The librarian – Chap 2
Out of all days, she wished it was Thursday instead of Monday. She wished she had her evening shift at Bay Coffe Bar where she worked from Thursday to Saturday from 12 to 3am. Unfortunately, it was a Monday. She had nowhere to go other than her own home. Making her way to the kitchen, she poured water into the boiler, switches on TV and searched through what to watch. Everything she stumbled on required her focus, so she stuck to the cooking channel and heard the boiler tick. Hot water was ready. Grabbed one of her lemon tea bags, dropped into the cup and slowly saw the liquid change into a light yellow as she poured it. unlike her messy mind, she grabbed the tray on the counter and arranged the cup and reached out in freezer for a container of ice-cream. Normally tea and ice cream don’t go together but she had both just in case one doesn’t do what she is hoping for. While watching a cooking show, she couldn’t help but focus all her attention to the food making. Every ingredient, she retained. Little by little, the show made her forget what she has been running off for the last hour and she finally passed out on the couch. What she wanted was to forget the unbelief of what she saw. And that happened. The constant learning of what she didn’t understand bore her to sleep. The tea she sipped on twice and the ice-cream that was halfway through stayed on the coffee table for the night.
In the morning of the next day, the sound of the alarm woke her up like a needle shot through the brain. Intense and painful. “Okay I heard you” she groaned while dragging her feet on the floor. “Morning” she heard and jerked her head. “Morning”, This time Massy shouted on top of her lungs. “Hey… I heard you. Stop now”. Massy with beautiful green feathers turned her beck and straightened her neck, rising up to her cage. She tells her to stop screaming good morning while yawning and stretching her arms. With one toe struck on the end of her couch, she yelled a painful sound, and stopped when she saw what was on the table. Ice cream all over the table and a pile of paper all over the counter. “It’s time” Massy shouted, but Beth ignored her until she glanced at what was ticking in the background and realized that her wall clock was way ahead of the time she had in her mind. “Oh no… I can’t be late.” As she ran in her room to change, she remembered that she didn’t finish grading the papers. 22 remaining. She recalled. Coming back down, she seized the whole pile and shoved it in her bag. “Late. Late. Late. Late” The parrot yelled again. “If you can do the opposite, I would gladly appreciate it” Beth responded and Massy turned, ignoring what she just heard. Running right and left trying to gather everything together, Massy shouts in excitement “New shoes”. “Really Massy?” She shouted back and slipped her feet in her usual sneakers.
Seeing all the light as she walks in the streets, walking at her normal pace once again feels surreal until she entered the grounds of the Gideon’s university. Her eyes started searching from the outnumbered students passing by if the head of the library might be walking amongst them. She didn’t know what to say or do in case they bumped into each other. Ask or keep quiet. But again, how would I explain why I suddenly left? She frowned at her own thoughts. Entering the grounds of the library, she noticed nobody she knew of. Even Stanley was not at his desk yet. “A large cup of coffee please” She ordered at the coffee shop. “Coming right up” The guy behind the counter smiled. He was already awake unlike the rest of the queue, frail looking, waiting to request something to refresh what the night couldn’t do. “Thank you” she thanked the barista and walked out of the library. As a librarian, most students knew her. And most of them nodded when they saw her, and she nodded back acknowledging their greetings even if she didn’t remember them. Approaching the class, she saw the teacher at the door waiting to enter right before 8h30. “Can I have two seconds before the class Dr Simon?” The latter nodded. “I promise they will get the grades for the lab by the end of today”. Dr Simon’s inhale stopped halfway through and shook his head in disbelief. “Are you sure?” Beth nodded and Dr Simon murmured “Okay” Both knew this was not usual and both trusted each other. It was the third class of his Beth assisted him. And he knew her work ethic was terrific otherwise he wouldn’t have hired that many times. An hour and a half. That’s how long the class lasted while she sat at the back scribbling, doing her best to grade as many papers as she could. But at the end of the class, her bottom found her not so favorite seat once again. The one in front of students requesting chaperone to find a book in the shelves they are looking for. “There is a map at the front of the elevator with letters indicating what sections the books are located in. For example, this book is on third floor. All the books starting with the code JK is on the third floor. Have a good day” She nodded and slide her eyes on the right, to the next student on the line. By lunch hour, questions and lack of understanding of many drained her energy and the hunger rose as though she has been fasting for days. She bought herself a sandwich at the same coffee shop and walked in the lunchroom for her peace and quiet. “Bon appetit. Oh.. Beth before closing, wait I gotta pick up my journal” “What do you mean?” She asked Tom. One of her colleagues, seating on the desk on her left side. “Before the meeting at one. Wait for me before closing. I can’t take the notebook with me with this” Tom waved a tube between his fingers. Mandatory meeting- 15mins. She read once back at her desk. She had a lot to do in her one-hour lunch time, to the point where she didn’t notice that some paper had ketchup sauce on them. it’s only when she handed them to Dr Simon, she saw a drip on two of the papers. Gridding his teeth worked as the only anger method to swallow up his disappointment since he couldn’t professionally yell at her in a class of of students. “We shall talk later” He said and Beth nodded with shame. Got out of the class and hurried back to the library where she had to close in order to go in a meeting. Tom walked with her to the elevator and pressed the button leading up for both of them. And in no time, the two arrived on the fifth floor, bright from the sunlight, you can’t miss a face.
