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 Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 7:26 am
The romance novel section.
Selena knew it well.
First you had your classics: Charlotte Brontë, Jane Ashford, and her personal favourite, Jane Austen. And then you had your more modern novels, by authors such as Danielle Steel, Maxine Patrick and Mary Moore. But in Selena's opinion, nothing modern could even dream of living up to the classics.
The modern books focussed far too much on the physical aspects of a relationship for Selena's liking. It was the emotional side, the drama that the dark-haired girl loved, not only in the story but with the authors themselves. Classic romantic novels were written in a time when such works were heavily frowned upon, the the mere thought that a lady wrote them was enough to make some faint. The women had first hand experience, and it showed through in the passionate way they wrote. Selena sighed happily - she felt dizzy just thinking about it.
Running her fingers along the shelf, followed by her gaze, she searched for the one book in particular she was after. Whilst she had a copy of her favourite book, Pride and Prejudice, Selena didn't have any other texts (unless school books counted), preferring to borrow them from the library. Today, she was on the search for 'Emma' - a Jane Austen classic, that reminded her of her herself. Of how she wanted her life to play out.
Well, perhaps without the sadness and betrayl.
Ah, there it was!
...Right on the top shelf. Great.
Glancing around, looking for a stool she could use to boost herself up the extra height, Selena sighed as she found none. Instead, she settled for having to stand on the very tips of her toes, straining upwards, fingers loosely grasping the book's spine. She tugged, finding it to be quite tightly wedged between two larger volumes, and so gave a harder tug. The teen was so busy focussing on the book she was after, she didn't notice the large 'Dummies Guide to Stamp-Collecting', perching rather precariously on the edge of the shelf she was tugging on...
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Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 10:14 am
Tony was doing an in-house pick up, mostly because he wanted to get away from the desk. There was a young girl working today who liked to talk relentlessly, which was not something Tony usually minded. Today, however, he was not in the brightest of moods, and did not want to sit at a desk to hear her babbling about all the new movies she had seen recently, and how deep and meaningful or shallow and stupid they were.
And anyway, he didn't agree with the way she looked at movies, in general.
Feeling upstairs with a cart, he was wasting time walking between all the rows, checking for books that had been taken out of the shelves and left on top of the rows, or outside the stands, or on the green shelves. He picked up books from study areas and chairs, or the floor. Where ever someone happened to leave one. They would be taken downstairs and counted on a program on the computer before rough sorted in the back room and then brought back out for shelving.
Same old process, running like a cycle. It worked, it was easy to Tony now, and it kept things running smoothly. All good things.
He was just starting down a row in particular when he saw someone struggling to reach for a book. He also saw that she was unwittingly dislodging another book, which was his focus as he moved over to her. Reaching up, much taller, he placed his hand on the spine of the book she was about to get conked on the head by, keeping it from falling. He then moved his hand over to hers, politely taking over the task of retrieving the copy of Emma.
Offering it to her, he indicated with his head toward the top shelf.
"Almost had a bit of an accident there. Here you go, though, no harm done."
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Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 1:50 pm
Selena was too focussed on getting what she wanted to notice until the shadow appeared over her, a taller hand reaching out to stop...woa, that book looked heavy. Had it been about to fall on her? Cheeks flushing pink at the trouble she'd caused the stranger, Selena gratefully took her book when offered, turning to thank the stranger with a sweet smile. But she certainly didn't expect what she came across...
Her mouth made as if to fall open, before she caught herself, instead swallowing a lump in her throat. Hello Handsome! she squealed to herself inside her head, probably looking a little like a grim fish as she stood there for several moments, just staring at the librarian in awe before she finally managed to choke out a few words.
"I...Y-You...T-Thank you!" she squeaked, before a hand shot up to her mouth, covering it as pink darkened to red, Selena blushing like a tomato. "S-Sorry. I'm...I'm Selena."
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Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 3:37 pm
Tony, surprised, when she turned red suddenly, wondered if she had hurt herself, or if he bumped into her, or something. But he didn't remember even touching her, so he just canted his head to the side and blinked at her. She was staring quite intently, and he felt a bit awkward.
"Ah... there are stepping stools every few aisles, if you need them. You should be a bit more careful... I've had a couple of people bump their heads with books before, and it's never fun."
He offered her a smile in an effort to calm her. Maybe she was just embarrassed about needing help?
