The Shimmer Project

Library Adventures

Caleb

I entered the Golden Gate Valley Library at noon. It wasn't the closest to Victoria's home, but it had been close to where I lived with Mom and Dad all those years ago. When I was little Mom and I would go to the storytimes then go out for ice cream after school before Dad got home.

I settled down at one of the tables. I had been working on a research project my biology professor had assigned before leaving for the summer. He'd wanted me to look into vaccines, how the right dose of the illness could make someone immune to it later. I pulled out my notebook and my laptop. I didn't need to come to the library to get the work done, I could do it at home, but today Pam had invited her friends for a sleepover and there was no way I could get anything done with twelve-year-old girls shrieking all afternoon.

As I sat down, a couple of girls sitting near me began whispering and glancing back at me. One of them bit down on her bottom lip. I was a little tempted to respond, but picking up girls in libraries had only ended in disaster before.

Though, having a girl around would be a nice change of pace.

A man sat across from me with a newspaper, blocking the girls from my view. I couldn't help glancing up at his paper as I waited for my computer to turn on. I blinked twice, squinting at the paper.

There were three photos in a corner in black and white. Three girls with the same face. They were in the missing people's section. There were a few words written under their photos but I couldn't read them. I peered closer, the man folded his newspaper slowly slapping his lips together. He picked himself up and walked off again. I watched as he left the library taking his newspaper with him. I got up leaning over to see if he was going to throw it in the crash somewhere.

"Damn," I swore when he got out of my view. I slumped back down in my chair scowling.

"Can I help you?" I glanced up at the librarian holding a pile of books in one hand. She was young, probably a summer job. She smiled at me.

"Uh, I don't know. I'm doing some research on vaccines. Would you have anything in that area?" I asked. She hesitated then nodded.

"I think I might have something over here," she led me to the non-fiction part of the library. Her hips swaying a little too much. "Everything from this shelf to that one is medical. Are you a student? These are for students," she pointed out a section full of textbooks.

I grinned.

"That is great thanks!"

"Sure!" she grinned back. "Uh, don't hesitate if you need anything else."

"I won't," I winked and enjoyed the blush reaching her cheeks. She scurried off as I scanned through the books slowly. There was a lot of interesting-looking ones, but I only chose three. I took them to the take-out desk and used my new card.

I walked back to my desk slowly. I was stopped by the sound of a girl laughing. I turned a corner to see them. Three young women, the same face. In the sunlight, they looked younger than they had on the beach.

One of the black-haired girls was sitting down at my table, probably because it was the only one that was free. Next to her, the white hair one sat down staring up at the ceiling roses wide-eyed. The last black-haired girl sat down heavily glaring. The first sister laughed again.

I moved around the aisles trying to get a better view of them. They looked my age, maybe a little younger. They were identical yet they looked so different. They were all the same size and had the same snow-white skin and shiny black eyes. They were small, thin, almost waif-like.

The first one, the one who was glaring, had very long curly black hair. She wore black clothes, black jeans and a black tank top with big black shoes. Bit of a goth then.