A Book in a Haystack [Job]

Le Job:

’I hope I have a house this nice when I get old,’ Mao thought to herself as she sipped from the delicate teacup. As pretty as this woman’s fine, porcelain tea set was, Mao couldn’t help admiring her collection of books surrounding them like some sort of Fort of Literature. While her room back at Sabertooth held a book shelf almost full, Mao lacked funds to fully fill the room with novels and tombs as she desperately wished she could. Which brought her to this job in this lovely village, the atmosphere mixing very well with the mage’s calm attitude. After another sip – having waited for the old woman’s maid to finish setting up the accompanying crumpets on the small table, Mao spoke, ”Thank you very much for the tea Mrs. Badcrumble, and I must say I’m impressed with your collection here…but I must know, what book is it you wish to read that you do not already possess? Some of the ones here I’ve only seen in libraries before as they’re out of print.”

She spared a thought for her one friend, knowing that silly fellow would be gushing about the woman’s collection if he could see it. The thoughts faded as the elderly woman set her cup down with a delicate “tink” and smiled at Mao, ”Thank you for your kind words. I admit, I wish I could’ve, but growing up my family lacked money so I made do with borrowing from the library. My late husband, bless his soul, often presented books as gifts – knowing my love for the written word – so I gained this wonderful bounty thanks to him.”

“Alas, before I even married him the book I loved so much had already gone out of print! As far as I know, the only copy nearby is at the library, and I’m afraid going beyond my garden is a bit risky for these pesky knees of mine,” to punctuate the words the woman rubbed her left knee, the arthritis no doubt flaring a little when mentioned, ”Unfortunately there’s no one who can spend the time to find the book for me, and I really don’t want to trouble the librarians with extra work – I know they’re busy going through a bit of a remodel you see – so if it wouldn’t be too much trouble I would greatly appreciate your help.”

The smile she gave Mao was as kind and gentle as it was hopeful, no doubt if Mao chose to opt out she wouldn’t mind even if she’d be disappointed. Mao doubted that Mrs. Badcrumble would let the emotion show if only to avoid making her feel guilty…but of course the tail-clad girl wouldn’t reject the request. A small smile found its way onto her face when looking at the elderly kindred soul opposite, ”It is no problem, but I fear you’ve still forgotten to give me a title Mrs. Badcrumble.”

A small laugh that once used to charm many men escaped, ”Do forgive me, I can be a little forgetful at my age. It’s ‘A Late Autumn Morning’s Fantasy’ by…oh drat, I’m afraid I’ve forgotten the author, but he wasn’t particularly popular. Perhaps too many depressing ends to his books, but this was one of his few comedies involving many bumbling lovers. I must’ve read that book a hundred times and it still isn’t enough.” She regaled Mao with the tale as they continued tea time before she saw the kitty mage to the door, waving a fond farewell.

Upon arriving at the grand building, the woman’s ears regretted the moment she opened the door, the poor things assaulted by a heinous noise: a yelling patron. A feeling Mao likened to “annoyance” pierced her as both long, furred ears flattened against her head in some desperate attempt to lessen the impact. ’Don’t they know not to yell in a library?’ With a small snort she came to stand behind the enraged gentleman, taking note of his complaints. The more he went on, the more irksome he became, causing the large tail to begin swishing from side-to-side not unlike an annoyed feline.

”I DON’T CARE IF THE KING OF FIORE HIMSELF CAME IN HERE AND SHUFFLED THE BOOKS FOR A LAUGH, IT’S YOUR JOB AS LIBRARIANS TO FIX IT SO US REGULAR PATRONS CAN FIND WHAT WE WANT, WHEN WE NEED IT!” he all but screamed, ”AND WHY DIDN’T YOU STOP THOSE KIDS FROM DOING IT IN THE FIRST PLACE, HUH? TOO BUSY HAVING ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK OR SLACKING OFF? IT’S AMAZING YOU EVEN HAVE A JOB!” Before he could continue the tirade further the gem user tapped his shoulder, causing the patron to immediately spin around and his glare now aimed at the person easily a foot shorter, ”WHAT?!”

