Newest Arrival

Piles of untouched books were stacked high on a velvet chair and were sprawled across a beige carpeted floor. A variety of newly arrived stock filled Celia Hashaberry with excitement as she sat among the cluster, sorting the books by author. She had been waiting months for the publishers to release the newest novel by Charles Dickens, and here it was, twelve copies of 'Great Expectations' amongst the piles. She stared longing at it. She desperately wanted to smell it, open it, read it...but she wasn't allowed!

Mrs Barnwell had often reminded her that she was an employee at 'Cupid Bookshop', and employees were not permitted to read while working. Mrs Barnwell had insisted that the new stock should be sorted and stacked away before she returned from her afternoon coffee break.

Celia sighed and looked away from the tempting stack of books. She needed to find something else to do, to distract her curious mind. Her eyes searched the room, looking for a job. She decided the dimly lit room was dusty. She sprang to her feet and collected the feather duster and began cleaning, although, her mind couldn't stay focused, and it continued to wonder about that book.

She dusted the counter, and her eyes side-glanced to the tantalising pile of novels. She adjusted some crooked books, and her mind began convincing her to stop cleaning and start reading. Celia tried to ignore the persuasive voice in her mind, but she couldn't resist the temptation. She placed the feather duster down and crossed the store eagerly. Her full skirt spilled around her like fallen curtains as she sat among the books and collected 'Great Expectations' from the cluster of novels.

The crackling sound of pages turning filled the quiet store. The atmosphere grew tranquil, and Celia relaxed in the knowledge that Mrs Barnwell wouldn't be back for another fifteen minutes. She had enough time to read at least one chapter without being caught. The letters on the pages seemed to float into her mind; vivid images of landscape and characters conjured up all sorts of emotions and reactions. Almost instantly, Celia was hooked.

"Miss Hashaberry?" A clipped voice cut through the melody of words circling in Celia's mind.

Celia tried to ignore the annoying high pitched sound, she needed to finish this page first.

"Miss Hashaberry!" There the voice was again.

Couldn't she finish the sentence at least? It was rude to be interrupted in the middle of one. The person would have to wait!

The voice behind Celia grew to an angry and impatient shout, "Miss Celia Hashaberry!"
"YES!" Celia growled as she snapped the book closed and turned around.

Mrs Barnwell stood behind Celia, her arms crossed, and her expression was livid. Celia swallowed a growing lump in her throat, her cheeks turned crimson with regret. Mrs Barnwell shook her head disapprovingly, and Celia slowly stood, hoping the consequences wouldn't be severe.