Kelly turned away from the boy, who had gone back to reading after tending to the fire, and glanced at the pile of books scattered across the floor with curious eyes.
Outside, lightning cracked through the forest again, rain hammering down in a relentless downpour. From what she could see, Nert looked nervous and shy, radiating that unmistakable nerd vibe. There was something oddly appealing about him, something that made him likable at first glance.
The part about him being "some trash" didn't even register. Kelly wasn't the type to care about labels.
"Do you really read all of these books?" she asked, gesturing at the hundreds of thick volumes littering the floor. The sheer number of them gave the cave that weird, old-book smell.
Nert lifted his book from his face, turning to her with a slight cough. "Well, yeah… I can move them if it makes you uncomfortable."
