Library Boy

In the library is a little boy, about 13 years old, sitting quietly with his hands folded neatly in his lap. His short curly hair is nicely combed with gel. His short little legs barely touch the ground. He has a chubby belly which he hides behind a loosely tucked in polo. He turns his head to look at someone who speaks out loud, thinking that they should try to keep their voice down in a library. Someone approaches him to ask the time. He shrugs his shoulders and they walk away. He has a pocket watch in his pocket but was afraid to tell them the time for fear of making a mistake of telling the stranger the wrong time. Then he would be embarrassed and his rosy cheeks full of freckles would become even more rosy. He doesn't want to take the chance.
   The library starts getting more filled up with people and with each person who enters, it gets noisier. He sees an old friend of the family's and nods his head without a sound. three more minutes until the meeting begins. All the seats are taken and some people who came late have to stand. The boy is happy he got here early for a seat. The meeting begins. The leader stands in the front of the room and tries unsuccessfully to calm the roar of talking. She is a forceful leader, however, her voice isn't loud enough to be heard over the ruckus. The boy thinks everyone is rude for talking when she is trying to speak and start the meeting. However, he does nothing to help. He just sits and waits quietly. There is a loud voice that comes from the back of the library. It shouts for everyone to quiet down. The voice came from none other than the boy's older brother.
   Finally the leader is able to still the waves of sounds. The boy jots down some information. It is neatly organized in his notebook. The leader speaks quickly; too fast for the boy and he misses the time for the next meeting. He starts to worry a bit. He lifts his head a little higher to peak onto his neighbor's paper, but alas, he hasn't written down the time either. The boy continues to sit and listen, hoping she will repeat it, and she does.    After the meeting, he gets up and scans the area for his brother. He finds him chatting and joking with a group of girls. He slowly meanders over and stands adjacent to his brother like a child hiding behind his mother. His brother notices him after a while and says, "Hey buddy. You ready to go?" The boy nods his head as his cheeks become rosier. Some of the girls ask his brother who the little boy is. His brother brings the boy forward and introduces everyone to him. They all say hello and he puts his hand up, no higher than his chin, and shakes it timidly, then uses it to try to cover his red face. His brother sees his discomfort and tells his lady friends that he'd better get going. The boy follows his brother out the door.