Twelve

On a rainy Wednesday, Arthur begins his shift at the Brooks Library and slips into the dim Special Collection, where he is legitimately assigned to update the catalog. While the computer boots, he selects a signed first edition of Jack London’s White Fang and a limited first of The Compleat Angler, placing both in his bag.

Arthur moves with practiced calm, avoiding the barred cabinet of the most valuable items. Despite the room’s fortress-like feel and his official purpose there, he commits a calculated theft, leaving work hours later with roughly eight thousand dollars’ worth of books in his backpack.

Outside, he is picked up by friends in Llewellyn’s cherry ’49 Cadillac. Van vacates the front passenger seat so Arthur can join Donna and Allie in the back, where Colin is already settled, smoking a potent “blue” sativa-heavy joint. Arthur declines a hit, but the mood is unexpectedly light.

In the ensuing banter, Colin reveals his grandfather supplies him with marijuana obtained through the U.S. government, used to help his appetite because he has AIDS. The disclosure shifts the conversation from novelty to vulnerability, tightening the group’s emotional cohesion even as Arthur’s theft underscores growing personal risk.