Long Overdue

3 - Lord of the Flies

"The world, that understandable and lawful world, was slipping away."

- William Golding.

Like clockwork, 10 am that Wednesday, the heavy metal door of the library was pushed open, and in walked a group of new faces.

"Are these the newcomers?"

Officer Tidwell nodded. "Most of these men have been here for a few months, you know we can't just give you a group of new guys. Apparently, you did fight hard enough for the Fed, he's the first and only inmate to 'earn' library privileges after three days of being here."

Y/N shrugged. "What can I say, I've got connections."

"Yeah, and you're the only woman on staff here, you know Peters is just trying to get on your good side."

"Hey, if Peters wants to be nicer to me than he is to all of you, that's his decision. It just so happens that it helps me out in the process."

Tidwell laughed. "Just don't get yourself into any trouble, I'll let you get to your presentation," he said, walking back over to the group. "Miss Flowers, let me know if they cause you any trouble." Tidwell motioned to the small crowd.

"I'm sure they'll be no issue, thanks, Tidwell."

"Everyone, take a seat please, I'll get to you all in a minute."

Y/N scanned the group as they filled in the stools mounted to the floor. In the back of the group, the last to sit was Spencer Reid. He looked absolutely drained. His face was shadowed with dark circles under his eyes, and it was quite obvious he'd gotten no sleep for weeks.

"Okay everyone," she walked to the front of the group. "Welcome to Mullburn's library. The fact that you're here is a good thing, it means you're trusted to be left to your own devices for one hour a day. But, this privilege can and will quickly be taken away, so keep that in mind. We've got quite a selection here, but if you're looking for something we're missing, let me know and I'll try to get you a copy. Everyone's granted four books a month for checkout. If you fail to return or renew the books by the end of the month, you won't be able to take any new books until the previous ones are either returned or replaced. If something happens to your books that is beyond your control, come see me and we can work things out. If you'd like to be considered for a volunteer position in the library, there's a signup sheet on my desk, there's also a sheet for GED courses we offer every Monday. Any questions?"

With no response, Y/N returned to her desk after excusing the inmates to explore the selection. She watched Spencer carefully as he stayed away from the group, sticking to the shelves that were close to her desk, not wanting to stray out of the line of sight of the guards. Calvin took the seat closest to her desk and leaned towards Y/N.

"I didn't think he'd get library privileges this fast, you must be pulling some major strings."

She shrugged. "How's he doing?"

Calvin glanced at Spencer, who was standing in front of the classic lit display. "So far, he's managed to piss off Milos and his cult of assholes. I had to step in and stop them from gutting him in the showers last night."

"Jesus Christ, is he okay?"

"Physically? Yeah, but I'm not sure how much of this he can take. You were right when you said he didn't belong here."

Y/N nodded. "Thank you, Calvin. You're a lifesaver."

He smiled. "I'm gonna go deliver the late notices, I'll be back in ten."