A true story at the library

_This is a true Story_

I was borrowing a Tolkien's book from Merrill-Cazier library at the counter. After some document works, the librarian finally gave me the book...

... And she said: "You will have to return this book by maaaaate!"

"Mate?" said the apparently confused me.

"Yes, maaaaate." she stressed on that word again.

At that time, the only word that comes with such pronunciation in my dirty mind was 'mating'. My eyes were wide opened and 'Why does she say such thing?' was my thought.

"Is that okay?" she said.

"What is okay?" I uttered.

"Maaaaate." again, the word was stressed.

"ummmm..." My brain was frozen, so was my face. She is certainly a beautiful girl, but this is just not right. I couldn't believe this is happening to me. 'Or am I hearing wrong?', I thought.

She seemed to notice my confusion, "Does maaaaate make any sense to you?".

"I don't think so. It doesn't make any sense to me." I lied, because it made perfect sense for such a handsome creature like me. Just the context of this conversation did not really add up.

"Oh right, it is okay. I sent you an email, you can look at it later", she smiled suspiciously.

"An email?" I spoke my thought out loud, expecting her to clarify something that can clear my confusion. Why email?

"Yes, by email, it will give you all the detail.", again, her smile became unbearably suspicious.

After that, both of us exchanged some thanks, and a goodbye. I walked out of the library with tons of unanswered questions inside my head. How could she say such thing? and why? Did I miss anything? Was it a prank? And if what I've heard was true, shouldn't it be 'mating', not 'mate'? Isn't it a word for animals only?

Then the phone in my pocket vibrated, indicated a new email had just arrived. I took it out of the pocket and opened the email. It says:

"DUE DATE: 05-08-15 (May Eight)"

Damn you English! Life is hard for a non-native speaker.