[I-IV]

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Act I-Scene IV: "A Book for your Thoughts?"


Books are like a two-way street with nothing in between. You either hate them, or you like them. And it wasn't hard to figure out which side of the street I was on.
Tall redwood shelves lined the library with just enough space for people to squeeze through. The shop itself wasn't large by any means, but that didn't stop the interior designer from shoving as many things as they could into one space. And don't get me started on where they put the sign-out desk. The poor clerk looks nauseous from being so closely packed in. I'd feel a lot more sympathetic if they didn't sign up for the job themselves, but they did, so I suppose they asked for it.
From the look of things, there weren't many people. Just a kid, maybe fourteen years old, sitting with a book stapled to his face, so I couldn't really see what he looks like, and an older man with graying hair in a black waistcoat, quietly browsing through a non-fiction section of the library. Neither bothered to look my way, thankfully, as I had entered the store and tightened up the clothing around my face. To be honest, I wasn't sure why I even bothered to enter the store. It's not like I planned on buying anything, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought about my circumstances. It wouldn't really hurt if I bought one book to keep me entertained, would it? I'm sure it would get boring pretty fast if I stayed on that lumpy mattress with nothing to do. The more I thought, the more I convinced myself it was for the sake of not going completely insane. Besides, I'm curious to know what kinds of books Gotham has to offer.
I took my pick, and started myself at the closest aisle going down the row and checking each spine to see what grabbed my interest. There were green books, red books, black books in gold, many unique designs that could easily steal the hearts of readers, but none really grabbed my attention. When I made it over into the next aisle and looked again, there was one book that stood out among the rest. The hard cover was a plain burgundy red, but had an authentic feel to it, unlike the ones I had looked at before and the lettering was gilded in an orangish-gold Youth Line font. The book itself was weighted like an anchor. There was no description on the back or inside parts of the book, which left me curious as to what it was about. I opened it up and quickly flipped to the back to see how many pages there were, but oddly enough, it wasn't numbered either. It almost seemed half-assed, so I could see why it had been sitting there for so long. But I'm a curious creature and decided to test my luck at the checkout. Like a nagging gut feeling, something told me that this book was the one.
When I went to exit the aisle though, I choked back on my own breathing. The boy from earlier wasn't sitting with his face two centimeters from the book anymore and was talking to the older man from the non-fiction section. They both conversed like they were familiar with one another, but something was completely off. I know that boy's face from anywhere and knowing it alone sent shivers tearing through my spine. "Oh shit..." I mumbled to myself. If I wasn't on the run right now from his father, I'd say my luck was impeccable with the amount of run-ins I've had already. But let's face it, it's not. And being this close to Damien Wayne and Alfred, their butler, is probably my one-way ticket straight into Child Protective Services without having to lift a finger. "Oh dear fucking God." I couldn't help but grumble defeatedly as my hands rubbed my covered face. Something has got to be testing my luck right now.
Okay, calm down. Right now I have two options, one, I walk straight up to that counter and act like normal...possibly running the risk of them seeing me, or two, I wait until they leave...which could be two minutes from now or two hours from now. Let's be honest though, it would be a lot more suspicious if I stayed here for however long they'll be here. I might as well blend in with my surroundings despite the obvious risk of being seen. If I'm lucky enough, they won't say anything, which is what I'm hoping will happen. But what do I do on the off chance they do see me...?
Run like hell and get the fuck out of here.
I sighed and gripped the book closer to my adolescent chest as I made my way to the clerk as naturally as I could. My heart rate was up and it doesn't help that the heavy clothes I have on to conceal me are making me sweat profusely right now. It's like everything is against me. I just hoped that the only other two people in this store weren't staring holes into me right now like I pictured them to be. "Hello there, do you need me to ring that up for you?" The clerk called from in front of me as I snapped my head back over to him from being extremely on edge. "I-uh, yes please." My voice was shaky and the clothes made it hard to speak, but luckily the guy could hear me just fine. The man rang it up for me after telling me the total, which I paid accordingly. Both of my feet rocked nervously as I waited for him to bag the book. "It's quite hot out today to be wearing a coat isn't it?" The clerk voiced out, potentially aiming to make small talk. "I suppose so..." I, on the other hand, wasn't aiming for mundane chit chat when my life is on the line. The worker handed me the bag with my book in it and I couldn't help but feel relief as I was almost out the door.
Almost, is a word I hate. Almost, but not definitely. When I turned to leave, the old man stopped me as he held his hand to my shoulder. I was quick to snap back to him and from the corner of my eye I could see Damien watching me. "I—Do you need something sir?" My pitched voice almost crumbled beneath their intense gaze. It reminded me of the many movies I watched in my old life with the cops trying to intimidate a thug they found and it always worked. The room was frozen, lost in a moment of time as neither spoke a word, but a moment is only that. A moment. It wasn't too much longer before Alfred held a kind smile to me. "I just wished to remind you that your shoe is untied, Miss." I tore my gaze away from him to look down at the shoe that was, unbelievably so, untied. "Oh..." I fixed the coat around my face to hide myself some more. "Thank you." I smiled and quickly knotted the laces back up. Not before long I was out the door, speed walking down the pavement and not looking back. I only hope that I never have to run into those two again.

Alfred continued to watch as the girl hurried down the sidewalk. His smile was gone and replaced with a resting frown. "Master Damien?" The young boy looked to Alfred. "Why do you suppose anyone would be wearing such a hefty coat in this weather?" Damien thought for a moment before he too, watched as the girl walked off in a hurry.

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