, but because if he was caught, he didn’t want her implicated as an accomplice.

“I’m sure we could always ask our teacher tomorrow during class. She might know something. If she doesn’t, then maybe another teacher at the academy will,” offered Garrett.

Opal cocked her head to the side. “You know, Garrett, that’s a good idea. It also sounds like something I would say. Maybe my good wits and intellect are rubbing off on you after all.”

“Nah, I wouldn’t bet on that.” Garrett reached over and ruffled her hair.

Opal made an I’ll kill you for that glare, then started smiling and laughing while she fixed her hair.

The next day in class, all Garrett could think about was getting into the secret room in the library. While the other procrastinating students busied themselves with putting the finishing touches