Her impulse was to duck behind Minchi for cover, but her friend was nowhere in sight. Instead, she steeled herself with a deep breath and did the next best thing--hunching her shoulders to hide herself as he spoke.

He did seem very nice, at least, so she nodded to his apology. Nothing personal, dude.

"U-um... S-so what do I do? I don't know how to take care of books..."

She knew that this was where she should try and list her useful skills, but her throat was already closing itself up. So she just stared at the floor and let those words hang in the air.