"Anthony Darrow, resident Librarian. I'm happy to help. If you need anything else, you'll find me at the Circulation desk. Ah, that is, if you don't need another book from the upper shelf? I could get that for you."
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Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 7:08 am
She was making such a fool of herself! But she'd managed to get his name, eek! Anthony...it fitted him. She wasn't sure how, or why, but it definitely suited him. He very much looked like an Anthony. He was the librarian, too? Where was that old hag that Selena always had the misfortune of running in to, the old lady with a nose as long as Selena's fingers? ...Not that she was complaining! No, she was completely content having Anthony as the librarian instead...
Maybe she'd borrow a few more books in the future.
Oh no, wait, he was leaving! Selena definitely didn't want him to leave! Her mouth fell open a little, hand back by her side as her eyes darted to the top shelf, where he'd originally retrieved the book she was now clutching from. Eyes quickly sought out another title, and her mouth acted of its own accord. "U-Uhm, actually, could you possibly get that one for me? Mansfield Park?"
Another Jane Austen classic. But the girl wasn't done, mind working double-time to search for something else to get the handsome librarian to stay. "A-and, uhm...oh! I couldn't find a book, could you help me look for it?"
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Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 9:40 am
Tony looked surprised when she called him to help her again, looking up at the shelf and then smiling when he saw the book in question. It was an easy reach for him, and he got it down for her without any trouble from the heavy book that had wanted to attack her earlier. He offered her the copy of Mansfield Park, his expression patient and kind.
"Doing a paper on Jane Austen?" he asked absently. Usually when students were taking out books, of any kind, it was for a paper. He met very few who came in just to read for fun. Not to say that didn't happen, but it was rarer than the alternative.
"Oh? Of course, I can help you find a book," he nodded, "that's a large part of my job, after all. What are you looking for?"
If it was more Jane Austen then it was liable to be in this area, but if she gave him a random topic they would have to go to the computer to see if they could find it. He always showed people how to look things up, so they wouldn't have to ask next time.
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Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 8:20 am
Selena's cheeks were still pink as she meekly accepted the book he fetched, placing it on top of the previous in the start of a pile, and then beamed a smile up to the librarian. It faltered a little as he asked if she was doing a paper, Selena shaking her head as if she was confused.
"No?" she responded, eyebrows furrowing in a slight frown, "I love Austen. She's my favourite author." She was pleased to have managed to strike up a conversation with Anthony, albeit a rather redundant one. The girl had actually already forgotten she'd asked him for help finding another book until he mentioned it again, and the slightly glazed expression she'd adopted faded again, her mouth falling open in an 'o' shape. Uh, damn, think fast! She couldn't ask for another Austen book, then she'd just look silly!
"Uhm..." she mumbled, mind suddenly flashing back to what he'd said only moments before, "Oh! I have a, uh, history paper! On the...Tudor period! D'you know which books would be most useful?"
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Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 9:12 am
Tony looked a bit perplexed when she told him she liked Austen like he was meant to have known that. It wasn't like she was wearing a 'Pride and Prejudice or Bust' T-Shirt, or waving a 'Team Austen' banner. He smiled, though, and nodded.
He had his favorite authors. Not romance novelists, of course. Or at least not in that definition. Legends, epics, myths and heroes were his favorites, as evident by the personal collection he kept upstairs.
When she said she did have a paper, though, he looked a little more befuddled. Nodding slowly, he moved over to a nearby computer, motioning for her to follow him. If she went to the keyboard, he would show her how to look up what book she might want.
"Research materials aren't too tricky to search for," he began, pointing at the screen. "Just drop this down to 'key words' and type in what your paper is about. Tudors, or something specific with that as an operator. The computer will bring things up and you can narrow your search down from there."
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Posted: Sun May 16, 2010 4:11 am
When he motioned for her to follow, Selena shuffled after him like a puppy on a lead, a permanent sheepish grin on her face. She sat herself down at the desk, taking a moment to glance at the librarian's reflection in the monitor. Her smile grew a little wider.
Woa, wait, he was talking to her!
She watched as he pointed at the screen, placing her hand on the mouse and moving the arrow on the screen to where in indicated. She clicked on the box, glancing back at him with a smile, "Here?"
She wanted to see his smile again. It was such a handsome smile.
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Posted: Sun May 16, 2010 9:57 am
Tony watched the screen, mostly, as she made to follow his directions. He nodded, glancing at her when it seemed she wanted some reinforcement on a job well done.
