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Ray took the book from her with a fair amount of care and turned it over in his hands like he was still amazed it had survived; he flipped it open to the title page and smiled at it, a little reflectively. "Fair enough," he said to Tony. His wallet was still open on the counter, displaying a couple coffee cards, a DC School District employer ID and more prominently his driver's license. "You know, this book isn't perfect but this is the only branch of the library system I've seen carries it, and I'll be damned if any bookstores do. I think it's out of print. I understand why, too: it does things with the English language I ain't ever even thought about, which renders it damn near incomprehensible to the average consumer. Pardon my French. But then again, it worked for Joyce," he closed the book again, "and it worked for Faulkner," he tucked it under his arm, "so I guess this one just lucked right on out."

He pinned his credit card to the counter with two fingers. "Sorry I called you shy." Another wink. "You don't gotta be shy any more than you want to be shy, honey. So, you OD on books working all day long in this place," he nodded to the library, "or did you start because you love 'em?"

"Ah... er... uhm..."

Tony blushed deeply and rubbed the back of his neck. He wasn't sure how to take the conversation, feeling a little out of his depth. Nothing new, of course, because he was always out of his depth when it came to conversations with others. This one was just particularly trying, because he didn't like talking about himself too much.

Also, he was always uncomfortable when someone called him 'honey', man or woman.

"I ah, I didn't start because I love them, no. Though, I do, now. I learned that I did. I actually started because no where else would hire me, with..." he frowned, not wanting to really bring up his record and his past at the moment, to a relative stranger, "well, it was the only place taking applications, and I suppose I just got enchanted and stayed."

He offered Ray a smile, apologetic and friendly at once, then glanced over at Azzo and Jada as she offered to assist him. At least the queue was being taken care off. His eyes next fell on Daphine, knowing she was still waiting for him so she could, presumably, yell at him for the frustrating mystery that was the library system.

"You're a teacher, then?" Thinking it rude not to continue the conversation, though he had a patron waiting and would have to be brief, he offered some return for the topic, "I saw your ID. And you said this young man was your student. English? Ah... because... books..." he looked down at the counter again, defeated by his own awkwardness.

Azzo shook his head, "Yes actually. I was wondering if you could help me find a few books on hypnotism and psychology. Or the section on them rather. I'd used the computer, but me and the demon don't get along quite yet."

Aka he didn't understand how to use the thing, he tilted his head at Ray, "Hey Mr. Gordan, can I borrow that book sometime?" He asked curiously before the teacher left, he wasn't sure he was going to leave but still. He shook his head though confused as to why the man was calling the other guy Honey and Sweetheart.

He wasn't sure how to take Ray's flirting, granted he didn't really understand the concept of flirting himself. As he'd gone by unnoticed after being hit on by a girl, and could've probably nearly had cleavage in his face, and carried on the converstation as if it'd never happened. However, what his teacher was saying was clearly getting next to the other guy. Azzo shook his head and sighed, teachers, seriously.

Anthony was a smart, smart librarian.

Delphine didn't feel like waiting, and was relieved that she didn't have to. The girl jumped on the chance to intercept the librarian before anyone had a chance to steal his attention. He was open, and she was going in for the kill. Digging her hands into the pockets of her hoodies, she strolled back over to Anthony's desk. It was nice that the line of three was now at zero, though she wasn't sure if the dark haired boy was in line anymore or not.

Didn't look like it.

"I don't know where the hell you tried to send me, but I can assure you, the books were not there." She pouted for a moment, which was a far better expression for her face than frowning. But, rest assured, that came next. She dug the crumpled piece of paper with the book numbers jotted down on it out of her pocket, and placed it on the wooden desk.

"Like, seriously? I need your help. You knew I needed it the moment I started to walk away and you let me," she accused. Delphine wasn't picking a fight, just being her normal... ah, bitchy self. That and she had to let the librarian know that there was a problem with his methods. "But, yeah, I can't find them. Can't even pinpoint the location where they'd be. There has to be a couple thousand books up there, and they all look the same."

If she didn't have an essay to complain about, there was definitely going to be something else.

The dark-haired young woman nodded, ponytail dropping over her shoulder as she bent her head to look at something in the computer. "Up the stairs, on the third floor." She knew that much from memory. With a few practiced taps, Jada pulled up something in the system, her nails clicking on the keyboard. On a piece of paper, she jotted down a few numbers. "I'll be right back, Mr. D." she told the older man, and moved around the desk.

A glance at the time on the way around the desk assured her that there were only a few more minutes left of her shift. by the time that she had escorted the boy to his books, she would be free to go. "Come with me." Jada told Azzo, crooking a finger at him. "I'll show you."

She guided the dark-haired boy up the stairs (she should have taken the elevators, as tired as she was and with her injuries) and down the center isle. She double-checked the numbers on her paper, and finally came to a stop by one of the aisles. "The books on hypnosis will be in through here. As for the psychology books..." she passed him the piece of paper in her hand. "You'll be looking a few aisles down." She pointed.

"Did you have any other questions for me?"

Delphine was not impressed by his response, at least not initially. It was perfectly fair in her mind. She was clearly not the one at fault in this situation, and so that naturally left... Anthony. She fixed on him a flat expression, waiting impatiently for the man to double-check and make sure that he really hadn't sent her on a wild goose chase. If he had, she was sure that the temptation to make him choke on the mints sitting on his desk would get awfully tempting. She was really, really not a morning person. Noon was 'morning' for her. And it was a solid two and a half hours before that.

"Okay," she agreed, seeming placated for the moment. She was getting what she wanted, after all... someone to fetch the books for her. It would have been easier if Anthony had recognized how Delphine and the Library seemed at odds with one another from the moment she walked through those doors. Delphine was not a book person. The most reading she did was when she was going through her text messages, of which she probably had enough to fill a decent sized book with. Her brother still wanted to know who she could possibly be texting when she seemed to constantly be in anti-friend mode.

"But seriously, how is this place organized? You have all those books packed in together so tightly it's daunting." She continued to complain as she waited for Tony to get out from behind his desk and lead the way. Normally she would just wait right where she was for her books, but she felt like accompanying the man so she could delightfully fill his time with bitching.

"If it was efficient and well organized, I would have been able to find my books without issue," she insisted. Really, he had to be able to see the error in the library's organization. After all, Delphine did not see the point in having a library if normal people had no idea how to navigate it. It was highly probable that she was overreacting, actually, it was a guarantee. "Well, I guess you can't fix everything about this place. I'm thankful that none of my other teachers are as sadistic as the one who assigned this stupid project. I hope to never have to venture back here, beyond returning the books I check out. No offense meant - it's just not my thing."

Spending the morning at the library was not her choice of a perfect weekend get-away. She placed the library just a bit above freezing to death in the arctic. Her opinion of the place would likely never change, not when she had much better things to entertain herself with. Nowadays they had things called televisions and the internet. Books were becoming obsolete, at least she hoped they were.

The elevator ride was uneventful, and Delphine seemed to have shown Tony some mercy by not bitching his ear off through the ride up. She did, however, speak up when, by some magical grace of God, Tony procured the books she had been looking for. "Ah, thank you!" she said quickly, and at least honestly. She did mean it. Having Tony find the books for her was going to drastically cut her time spent in this wretched place. "Great, I can use these." She was eager enough to get out of here that walking out with an extra book or two was an acceptable casualty. She'd sift through it all later... when she woke up from a very long nap.