The Book Keeper

Chapter One

Chapter One

            You know, I’m really glad dish washers were invented. I put the last dirty dish into the dishwasher and start it up. I hate doing dishes. Why you ask? I do because that was my chore every night when I was still living at home. I’m so glad that my little apartment came with one. I’d probably had to have gone out and buy one if it hadn’t.

            Since I just finished cleaning up after my dinner, I decide to watch some TV. I sit down on the couch and try to relax. It is my third day living in my new apartment, and it is still weird.

            Living by myself isn’t weird, because I have been since I was sixteen, but it’s always weird moving to a different place. I last lived in Birmingham, but then moved here, to Nashville. I didn’t actually have a good reason to leave, but I’ve always wanted to live in the prettiest city—Nashville—so that was enough of a reason for me.

None of my family lives on this side of the planet. They all live in London, where they moved to when I was sixteen. No, they didn’t leave me. But I was completely against leaving my friends behind. So I stayed.

Although it’s sad to say that I no longer stay in touch with my friends and family, I don’t regret moving. I wanted this—no, needed this. I needed to get away. I needed a new start. I was tired of living the same old life that I had always lived. It was time for a change.

I sigh when I look at the time. It is time for bed. I throw all my clothes off, throw my hair in a bun, and jump (literally) into bed. I toss and turn for about an hour, before I finally fall asleep.

Good morning beautiful, how was your night? Mine was wonderful, with you by my side. And when I opened my eyes to your sweet face, it’s a good morning, beautiful day.

I roll over and turn my alarm off. Yes, I have a song as my alarm. The regular alarm sounds just don’t cut it for me. They never get me up. So I use a song.

I groan and roll out of bed. I make coffee and start my daily routine for work. Get up, drink coffee (most important part of this entire process), shower, do hair, do makeup, and get dressed.

After my shower, I stand in front of my mirror, looking at my reflection. My long, blonde hair is soaking wet, and looks longer than really it is. It comes down to my hip bones when dry, and comes down two inches farther when it is wet.

I tilt my head slightly, trying to figure out what I should do to my hair for work. After a few moments of thought, I decide to curl it. It takes me about five minutes to blow dry it, and about thirty minutes to curl it.

Next, is my make-up time. I notice my hazel eyes are slightly puffy, and grab my concealer immediately. All I do is cover the bags underneath my eyes, put a light pink eye shadow on, then put a little bit of mascara on my lashes.

Next, I go into my closet to pick my outfit for the day. I choose some jean shorts and a baby blue, flowy shirt. I then put on my comfortable blue tennis shoes. (Can you tell that I’m obsessed with blue?)

Finally, I stand in front of the mirror again and smile at what I see. The blue compliments my tan skin very well. And my eyes look nice and bright today. It feels like it’s going to be a good day!

            I practically run to grab my keys and purse, and skip to my car. Of course, I have a blue car. I don’t think I could live without the color blue; especially baby blue.

            After I get to work, (I work at a huge library, by the way), I walk in and am immediately greeted by my assistant librarian, Jason. “Hello there, beautiful,” Jason says. I just say “hey,” as I ignore his comment.

            No, I’m not being heartless. I’m just a firm believer in not dating anyone I work with. It just creates problems if the relationship doesn’t work out. And since I own the library, it’s not like I can just get another job somewhere else; and its not okay for him to lose his job either. That would be awkward.

            “Do we have a new shipment coming today?” I ask Jason. He just nods his head, looking bothered by my lack of response to his compliment. “When will it be here?” “Two o’clock.” I look at the clock. Its eight right now.

            I walk away to start my daily routine of putting books back and rearranging them, the way they are supposed to be. After about three hours, everything is all finished. We’ve only had one person come in, but they didn’t check anything in or out.

            I start walking towards Jason’s desk, and I overhear part of his phone conversation. “They are supposed to get here at two. Be here by ten minutes before and you should be good to go—“ he stops talking as soon as he sees me. “I have to go. Just remember what I said,” and hung up.

            I give him a questioning look and he tells me not worry about it; seriously? This is MY library and you tell me not to worry about it; whatever. I roll my eyes and walk off. He just sighs.

            “Can I take my lunch break now? I have lunch plans with my family,” Jason asks me a few minutes later. I just nod my head at him. “Thank you,” he says as he walks off.

            At about two o’clock, Jason still hasn’t come back. I’ve tried calling him, but he turned his phone off. (It looks like someone is about to get fired.) I groan in frustration.

            “Something wrong?” a random male voice asks. I jump about ten feet in the air and he just chuckles. “Uh—no, it’s nothing,” I say, turning to look at him. He just stands there creepily smiling at me.

            “Can I help you with something?” I ask. Another male’s voice pops up, “Yes, actually, you can.” I smile and ask him how. He starts stalking forward and my heart starts racing. He just smiles.

            I gulp audibly for all three of us to hear. “Where are they?” he asks. “What?” “The books.” “What books?” The two men look at each other, realizing something. I look back and forth between them.

            The guy standing in front of me looks at me and starts getting closer. I back away, but he follows. He backs me up against the wall and leans in to whisper in my ear. “When your next shipment comes in, call me,” he says as he slips me a piece of paper.

            “Call me or I will come in every day until they come in,” he says threateningly. I just nod, dazed. Him and the other guy walk out the library. I blink, confused.

            What the hell?