"Yes, there. It's not too hard, I'm sure you'll find something that will be helpful," he did smile again, not knowing he was being led into a trap to do just that, and then backed up a bit to let her work. He didn't want to hover over her and make her uncomfortable, after all. And she had a paper to do.
Or so he thought.
"If there's anything else you need, I'd be more than happy to help. Sometimes finding books is ah... a bit more complicated than it should be. But I'm sure you'll be fine." He nodded, not wanting to imply that the system was too complicated for her.
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Posted: Wed May 19, 2010 2:33 pm
He smiled! Eeee, he smiled! Selena had a mini inward-glee to herself, the only outward sign being a large grin. She giggled a little girlishly, turning back to the screen to type in 'Tudors'. She clicked search, and then turned back to Tony as the screen was loading.
"So," she started, clearly wanting a conversation. Selena wasn't usually pushy, but these were exceptional circumstances for the girl, "How long have you been working here? I haven't seen you around before."
She was getting more confident the longer she was around him, that much was clear.
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Posted: Thu May 20, 2010 9:27 am
Tony laughed, shaking his head, "I'm not quite sure how you've managed to miss me, if you come in here often. I suppose we continued to be ships passing in the night, until today. I've been here for near eleven years now, and considering I pretty much run the place..."
He felt a little bad saying that. They did have administration, but Tony thought they were mostly useless. They ordered staples and new books, and gave the final okay on things Tony really didn't feel like he needed to jump through hoops for. They got in the way, sometimes, and had little interest, as far as the 'actual' librarian thought, in the patrons themselves. They were just running things for the sake of running them, in the end, and that's why Tony considered himself to be the one 'in charge' around these parts. For the most part, the administration did not disagree.
Better him than them.
"But I suppose it depends when you're around the front desk. I might be off shelving, or doing something in the back. Or perhaps you just continually pass through when I'm on my break?" He grinned at her, wondering how they had pulled that off. Of course, it wasn't like she came in every day, so maybe she had just accidentally missed him each time.
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Posted: Thu May 27, 2010 8:52 am
He'd been here that long huh? Oh, he was so poetic, with that whole ships passing in the night thing. He was so perfect in every way! Eleven years was a long time to miss spotting him, though, and Selena inwardly berated herself for failing so miserably. Usually she was so good at spotting cute boys, even in passing! "Ohhh, do you know where everything is then?" she asked, eyes transfixed on the older male with a slight look of awe.
Subtlety was not Selena's strong point.
Passing through when he was on his break? She frowned slightly, trying to think, "I'm not usually here at this time, actually, I just had a cancelled lesson," she thought out loud, tapping her chin, "I usually drop by after school on Wednesdays, but I have to be at my Saxophone lesson by 5 so I can't stay long."
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Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2010 7:52 pm
He looked at her, a bit baffled by the air she was giving off. She seemed awfully happy for someone checking out some books and doing a paper. Most kids these days didn't get that excited about homework. Of course, it would only slowly don on him that she was not, in fact, just checking out 'books'. But librarians as well.
He nodded, then, offering her a smile. It wasn't boastful in a 'of course I know where every thing is' way, but just in his normal, warm way.
"I do, but that would be bad if I didn't by now. I can hardly imagine how much teasing I'd get if I got lost in here or something. Man, that wouldn't be very good at all," he laughed, but now he was worried about it. What if he did get lost? He would never hear the end of it. But just where would this happen? He wasn't as familiar with docs and periodicals as he could be...
He listened to her, nodding slowly.
"How odd! I don't know how we've managed to miss each other, then. I guess we were just destined to meet today!" he laughed at that, teasing.
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Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 3:57 am
Ohhhh, his smile was so gorgeous!
Squeeing inwardly, which may have been obvious outwardly as she shook a little in her seat, Selena was unable to stop the somewhat silly, infatuated grin that crept over her face, eyes glazed over as she just...watched him. Watched him in all of his amazing handsome-ness. Even his laugh was handsome. She was besotted.
Destined to meet...? "Oh, definitely!" she nodded, perhaps over-doing it a little as her cheeks flushed a healthy pink, "It was like...fate! Maybe..."
Should she? Shouldn't she? Ohhh, she wasn't going to get anywhere if she didn't take the plunge!
"...Maybe we should meet up again sometime? Like...coffee or something?"
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