Seated at the end of the table, he crossed his hands onto his chest as if he was about to say a prayer. He welcomed every librarian in the conference room while scanning each one of them. All the librarians were seated at a round table, ears perked ready to hear what this meeting in the middle of the day was all about. Without any introduction, the dean addressed why he called them there “From this day forward, I want to know every librarian that’s going to work on the 5th floor. I want to know when they start and when they finish. I want to make sure the books we have there are kept in order. Also, I want to know what books comes in or out from the same floor”. Maggy, the one librarian who always interrupts any speaker with questions rose her hand. “How about the other floors”? Mr Moses raises his chin up, tightens his teeth and places his hands on the table “Only the 5th floor.” Mr Moses responded staring into her eyes “Only the 5th floor” he repeated. Maggy turned her eyes to the floor and gripped her pen to control the anger stirring in her senses. What an arrogant man. She thought but kept quiet. No one else had a question to ask after Maggy’s answers. “That would be all. You should get on with your day now. And before you go, know that what I just said starts from today”. He got out first and everyone else followed.
At her station, Maggy couldn’t hold back “we only see him every five years and each time he comes with orders. What’s special on the 5th floor anyway?”. Elisabeth and Tom had no choice but to listen since she sat between them. Maggy has been working at the university for 40 years. Her children and two grandchildren have studied there on scholarships, and she intends to work until she could no longer read using her classic magnifying glasses. “I can only see far and using my glasses here to look into his big, tiny brain, I could see trouble into that man’s eyes”. Tom and Beth looked at each other shaking their heads. Some of the things Maggy said were funny especially when she was complaining about something. It’s about 2pm and students are coming from their classes. It’s getting busier and the chats have stopped.
Around 4:30pm, the motion started to become slow again. Stanley lined up with a book that he wants to borrow and read when on his break. It’s Tuesday and it’s red bow tie on. Normally security guards don’t wear other clothes other than the uniform given to them, but to this day nobody knows how he managed to convince H.R to wear different color of bow ties every day. Waiting behind a student with 3 books in his hands, Maggy waved at him with a smile. Those two have been working at the University for almost the same time. Stanley started five years later after Maggy, and they always had inside jokes nobody understood. Mostly Maggy teases him of past incident from when he was a new security guard. Standing now in front of her is a déjà vu. “Are you doing research?” She asked and the latter smiled. “Sort of” “Interesting choice.” “Right? Never go wrong. How was the meeting?” He asked and Maggy stopped typing for a second and sighed. Just when she was about to say something, she decided otherwise. She shook her head and resumed typing. “That bad huh? Well..He came last night sweating. He said he was chasing one of the librarians. I didn’t understand what he was saying”. Stanley told Maggy. At the instant, Beth overheard what he said. “He said I am in trouble but trouble for what?”. Stanley dropped his shoulders. “Beth, you worked last night on the 5th floor, did you?” Maggy turned to her. She looked stunned and didn’t know what to say. “Umm yes” her eyes wide opened. “Why was he chasing after you then”? When Beth was about to a student dropped books in front of her. She didn’t see that one coming and her shock seemed the same to the one of Maggy’s question.
