Dusty Shelves

Finding Alice

"Hi there, how can I help you?" a cheery voice asked me over the phone. The voice was crackled like all voices on a dodgy phone line but his happiness was beaming through the line.

"Hi, can I get an address for..." I picked up the small note sitting on the kitchen bench near me and read out the name for the store. "'Dusty Shelves', Hurstville, please?"

"Just one moment please" he said and a trill of jazz music started playing in the receiver. After thirty seconds, the happy voice returned and read out an address that I scribbled down on the piece of paper. I thanked him and hung up. I looked at the address and went on the computer provided and looked up a route to get there. Turns out, it is only a five minute walk down the road.

I had been delivered a note under the door by someone telling me I had to be at the store at 9 o'clock Monday morning. I was ready to start the next day and my place was guaranteed. All I knew was that I was working there full time, Monday to Friday from 10 til 4:30. I had been told that the pay would be enough to pay rent, feed me and allow myself the occasional luxury of renting a DVD or even buying a book from the place I worked at. This had all been spelt out for me on the note and I had found the message rather amusing.

Monday morning came around and I had showered and put on a pair of black skinny jeans and a loose band shirt with the words: 'All Time Low' printed on it. I admired the shirt and gave myself a smile. The only thing that Carlos had done for me was going to the liberty of buying a whole new wardrobe for me. It didn't look like I would need to go shopping for a while. I liked the choice of clothes and recognised all the band shirts he had bought.

I didn't need to be at the book store until 2:00 for a little run down on the situation and I had slept in. It was 1:30 and I was waiting around to do something. I settled on TV and before I knew it, it was time to head off.

I was told on the phone when I had called the dusty shelves that I didn't require a uniform but just to wear respectable clothing. I assumed that meant not turn up naked. I slid on my new red converse and grabbed my wallet, key, mobile and iPod before heading out the door.

The walk took me five minutes exactly and I turned up right on time. I had had an epiphany of some sort on the Saturday. I had told myself I really needed to turn myself around if I was to do anyting with myself. I didn't want to go to juvy. It was the last thing to do on my to-do list and it barely even made it onto there. I knew I wouldn't be flying myself to the moon anytime soon or discovering the cure for cancer but I wanted to do something with myself. Not that I had a choice. My money supply had been cut off and I needed to live off something.

As soon as I walked through the door, i took in my surroundings. I wanted to get a feel for what environment I would be working in. I took in the three rows of shelves that stood in front of me and the arrangement of books that were placed around the walls. The shop was only small and they had tried to cram as much literature as they could into this small, intimate space. I looked around for a counter and saw it situated at the back left corner. I made my over and skimmed my handalong the spines of the books. The feeling tingled my fingertips and left a little streak of dust along the tip of my fingers I could see why they named it 'Dust Shelves'.

As I got to the counter, I noticed there was aback section that you could go through to. It must have been where you would sit during break or just a sitting room.

I saw a girl that was a head shorter than me; she would have reached up to my chin, fiddling with something. She had her back turned to me and her long, slightly wavy black hair cascaded down her back down near her waist.

"Hello?" I asked and she hesitated for a split second.

"Just a sec, I'll be right there" she called over her shoulder.