I Know This isn't the End

II The Bookstore

"Aww, I love books but aren't bookstores old and dusty?" He made a face palm motion, "oh my God, Yasmine, it's the grand opening." I started giggling "Oh, yeah it is. I can't wait to go. You know I love books, not just because they're interesting to read, and you can kind of get lost in them and escape reality for a while. Well you can do that with a lot of other things too. But I just love the idea of books. It's someone else's story. They're living their lives, they're experiencing things and learning. And it just makes you a wiser and more enlightened person. To see from the eyes of others, to become more understanding and empathetic." He smiled a little more and nodded his head a few times. "Yeah, exactly. Wow, you're so smart, Yasmine. No wonder you're taking honors classes." "Aww, thank you." I said. "When I was in middle school, I went to a private school and they had us read a new book every month. At first I didn't like it but then I did." He said. "You went to a private school?" I asked. "Yeah, I was a smart kid. But I was always falling asleep in class, ended up getting kicked out of the school and my parents got mad. They didn't understand. I've had insomnia for a while now. I can hardly sleep." He said as he turned on his cell phone to reply back to Sean. "Aww that sucks. Oh, Violet told me you and Sean were gonna see a movie that just came out today." Yeah, we are. It starts at 8." He said. "I'm actually gonna call him right now and ask if he's still up for it." He started dialing numbers on his phone to call for Sean. After a few seconds, Sean picked up the phone. "Hey are we still going to see that movie tonight?" Munro asked.

"Hey, actually we can't. I was just about to call and explain what happened." Sean replied, in a serious tone.

"What do you mean, what happened?" Munro asked. "Hey I can't talk too loud, I'm in the hallway right now."

"I thought you and Yasmine were ditching school and leaving." Sean said.

"We are. But what happened, why do you sound so serious?" Munro asked, seeming concerned.

Sean took a deep breath then responded. "A fire started this morning over at Corpus. It's still going on right now. It's burning down most of the shopping center near the Kalideas Theater, and the whole place is full of firefighters and police right now trying to investigate how the fire started."

Munro made a confused, weirded out face. "Do you think it was an accident?" He asked.

"It could be," Sean answered. "But a couple witnesses said they saw Vladimir walking near Valerie's and the Astronomy store earlier this morning." Sean said.

"Aww, not Opethon. I used to go there with my dad when I was a kid. Are those stores burning down right now?" Munro asked, making a disgusted face.

"Just Opethon, a Thai restaurant and the Halloween store. Valerie's and the pizza place are okay, the fire has been calming down about every half hour." Sean said, calmly.

"So much for going shopping at Valerie's after school, woah that's lame." Violet said.

"Yeah, I think so, too." I responded. "Hey, this is my first day of school, and I just moved here last month. I'm scared. What else do you know about the fire? I'm afraid of fires!" I cried.

"Relax, Yasmine." Sean said.

"Yeah, we'll be okay." Violet said, reassuringly.

Munro looked into my eyes and smiled a little. "We can still catch the bus and go to the bookstore. A friend of mine works there. It's beautiful. I was just there helping him set up last week. It's like a library. You'll love it." He said.

"Well, okay. Corpus is a few miles away from school anyways, we'll be safe." I said, smiling.

"Hey, where are you getting these updates about the fire?" Munro asked.