The Library Notes

Eero went to the library every day after school. He liked the long wooden tables and the quiet. That Tuesday, a girl sat down at the next table. She had a thick book and a red pencil.

Eero pergi ke perpustakaan setiap hari sepulang sekolah. Ia menyukai meja-meja kayu yang panjang dan ketenangannya. Pada hari Selasa itu, seorang gadis duduk di meja sebelah. Ia membawa buku tebal dan pensil merah.

He looked at her book. It was about the stars. He wanted to ask her something. But a sign on the wall said, "Silence, please."

Eero melihat bukunya. Buku itu tentang bintang-bintang. Ia ingin menanyakan sesuatu kepadanya. Tetapi sebuah tanda di dinding bertuliskan, "Harap tenang."

So Eero took a small piece of paper from his notebook. He wrote, "Do you like stars?" and pushed it across the table.

Jadi Eero mengambil selembar kecil kertas dari buku catatannya. Ia menulis, "Kamu suka bintang?" lalu mendorongnya melintasi meja.

The girl read it and smiled. She wrote under his question, "Yes. Do you?" Then she pushed the paper back.

Gadis itu membacanya dan tersenyum. Ia menulis di bawah pertanyaan Eero, "Ya. Kamu?" Lalu ia mendorong kertas itu kembali.

They wrote notes all afternoon. Her name was Pilar. She wanted to be a pilot. Eero wrote that he liked music and bad jokes. One joke was so bad that she covered her mouth.

Mereka saling bertukar catatan sepanjang sore. Namanya Pilar. Ia ingin menjadi pilot. Eero menulis bahwa ia menyukai musik dan lelucon yang garing. Satu leluconnya begitu garing sampai Pilar menutup mulutnya.

After one hour, a tall woman walked to their table. It was the librarian. She looked at the pile of paper notes. Eero and Pilar looked at each other. Their faces went white.

Setelah satu jam, seorang wanita jangkung berjalan ke meja mereka. Ia adalah pustakawan. Ia memandang tumpukan catatan kertas itu. Eero dan Pilar saling berpandangan. Wajah mereka memucat.

"I am sorry," Eero said, very low. "We did not talk. We only wrote."

"Maaf, Bu," kata Eero, sangat pelan. "Kami tidak mengobrol. Kami hanya menulis."

"I know," the librarian said. "I watched you for an hour. Come with me."

"Saya tahu," kata pustakawan itu. "Saya mengamati kalian selama satu jam. Ikut saya."

She took them to a small room at the back. It had a table, four chairs, and a door. "This is a quiet room for study groups," she said. "You can talk here. Just keep the door closed."

Ia membawa mereka ke sebuah ruangan kecil di bagian belakang. Ruangan itu punya sebuah meja, empat kursi, dan sebuah pintu. "Ini ruang tenang untuk kelompok belajar," katanya. "Kalian boleh mengobrol di sini. Asal pintunya tetap ditutup."

Pilar looked at Eero and said, "Now we can talk."

Pilar memandang Eero dan berkata, "Sekarang kita bisa mengobrol."