Book In a Nook

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I gently slid the books into their designated places in alphabetical order of genre. The bell on the front door chimed alerting me I had a costumer. "I'll be right there!" I called out standing on my tippy toes trying to place a book up high.

"Do you need some help?" The familiar voice of my best costumer asked, grabbing the book from my hand he placed it on the shelf.

I turned to face him. "Thanks Armin!" I thanked him with a smile present on my face. "What would I do without you? You help me so much you should be an employee!" I joked walking up to the front of the store and behind the counter. "Here's the books you asked for." I grabbed his books from under the counter.

"Thank you y/n! You have the best bookstore in town!" He complimented grabbing his many
books.

"Armin, I'm flattered but I have the only bookstore in town." I laughed ringing his books up.

"I said what I said y/n." Armin stood by his previous statement.

"Well not for long, you see people don't really read books anymore. Everyone's going digital or ordering online, they have no need for a bookstore anymore. Business has been slow with only a few costumers, that includes you, and I don't have the money to keep my dream open." I sighed thinking of losing the one thing I have left.

"What?! You're going out of business? But it's your dream, I won't stand for this! I'm going to keep you in business and living your dream." Armin was filled with a sense of duty and determination.

"It's not possible Armin, there's just no way I could make enough money to stay open. Even if I didn't restock for a while it's not enough to pay rent and keep my store open, my dream is dying to modern society." I sighed feeling a lump growing in my throat.

"I'm going to figure something out! In the mean time keep the change." Armin placed down the money for his books and walked out waving goodbye.

I waved back to him before going back to organizing the shelves. My OCD never lets my store be unorganized or unkept, though I'm short and have a hard time reaching the top shelves I still manage to keep everything organized.

I spent the whole day reorganizing and making sure everything is in its place. "As they say, 'there's a place for everything and everything in its place.'" I quoted sitting down in a chair in the small cozy sitting area I had where people could read in peace and quiet.

My mind wouldn't let me focus on my book, as I found myself rereading the same line over and over again. I sighed and put the book down, letting my mind wander. "So much for dreams. I don't know what to do, I have no plan B, I can't just get another job." I spoke to myself sinking into my chair and looking up at the ceiling.

I felt my eyes start to fill with tears and I bit my tongue to hold them back. "Tears won't solve anything, stop crying over your problems and find a way to fix them." I scolded myself wiping my eyes.

I took a deep breath and attempted to collect my thoughts and courage. "You can get another job, it's ok. Even if it's not your dream job it will keep you in your apartment."

I got up from my seat grabbing my phone, I had to somehow find somewhere else to work. "It doesn't matter what job I get, just remember you don't have family to fall back on."

After hours of searching I couldn't find anything, it was as if the universe wanted me to be a homeless bum. I groaned in defeat looking up at the time. 6:00pm, I only had an hour left of work.

I decided I'd clean up the store again before I left, because I honestly had nothing better to do.

"How did it get this dusty in just a few hours?" I questioned the dust that I had just got rid of that morning. "Oh come on! My dream has been diminished to an old dusty bookstore!"

After dusting I swept the floor. "Why do I clean so much? My house isn't this clean." I questioned myself looking at how nice I kept my store.

"Whatever." I sighed putting the broom away and grabbing the glass cleaner and a rag.

I sprayed down the windows and the glass door and got to wiping it all down. My off key singing was a dead giveaway I had a song stuck in my head.

"Well it's closing time! I guess I should lock up and start my walk home." I looked at the clock and grabbed my things to leave.

After locking the door I looked back one more time at my store. "See you tomorrow." Returning my gaze back down the road I started walking.

I lived in a small apartment with my roommate Hange, she was a great friend of mine who was a huge support to my business, she has a weird taste in books though.

"I'm home!" I announced myself walking into the apartment taking off my shoes at the door to help keep the house clean.

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Word count 900

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