“Damn. We didn’t bring a bike lock. Hope no one steals them.”
  “Honestly Rochelle? Who’d wanna steal these? They aren’t exactly the greatest bikes ever.”
  “Hm…good point Quin.”
  The third girl fanned herself with her hand. “Can we go inside? I’m wearing a black shirt. And it’s hot.” The others agreed heartily.
   They went inside the library and gingerly descended the stairs, wincing after the long bike ride. At the bottom they turned left and entered the room specifically for teens. Rochelle waved at a skinny black-haired girl standing with a small group of people at the computers. “Hey Emily!” she called. Emily came over. “Emily, these are my friends Quin and Taylor,” Rochelle said. “They’re visiting from New Hampshire.”
  Emily waved at the two girls. “Hey,” she said.
  “Hi,” they answered shyly.
  Rochelle talked to Emily and a couple others for a few minutes then led her friends over to the other side of the room where a larger group of kids was hanging out. There were a couple introductions made, but they were just quick, like “This is so-and-so.” The three sat down for a bit and mostly listened to the conversation. Rochelle would say a couple things every so often. One of the girls asked how the three had gotten there. “We biked,” Rochelle answered.
  “Ooh. Did you bring a bike lock?”
  “No, we didn’t have any.”
  “That’s bad. People’s bikes have been getting stolen and thrown in the river. Go ask the librarian if you can bring them in here.”
  “Okay.” Rochelle stood up and ran off. Quin and Taylor stayed where they were slightly uncomfortably. When Rochelle came back they stood up.
  “Stupid old lady,” Rochelle said. “I asked one of the librarians and she said yes, then an old one came over and said no. So we’re gonna go get the bikes and hide them somewhere.” Quin and Taylor followed her.
  “Hey, you’ve got your own little posse!” one of the others remarked as they left.

  When they reached the front of the building they grabbed their bikes and wheeled them back. There was a little partially walled off space, and the girls tried to hide the bikes there, but it could be seen from the windows of the library and a woman appeared in one and waved them away, mouthing “No” exaggeratedly. So they took the bikes to the very back of the building and stashed them under a large bush. As they were heading back in, most of the kids from inside came out.
  “Hey Panne!” one called. “We’re going to the Riverfront, wanna come?”
  “No thanks Russell!” she called back. “They mostly do pot down there,“ she whispered to Quin and Taylor. “We’re going to Wang Palace.” They turned and walked in the opposite direction, took a few back ways and quickly reached a Chinese food restaurant. They went in, got a table and ordered. While they were waiting for their food they whispered to each other.
  “It’s so quiet! No one else is here!”
  “Well except that couple over there.”
  “True Taylor. True. Oh my god. Tea!! I want to pour the tea! Somebody have some tea!”
  Quin and Taylor laughed and both got china teacups. Rochelle excitedly picked up the tea pot and poured, only spilling a few drops. The other two tried their tea at the same time, and both grimaced.
  “That needs a ton of sugar.” They both grabbed about two packets of sugar each and poured them in. They tasted it again and decided it was really good with a lot of sugar. Rochelle poured herself a cup and their orders arrived. The three dug in.
  The door opened and in walked Rochelle’s ex boyfriend Kasey and one of his friends. Quin and Taylor looked at Rochelle to see her reaction. She waved and Kasey waved back. He and his friend went to a nearby table. The three girls resumed eating and talking. After a bit, Kasey came over. He reached across their table and stole one of Rochelle’s fried dumplings. Then he went back to his table. Rochelle was sputtering protests after him, but he ignored them. She huffed and went back to eating. Quin and Taylor were laughing, but shut up when she glared.
  After they were done eating. Rochelle got called over to the boys’ table and offered a seat. She accepted and Quin and Taylor were also offered seats. They politely declined. “Fine! Be that way!” Kasey said jokingly, although it was hard to tell. After a minute or two Rochelle got up and the three girls left.

  They walked around the common for a bit until they reached the library again. They crossed the street to a convenience store, where they bought some soda. After drinking them they grabbed their bikes and headed for Rochelle’s house. “Next time we do this, let’s get a ride with someone.”