The Magic of Stories | ONC 2024 shortlist

4 - Surprises

The children kept us busy for the better part of an hour, and when the class left behind an exhausted teacher, the library got busy with older customers. Marjorie asked me to rearrange the sitting cubes and stow the books the kids had left on the tables while she took over the front desk and Conny retreated to the office.

When I finished towards eleven, I was determined to seize the opportunity to question Marjorie about the Butterfly and the Cheshire Cat. I joined her at the reception, where she was busy scanning the returns of a customer and placed the books in the return basket. The lady left, and the librarian pointed to the sitting area.

"Thanks for cleaning the mess, and sorry I didn't help much." She checked her watch. "I have a doctor's appointment in the early afternoon and should be on my way. We close between twelve and one thirty, so you can get lunch or go for a walk if you like. I asked Conny to explain to you whatever you need to know in the afternoon."

I nodded, but kept myself from telling her I didn't look forward to being left alone with my grumpy coworker. "Will you be back later?"

"Its possible, but I doubt it. This is the last briefing before the surgery, and my doctor wants to do a thorough checkup. But I'll see you tomorrow morning, if you still want the job."

"Of course I want it, as long as you'll have me."

She patted my arm. "Oh, don't worry, we are excited to have you. Could you fetch Conny to take over here?"

Conny looked up from her screen when I entered the office. "Marjorie asks if you could take over the front."

She squinted at the time in the corner of her screen. "Does she already have to go? I'll just save these and be with you in a second."

While I watched Marjorie slip into her coat and wrap the scarf around her neck, my feelings switched back and forth between exhilaration about securing the job and anxiety about being abandoned by my fairy godmother with an unfriendly coworker.

Conny stepped up to the reception desk. "Take care, Marj, and see you tomorrow."

"I will. Have a great day, you two." With these words, she was out the door, and while I listened to the fading notes of the chime, I steeled my nerves. I wouldn't give in to my worries, not now I had found a job. Instead, I asked my colleague what I could do to help her.

"Since you already mastered the chaos in the children's corner, could you do me the favour to clear away the returns from this morning? If we start early, the stacks will be more manageable tonight."

"Of course." Glad I was tasked with something simple, I picked the top five books from the return basket and was about to carry the heavy load to the shelves when she called me back.

"No, Lynn, wait. We have a special trolley for this. No need to break your back." She pointed out a small serving trolley fitted with adjustable bookends. "There. If you arrange the books by number first, it will also be easier to sort them back."

I placed my books on the trolley. "Thanks, that's a neat construction."

"Very helpful, and it prevents you from walking several miles a day just to rearrange the books." She winked. "You're still young, but my older bones are grateful for all the support they get."

I wasn't sure if she was joking—she had to be, right? She wasn't that old after all, but I was lost for an answer. So I just followed her instructions and went on my errand while she assisted a woman in a wheelchair with the catalogue. A couple of students already queued at the desk with several books to check out. On this Monday morning, the place was busier than I had anticipated.

At twelve, Conny sent the last customers out and picked up her coat with a deep sigh. "I have to run a few errands in town. Do you stay in, or are you going to have lunch outside?"