”Tch,” the sound escaped before she really thought about it, the small noise causing a vein to pulse on the man’s temple. Before he could begin another long screaming match however, Mao’s eyes finally met his, her expression telling him one thing: she was completely unimpressed with his attitude, ”You’re in a library: you’re supposed to keep your voice down not at maximum volume. Be happy they’ve allowed you to vent your frustrations rather than call for security since you’re disrupting any other patrons in here…assuming someone hasn’t already gone to get someone to remove you. Now,” she emphasized the word, interrupting whatever bellow was about to fall from his large mouth, ”If there is a book you’re looking for then I will help you find it in addition to the one I’m looking for, but I expect you to help look for your book. As a member of this peaceful village it is the least you could do for not only disrupting the peace, but allowing some children – from the sounds of it – run amok rather than reprimanding them as the no doubt, upstanding citizen you are.”

It was a curious thing to watch the internal struggle through the man’s facial expressions. Blood rushed to his cheeks, no doubt a mixture of anger and embarrassment. Between being reprimanded by someone who appeared younger, ordered while offered a small bit of kindness, and basically told he provided a less-than-stellar example to the children the man had every right to that anger. At the same time he’d been called out on his temper tantrum and the few people in sight happened to be staring with a variety of reactions from agreeing glares to morbid curiosity caused feelings of humiliation to arise…which only furthered his anger. Slowly but surely that scale started tipping that way as Mao continued watching the man with her even and unfazed gaze. Only the fact that this would turn into a further spectacle held him back from round two of his yelling match.

”No, thank you,” he spat out with all the venom he could muster while keeping his voice at a more reasonable level. The fellow finally saw the wisdom in leaving the scene before he became the talk of the town, though it seemed he couldn’t completely avoid the childish reaction as each footstep came with a small “thud” and a hand harshly slapped one of the doors open.

As the door finally shut with a “thunk” the people returned to their reading, searching, and other such activities with the show finally over. ’Probably for the best, removing one’s self from the source of annoyance. Perhaps he’ll be able to better reflect on his attitude.’

”Excuse me…”

A voice cut through the annoyed woman’s thoughts, drawing her attention to the librarian who’d suffered the man’s wrath. The poor woman looked harried after that encounter, brown hair frazzling out from the once impeccable bun, her glasses still a little askew, shirt rumpled, and if Mao didn’t know any better the woman stood on the fine line between letting go tears of frustration and releasing return anger. However she stopped herself and took a few, deep breaths while fixing her appearance here and there. Shirt straightened, glasses realigned, and hair smoothed back as good as it’d get until she could redo it, some level of calm returned to the poor woman behind the desk as she regarded Mao again.

”I’d like to thank you,” this time her voice came out more smoothly, the residue of annoyance likely not directed at Mao, ”It’s been a little…difficult lately, between the remodels and the hooligans. We’ve been trying our best, but our volunteers have been a little low lately. If there is a book I can help you with, I’d be more than happy to show you where it is.”

By the end the last of her tension finally left, a smile able to finally tilt the corners of the librarian’s mouth. It was strange to realize that thanks to the encounter, Mao’s shoulders tensed at some point as she now felt them begin to droop and what little annoyance once marred her face melted away back into her usually placid expression.

”Yes thank you, I would appreciate the help.”

”I’m here on behalf of Mrs. Badcrumble. The book I’m looking for is ’A Late Autumn Morning’s Fantasy’…I believe she said it’s a romantic-comedy novel?” A few giggles from nearby bookshelves caused Mao’s ears to twitch, one of them attempting to shush the others while failing to calm themselves. Whoever they were, the shuffling of feet signified a swift retreat to somewhere else as her attention returned to the employee.

The woman raised part of the counter and walked out, the clacking of heels creating a rhythmic beat as she bee-lined straight for the section that held the book. ’A veteran of the job no doubt,’ she smiled, sure that regardless of how bad the people might be on occasion…this woman ultimately loved the job. She struck the short mage as someone who memorized the location of each book as she replaced them time and time again, and probably was the one to order newer ones for the collection.

As they reached the supposed location however, the severity of the troublesome children hit Mao. The distress stood out plain as day on the young woman’s face as she bit her lip, eyes swiveling side-to-side to find the novel and coming up empty. Apologies flew out of her mouth so fast not a single word registered between either large, hare-like ear. Just a second’s worth of shock however and Mao recovered, holding up a pointer finger to her lips and waiting for the woman’s adrenaline rush of words to cease.

