Jim Wants Book (in progress)

You can probably guess a couple of things about this story: (link: "1. Your name is Jim.")[1. Your name is Jim. You are twenty-one years old and a senior at your university. You are known as a bit of a teacher's pet. You'd like to think that you're at least average in terms of general attractiveness, whatever that means.] (link: "2. You want a book.")[2. You want a book. Not just any book. It's *The Norton Anthology of American Literature--Shorter 9th Edition.* You need it for your required English class this semester. Also, the first meeting for that class is starting in thirty minutes. Why don't you have your required class material? [[I ordered it, but it hasn't arrived yet.|excuse 1]] [[I forgot to order it.|excuse 2]]]

You had tried to be a responsible student and order your books ahead of time, but a combination of mail delays and a cancellation by the first online seller you ordered from caused the delivery date to be delayed until next week. You're a bit upset, but it's far from the worst thing that happened to you last summer. [[Anyway...|where to]]

You had a bit of a...difficult summer, shall we say? It's not hard to believe that ordering a book for class just kind of slipped your mind. Let's not get into any of that right now. [[Anyway...|where to]]

Considering you do not have much time before your class starts, what are you going to do about your lack of book? [[Go to the campus library.|Library]] [[Find a bookstore nearby.|Bookstore]] [[Go to class without the book.|Go to class]]

You head to your college's library. After finding the "American Literature" section, you begin quickly scanning the library shelves for what you need. Fifteen minutes later, you still haven't found it. That's when you spot *her.* She's sitting at a table, not too far away from you. She's wearing a black leather jacket and has shaved half her head since the last time you saw her. And she's reading a book. [[It can't be.]]

A bookstore? Are you kidding me, Jim? There's hardly any physical book stores left nowadays. What makes you think there will be one close enough to your college? Ignoring everything I said because I'm just a construct in this story, you pull out your phone and search online for bookstores. What do you know? There actually *is* one, and it's right down the street. [[You set off in the direction of the bookstore.|Outside Bookstore]]

Really? I mean, sure. A lot of students would probably just go to class without the books on the first day. It's syllabus day, after all. You're 99% sure that one or two of your classmates also don't currently possess *The Norton Anthology of American Literature--Shorter 9th Edition.* You wouldn't be alone. But the whole point of this game is that you want a book. It's in the title. Are you seriously going to ignore your main desire and go to class without making any effort whatsoever towards your goal? [[Yes|Yes (end 1)]] [[No]]

Fine. Suit yourself. You head off to your English class early and find a spot in the back row. Hopefully your professor won't notice that you don't have the *Anthology* and you can lie low until you get the book later. As the other students file into the classroom and take their seats, you realize something: they all have the book. You sit in horror as you watch every single one of them take it out of their backpack and put it on their desk. Soon enough, the English professor walks in. "I see you all have the book," she says, taking out her class materials. "Good, good. We're going to jump right into our first lesson today, so you'll need it." You faceplant into your desk. This is going to be the worst class period of your life. [[~End 1: No Longer Teacher's Pet~|Title]]

Good. That's what I thought. Now... What are you going to do about your lack of book? [[Go to the campus library.|Library]] [[Find a bookstore nearby.|Bookstore]]

<span style="font-size: 200%">JIM WANTS BOOK</span> A story about working things out, one way or another (yes, things are a bit of mess right now, but that's okay) By Julia Nelson [[Begin|Start]]

But it is. Making sure that she doesn't notice you, you sneak over to where you can see the title of the book. *"The Norton Anthology of American Literature--Shorter 9th Edition."* [[Of course.]]

By the way, you should probably know who this mystery girl is. Her name is Gloria, and she's a fellow classmate of yours. She's also the reason why last summer was the worst one you've ever had. Why is that? [[She broke up with me.]]

That's rough, man. [[I'd rather not talk about it.]]

Regardless, she's currently reading the only copy that the library has of the book that you need. What will you do? [[Go up to her and try asking for the book.|Ask for book]] [[Abort mission and go to class.|Abort]]

Easier said than done. After taking a deep breath, you cautiously approach Gloria and give an awkward smile. "Hey, Gloria." Gloria looks up at you and mutters, "Jim." She then goes back to reading. "How've you been?" "Fine. Not that you would care." "Uh...right. So..." You point at the book she's reading. "*The Norton Anthology of American Literature--Shorter 9th Edition.* Good book, huh?" "What do you want?" [[Tell Gloria that you need the book for class.|Truth]] [[Lie about why you want the book.|Lie]]

You decide that you don't want to deal with Gloria today and begin tiptoeing towards the library door. "I see you, Jim." Oh no. You slowly turn around and see Gloria staring straight at you with an incredibly irritated look on her face. "Oh, hey, Gloria. Funny seeing you here." You put on your best awkward smile. Gloria's expression doesn't change. "What are you doing?" [["Trying to avoid you."|Avoid you]] [[Sprint away!|Sprint]]

"Oh, it's just that I was wondering if you were going to be done with that book anytime soon because I sort of need to check it out for class, and I'm kind of in a hurry--" "You didn't buy your own copy?" asks Gloria. "I could say the same to you," you say, deflecting to try and make yourself look less dumb.

Double-click this passage to edit it.

You sprint out of the library and down the street as fast as you can, hoping to get as far away as possible from the girl who broke your heart. Yes, she has the book you need, but having to deal with her isn't worth it. When you finally stop running, you realize that you've left campus and are standing right out front of a bookstore. [[How convenient.|Outside Bookstore]]

Double-click this passage to edit it.