Long Overdue

6 - Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption

"Some birds are not meant to be caged, that's all. Their feathers are too bright, their songs too sweet and wild. So you let them go, or when you open the cage to feed them they somehow fly out past you."

- Stephen King

The relentless tapping of Penelope's foot against the tile floor kept Y/N from being able to focus on her work. She tried politely to excuse herself from her desk to wander aimlessly down the rows of books, but Penelope always followed close behind. At first, she was annoyed, but she needlessly reminded herself that Penelope was here to see one of her closest friends, who had been locked in this concrete penitentiary. Penelope did turn out to be a big help. For the few hours that they were waiting for the library to open, she re-alphabetized the religion section and cleaned Y/N's desk without her asking. 

Finally, the clock hit ten, and the library door swung open, and there stood Officer Jefferson and his crowd of prisoners. Penelope hurried to Y/N's side, while the line of inmates entered and organized themselves along the front wall. The men were uncuffed and instructed to take their seats, which they did silently. After they were all sitting at their respected tables, Y/N moved to talk to the group. She was leaving her desk when Penelope recognized Spencer sitting at a back table. She stepped forward as if she was going to hug him, but Y/N caught her arm. 

"Penny," she whispered. "The other men cannot know we know him. Stay here until I say."

"Yes, of course," she said quietly. She took a deep breath sat down in the chair behind Y/N's desk. 

Y/N, however, walked to the front of the room. "Good morning everyone," she said kindly. 

The men grumbled a chorus of "hello"s while Y/N glanced at the paper in her hand.

"A few announcements, the request for the Stephen King books has been fulfilled, they're shelved on shelf seven with the rest of the horror books. Monday's GED class is almost full, so make sure to sign up if needed. Return and renewal day is coming up next week, so remember to bring me your books before then. That's all for today, so feel free to look around."

Y/N walked back over to her desk. "Spencer, I've got your book over here." 

He walked slowly over to her desk, and he broke out in a huge smile when he saw Penelope sitting there. 

Y/N didn't let his joy falter her act. "This is Penelope Garcia," she said. "She's another psychologist here to question you on your mental capacity during the time of the murder, understood?"

Spencer nodded.

"She'll interview you in the classroom." Y/N waved over Officer Jefferson and led Penelope and Spencer to the small room connected to the library. 

Jefferson frowned as Y/N unlocked the door and ushered Spencer and Penelope inside. "Did you talk to Warden about this?" He asked as she closed the door. 

"No, but if I had and he said no, he'd be charged with obstructing evidence, so there was no point."

"He'll be furious when he finds out you went over his head, you know."

Y/N shrugged. "I'll handle that when the time comes. For now, I need you to guard the door."

Jefferson glanced through the little window in the door, watching Spencer and Garcia speak quietly before turning back to Y/N. 

"Will do."

Y/N walked back to her desk to find a short line of inmates. "My apologies," she said as she took a seat. "Joseph, how can I help you?"

He stepped forward and set a small stack of books on the counter. "I've got three returns and a renewal."

She nodded and took the top three books. "How'd you like it?" She asked, holding up the copy of Catcher in the Rye.

He shrugged. "I'm sure there's some funky metaphor, but I didn't get it. The story was interesting though, so I'm not complaining."

"I wasn't a huge fan of it either," Y/N confessed, setting it in the cart next to her and crossing his name out of her ledger. She marked him off for the other two books and extended the date for his fourth. 

"Thank you, Ma'am," he said. 

He took his book off the counter and took a seat at one of the tables. The next mate stepped forward and exchanged his four books for four more, and so did the third. 

"Miss Flowers?" 

"Yes, Dale?" Y/N said, looking up from her records.

"Last week I left my copy of White Noise on the yard. I can't seem to find it anywhere."

Y/N looked down at her records again. "Hm, have you checked with staff? "

He nodded. "Officer Rodriguez said the yard was cleared after we left, and no one turned anything into the lost and found."

"Alright, well, this is your first time losing a book, so I'll replace it on my own. Would you like me to place the copy on hold for you when I do get it?" She asked.

He nodded gratefully. "Yes, please."

Y/N pointed to the request sheet. "Do you mind writing it down over there? So I don't forget. 

"Will do. Thank you, Miss. Flowers," he said as he wrote the title of the book on the first line. 

The library grew quiet again as the inmates browsed the books. Y/N took the cart of returns and rolled it along the aisles, reshelving the books. She smiled kindly when she passed inmates, no longer feeling the pit of nervousness that she seemed to fill for her first few months of work. When she was done, she settled back down at her desk and submerged herself in paperwork, losing track of time before the bell ringing over the loud speaker notified her that first shift was over. She organized the stack of papers on her desk before she walked quickly over to the classroom. Y/N stepped inside as Spencer and Penelope were saying goodbye. 

"JJ and Prentiss plan on coming down soon, okay?" Penelope said as she wrapped Spencer in a tight hug.

"Okay," he whispered with tears in his eyes. 

Y/N stood silently at the door, not wanting to interrupt the moment, waiting a while until Officer Jefferson knocked on the door. 

"Spencer, it's time," she said softly. 

Penelope bid him goodbye again, and he left the room quickly, avoiding Y/N's eye. Y/N watched as he lined up with the other inmates. He glanced up once, and she could see the tears in his eyes. Spencer and the other prisoners were led out of the library. When the room was empty, Penelope collapsed into the chair closest to her, body racked in sobs. Y/N kneeled by her cousin and wrapped her arms around the crying woman. 

"I'm sorry, Penny," she whispered. "I wish I could fix this."

Penelope squeezed Y/N. "I know, it's alright, it'll be alright." She took off her glasses and wiped her tears, smudging her makeup. "I'm gonna get him out of here."

Y/N nodded and used the corner of her sleeve to wipe away the streaks of black on Penelope's cheeks. "Of course you will."

She smiled and put her glasses on, stood, and threw her arm over Y/N's shoulder. "Let's go shelve some books?"

Y/N laughed. "Let's."