There it was again: giggling. This time even the librarian heard it, realization dawning as one of the culprits stood just on the other side of the shelf. Before the woman could utter a word a hand forcefully redirected her attention back to Mao, the finger still in place. ”I have a plan,” her expression stated, causing the other woman to nod even if she was a little confused as to the plan.

Greed was hardly an uncommon trait in humans, the theme as common in history as in fiction. Dangle something shiny, worth money, and overall tantalizing and people would fight tooth and nail over it. A child’s eye lacked certain experience however, especially compared to a fine jeweler or treasure hunter: a fact she sought to exploit. “Producing” an emerald for her silent partner to see, it glowed just enough in the dim lighting to catch any curious person’s eye. Not an elaborate plan by any means, seeing as the culprit couldn’t see them through the shelves and was nothing more than a child, it didn’t have to be complicated to work.

The gemstone skittered across the floor until it came to a stop in the middle of the main walkway, shining innocently. A whispered, ”Oh boy!” was all the signal Mao needed as she crouched low. Temptation removed all sense of caution from the young lad as he picked up the stone and held it between his hands in awed disbelief. No sense of danger hit him until too late.

By the time he thought to struggle she already had him right where she wanted him.

”LET ME GO!”

”No.”

They’d gone through this a couple times, so she really wasn’t sure why he thought it might work eventually. Doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting results was the definition of insanity – or so she read somewhere. Arms wrapped around him and locking his arms in place, tail secured around torso and legs, the mage occasionally placed her head on top of his when he calmed down between fits. He tried to claim sexual harassment and she’d scoffed, pointing out she was holding a trouble-maker in place so the nearby library employee could go get someone. That shut him up until he started this whole struggling bit.

”You know, there are easier ways to accomplish things…honestly I’m surprised you guys are busy moving books slightly to the left rather than reading them. If you’re so bored why not immerse yourself within a new world rather than hide it away like a squirrel?” They were merely her thoughts on the matter, uttered in a bored voice, but it gave the troublesome boy reason to pause even if only in confusion. When he seemed no longer intent to struggle she turned him around to stare directly into his light brown eyes, ”You could gain so much more reading these books than mixing them up. By doing so you’re not only letting other people down, but yourselves as well. Who knows what kind of inspiration you’re missing out on…”

She let the sentence trail off to let him think about it for a moment, the cogs in that head turning as his eyes darted to the side. To drive the final nail in, she tacked on with a small shrug, ”But if you’re fine with that, I suppose I’ll just go find that gentleman from earlier and let him explain it. Maybe his words are better phrased than mine?”

Mao was no dark mage, but the color draining from his face was a little amusing. Besides she wouldn’t really sick that other man on the poor thing…that would be far too cruel.

A small sigh left Mao’s nose when the lad led them to the Biology shelves. ’Well…somewhat fitting, but I don’t believe it’s that intense…’ Surely the elderly woman wouldn’t ask her to pick up…that type of book…would she? Returning her attention to the boy she smiled, ”Thank you, there is an elderly woman who will be quite happy to read this. Without your help she might not have had the chance. I don’t suppose if there are other’s…unable to find some, you and your friends would be willing to help them out? You never know, you might find out about some great adventure you’re missing out on…” When he nodded, her smile widened a little. Hopefully they’d at least cease their antics if not help restore the books to their original spots.

”Is…is it for a lady who lives on the outskirts of town?” his hesitant voice caught Mao and the librarian’s attention before they could leave, both turning simultaneously. When he received a nod to his question, his demeanor sunk, ”I’m really sorry… I didn’t realize it was grandma’s favorite book…when she’s done I’ll bring it back to the library for her. You don’t have to send nobody to pick it up.”

The offer shocked the pair, two sets of eyebrows raising as they quickly glanced at the other. ”Thank you, that would be very helpful!” In response to the woman’s now beaming smile the boy’s eyes flew to the ground as a rosy color dusted his cheeks.

’If this were a story, he might’ve just developed a little crush on her.’ Mao blinked the thought away, recalling that this was, in fact, not a story, but life. She really shouldn’t be thinking about people like characters in some novel or short story.

When she left the place, the boy had been promising her that he’d get all his friends to help them reorganize the library and offering to help her whenever he was free. The tale of her library adventures certainly brought a smile to Mrs. Badcrumble’s face – recognizing the boy as only a grandmother would – almost as big of one as presenting the book did.

”Life is perhaps the greatest tale of all: who knows where it will end?”