The living room looked more like a miniature library than it did a seating area. Mahogany bookshelves lined each of the walls, and books marched across them in colorful, mismatched rows. In some areas tombs had fallen over like dominoes, or were stacked on top of each other, taking up more space than necessary. Papers were stuffed between the lower columns, folders, old coffee cups.
The coffee table was no better, a mixture of opened classics with dog-eared pages and research material mingling with the faux-artistic glossy covers of magazines. A half-finished crossword puzzle was tucked haphazardly at the corner of the table, a What-Fashion-Suits-You under that. The room would have been nice, cozy even, had it been tidy. Maybe even a few windows would have done it well; those, however, were hidden behind the vaulting shelves. The clutter....
Hugo was sprawled across the couch amid the controlled chaos, staring up at the ceiling. He stuck another cookie in his mouth.
The coffee table was no better, a mixture of opened classics with dog-eared pages and research material mingling with the faux-artistic glossy covers of magazines. A half-finished crossword puzzle was tucked haphazardly at the corner of the table, a What-Fashion-Suits-You under that. The room would have been nice, cozy even, had it been tidy. Maybe even a few windows would have done it well; those, however, were hidden behind the vaulting shelves. The clutter....
Hugo was sprawled across the couch amid the controlled chaos, staring up at the ceiling. He stuck another cookie in his mouth.
