Lea smiled.
At least she hoped it looked like a smile.
In reality, it felt more like her face was improvising.
“Nice to meet you,” Hannah said again.
“Nice to meet you too,” Lea replied.
Noah placed his backpack next to the table.
“Hannah is just waiting briefly for her brother.”
Lea nodded.
Just?
The word surprisingly did little to calm her.
Hannah sat down on the chair next to Noah.
“So you are Lea,” she said.
Lea blinked.
“Uh ... yes.”
“Cool.”
“Cool?”
“Yes.”
Hannah grinned.
“I’ve already heard about you.”
Lea felt her heart skip a little.
“About me?”
“Hannah,” Noah said immediately.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Exactly.”
Hannah seemed to be having a great time.
Lea, on the other hand, understood nothing anymore.
“How do you actually know each other?” she asked.
“Since we were six,” Hannah answered.
“Our parents are friends.”
“Oh, I see.”
Lea immediately noticed how relieved she was.
And she hated that she was relieved.
After all, that was completely irrational.
Noah was allowed to have friends.
Of course he was allowed to have friends.
Especially ones he already knew before Lea even knew he existed.
Still, the information felt good.
Very good, even.
“You look relieved,” Hannah said.
Lea almost choked on her own breath.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Hannah grinned again.
“Nothing at all.”
Noah briefly closed his eyes.
“Please ignore her.”
“I’ve been trying for ten years,” Hannah said.
“Hasn’t worked so far.”
A few minutes later, Hannah’s phone vibrated.
She looked at it and stood up.
“My brother is here.”
Then she looked first at Noah and then at Lea.
Something in her gaze made Lea nervous.
“Have fun, you two.”
“Thanks,” Noah said.
“We’re working.”
“Of course you are working.”
Hannah grinned one last time.
Then she headed toward the exit.
As soon as she disappeared, it became quiet.
Lea looked at Noah.
Noah looked at Lea.
They both had to laugh at the same time.
“She’s always like that,” Noah said.
“I think I noticed that.”
“Sorry.”
“Why do you keep apologizing?”
“Good question.”
“You really have to stop.”
“I’m working on it.”
The mood immediately became more relaxed.
They spread out their materials and actually started working.
At least at the beginning.
The first twenty minutes went surprisingly productively.
Lea researched the preparation of the Apollo 11 mission.
Noah took care of the technical side.
Together they collected pictures and notes.
But at some point, the conversation drifted off.
First slowly.
Then completely.
“If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?” Noah asked.
Lea thought about it.
“Somewhere by the sea.”
“Which sea?”
“That’s a surprisingly difficult question.”
“I know.”
“You?”
Noah looked briefly out the window.
“I would have said Hamburg before.”
Lea immediately became quiet.
There it was again.
The topic.
Hamburg.
Noah noticed her look.
“My parents talked for a long time last night.”
Lea immediately listened attentively.
“And?”
“No decision yet.”
She nodded slowly.
That was neither good nor bad.
Just uncertain.
“Do you even want to move?” she asked cautiously.
Noah didn’t answer immediately.
He twirled a pen between his fingers.
“A month ago I probably would have said yes.”
Lea’s heart started beating faster.
“And now?”
Noah looked at her.
Directly.
Longer than usual.
“Now I don’t know anymore.”
Lea suddenly felt warm.
She didn’t know if Noah meant what she hoped.
And exactly for that reason, she didn’t dare ask another question.
Instead, she quickly looked at her notes.
Although she didn’t read a single line.
For a few seconds, no one said anything.
The silence felt different this time.
Not unpleasant.
More like ... important.
Then it was interrupted by a loud thunder.
Both looked to the window at the same time.
Outside, the sky had darkened.
Heavy clouds were moving over the city.
“That doesn’t look good,” Noah said.
Almost at the same moment, it started to rain.
And not just normally.
But as if someone had decided to dump an entire lake over the city.
The drops pelted against the panes.
People ran outside under awnings.
Cars drove slower.
“Great,” Lea said.
“I don’t have an umbrella with me.”
“Me neither.”
“Perfect.”
Noah looked at the clock.
“Maybe it will stop.”
A quarter of an hour later, it was raining even harder.
Half an hour later as well.
As the library slowly emptied, they were still sitting at the same table.
“If this keeps up, we’ll have to move in here,” Lea said.
“I’ll take the shelf with the fantasy books.”
“Then I’ll take the corner with the power outlets.”
“Fair deal.”
Lightning flashed outside.
Lea looked at the window again.
And for the first time that afternoon, she noticed how late it had become.
Almost three hours had passed.
She hadn’t even noticed how quickly time had gone by.
And exactly that thought suddenly made her more nervous than any thunder outside.