Smoke and Wishes (Best Wishes #1)
A.J. Macey
1
August 23rd
Thursday Afternoon
Lucienne
The ladder creaked under me as I shifted to shelve the second book in the stack I had cradled in my arms. Since it was the week off of classes between the summer and fall semesters here at the University, the library was barren of students except for the small number of freshman who came in earlier to familiarize themselves with the expansive collection of books, study corrals, and plush chairs scattered throughout the stacks. Currently, the only people in the library were Muriel who was the head librarian Muriel, myself, and a student I hadn’t seen before seated in a leather chair flipping through a paperback book.
I slid the last book into its proper place before carefully climbing down off the old rolling ladder. Returning the now empty book cart, I wheeled it to its proper place under the “Returns” sign. Muriel shuffled out from behind the checkout counter with a twinkle in her green eyes and a small smile which made her permanent smile lines more pronounced.
"Lucienne, did you find out which dorm building you'll be moving into tomorrow?" She questioned. She was the only person I've met who refuses to call me by anything other than my full first name. "As much as I love having you in the small rooms in the back, you need to go be a real adult and be around other younglings. Not hanging around this frail, old lady," she gestured a spotted hand towards herself.
"Oh Muriel, you are the exact opposite of frail, and you know it," I snorted as I eyed her. "But to answer your question, I did find out. I'll be relocating to the West Wing dorm building, room 216."
"That's good, darling, I'm going to miss having you around here all the time though. So I was thinking," her fingers fumbled with the button on her cardigan, "if you wanted to, you could keep some of your stuff in your current place here at the library. That way if you ever need space away from your roommate or what have you, you'll have a place to go." She looked at me with a hopeful expression on her weathered face.
"Of course I can keep some of my stuff in the back rooms, you know how much I love it here. Besides, someone has to keep an eye on you and your crazy schemes," my heart warmed at the idea of having a permanent room here in the library. I also wasn't lying when I brought up Muriel's crazy schemes. She loved to experiment with different spells, potions, and other alchemic ingredients. “Because why not?" as she put it when I asked after a particularly nasty explosion that left her without any eyebrows. Her face split into a broad grin as she clapped her hands before turning around and slipping back into the main office. I turned back towards the large study area adjacent to the checkout counter. The quiet was peaceful, the comforting surroundings pulled a small grin from me.
My smile grew fuller when I noticed that that student was still here. His jean-clad legs were stretched out in front of him. Classic converse adorned his feet, bouncing slightly against the carpet as he pushed his black plastic frames up his straight nose. It was too far a distance to see what he was reading, but he seemed intrigued with furrowed brows and an intense stare. Brown mussed hair brushed against his pale forehead. One elbow propped on the arm of the chair, long fingers rubbed against his kissable lips, woah Lucie, calm down there. Shaking my head at the thought, I moved around the counter grabbing the squeaky book cart from its home.
My gaze wandered back to the lean guy lounging in the chair. Only this time, his eyes were focused on me, paperback left forgotten in his lap. Ducking my head quickly, my cheeks flushing under the sudden attention. Please don’t be too obvious, I pleaded. Unfortunately, my luck didn’t hold. Taking a chance, I peeked up through my lashes blushing even more. His lips curled into a smirk behind his fingers. The faded t-shirt he wore was tight against his muscled chest and arms as he stretched, drawing my gaze down his body.
I forced my attention away from him and turned down the main aisle heading toward the reference section. The back corner of the library was quiet except for the repeating squeak emanating from one of the wheels on the cart and my hushed footfalls on the worn carpet.
Once I reached the reference section, I busied myself by grabbing the three books that needed to be shelved, trying desperately to stop thinking about the cutie in the chucks. With the thick tomes safely secured in my arms, I pulled the rolling ladder to the proper location and stepped slowly up to the correct height. The first two volumes slid into their spot easily. The third was just out of reach. Now do I do the smart thing and crawl down the seven rungs and move it over, or do I just try and reach? Looking at the distance I was pretty sure I could make it, here goes nothing.
I was able to stretch my left arm while holding onto the ladder. The book rested on the edge of the shelf. Unfortunately, the angle to slide the manuscript into the correct slot was a bit too far askew. Closing my eyes and huffing out a breath, I tried to lean just a bit further. Come on, I mentally urged, just a little farther.
Suddenly, unable to believe my eyes, the bookshelf curved towards me like some trippy hallucination. Stunned, I didn't pull my arm back. When the shelf stopped its psychedelic movement, it was close enough and at the right angle for me to easily slide the book into its proper place. I blinked hard a few times, wondering if maybe I had fallen off the ladder and hit my head on the way down, but the shelf stayed. Once I released the book though, the shelf straightened itself out resuming its proper position. I could feel my jaw fall open as my arm shook slightly at my side. What the hell just happened?