Matilda froze when the male stranger handed her the book. She accepted it and balanced back on the pile of books she had managed to retrieve, scrabbling around in her brain for a response, anything to seem like a normal human being. Quick. Think!
"There is an average of 50,000 spiders per acre in green areas," she blurted out and immediately felt like kicking herself. Of course, the perfect way to make friends; blurt out a creepy fact about spiders. Perfect!
She hurried to adjust her glasses, thankful that she was not prone to blushing and smiled apologetically - all she could manage.