Convergence II: Ella's Mystery

Chapter Three: Expansion

For the record, Ella doesn't like committing crimes.

Since she first left the orphanage, maybe even before then, Ella had been stealing to survive. Since she was young, she couldn't get a job, so much of what she ate and used came from pickpocketing at stores that didn't mind what they lost, because they always had more.

Today, she didn't want it to resort to that again, so as she went to the library that day, she decided to start there.

Since she had a library card, the building's contents were free to Ella for as long as she desired. The only issue was the crabby librarian who took her job just slightly too seriously.

Ella stood at the desk, tall enough to just peek over, at the old woman with square glasses and pursed pink lips. "Excuse me?"

The woman adjusted her glasses, before shushing her. "What?"

Ella went to a whisper. "Uh, I was wondering if you had an address book here. One that was up to date."

"Young lady," said the woman, only a bit louder than her, "you never begin a sentence with a stutter. You begin with your question and sound sure. That's only proper grammar. You will never, ever see an author begin a sentence with a stutter."

Uh, I beg to differ. Proper grammar was one of the main things Ella taught herself, so she simply made a note of a mistake that wasn't even a mistake, and started over. "Do you have address books in stock here? I'm looking for one made no earlier than 2057."

"A lot can happen in two years," said the woman, scoffing. "You need to learn common sense, girl. We don't carry address books for security reasons."

Ella's face fell flat. "Do you know where I could find one?"

"Most likely a convenience store."

Her face fell flatter. "Great." She moved away from the desk. "Thanks anyway."

The convenience store in Norton had no eccentric gender nonconformists with names sounding like they belonged in an even more eccentric storybook, nor did it have any eccentric events. It was less than interesting, with less than reliable products, but if Ella could find what she's looking for here, she wouldn't have to look for anyone with no address to go by.

The glass door swung open with the jangling of a dull plastic bell, and there were so many people inside that no one turned their heads. Good, because today she needed to go unnoticed.

It had been so long since Ella needed to steal anything, so much so that she'd become famous in the time between. So if no one recognized her from the tabloids, then she was home free, because no one would recognize her at all otherwise. She used to have a generic face, but now that generic face has been seen everywhere. Not good for crimes at all.

The book aisle had magazines and dictionaries for days, but no one was there because—well, why pay for a book that would teach you nothing if you could go to the library right down the street and find a better one for free?

When the thick yellow address book caught Ella's eye, she quickly opened the cover, flipping through the index pages trying to find a publisher footnote. Making sure the book covered at least this side of the planet, she found the year 2056 under the last content page.

Well, four years is quite the age gap, but if this was the only thing she could find, she'd need all the luck she could get.

Shutting the book, Ella tried to shove it under her great big jacket, but somehow, it was still too small to completely hide it.

Ugh. Great. For the first time in her life, she couldn't run out of the store and initiate a chase, only to disappear into the street just like the old days.