Naruto bowed his head, his hands wrung together nervously, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, very nice to meet you!"
It was his second day on the job and for some reason today felt scarier than yesterday. The day before, he had received an orientation outlining the dress code and his schedule, both just a review from his interview. Then he had been given the library policy, a direct deposit permission slip, a daily assignment and sign in sheet, and a paper stating he had received all the above information. He had signed it dutifully before he was taken out to work, a cart of books ready to be filed. It had seemed intimidating at the time, since his instructions had been given out a week and a half before, during his first interview.
He turned towards the youth services head Sakura Haruno, a slightly older woman, perhaps in her thirties, with bubblegum pink hair, green eyes, and soft skin. Her hair was held in a bun atop her head, a pair of gold earrings dangling a few centimeters from her ears, lip gloss on her pouty lips, "It was by the author's last name, right?"
The woman smiled at him warmly and nodded, pointing at the red slips sticking out of select books, "Yeah, you can sort them on the cart first if you want. I'll check over them but basically that's all. Once you've sorted them on here you can inter file them on the shelves, the red tags will be a guide for us. I'll have the other page look at them, to check and see if they're right. I also put in some toddler books; those also go by last name. Lastly, if you're ever in doubt just ask me, or..."
She opened one of the books and pointed to one of the corners, the one near the spine, "This here tells you where the books go, it's usually the latest entry, like this one would go in the holiday section, under Valentine's Day."
Naruto nodded, grinning at the easy job, "Alright!"
He had gotten all of his books straightened out correctly and in record time. Unfortunately, he hadn't met the new page. It seemed like something happened and he called off.
When he had walked in to work today, however, he had noticed an extra coat in the break room, an extra lunch in the refrigerator, and had noticed that the cubicle next to him was now void of papers. I guess the other page came in...
He looked at the cubicle's name tag but couldn't quite read it, "Sa...su...ke? Zuke-eh? What kind of name is that...?"
He shrugged and headed over to the front desk of the youth services department. Sakura was on the phone and motioned him over. She whispered, "Give me a minute, huh? No, no. Yes, what's the child's name? Mmm, yes, now we do recommend that the child be in five minutes before the program begins, just to get them settled down."
A few more incoherent sounds and Sakura was off the phone, "Hey Naruto."
Ginning Naruto answered with enthusiasm, "Boss lady! So, what's on today's agenda? More sorting? Red tags? Bring it on! Naruto Uzamaki never backs away from a challenge!"
"Well, because you're new to the library, we'll be going around introducing you. It'll also give me the chance to give you the layout of the library. Come," she commanded, chuckling at Naruto's behavior. If he was like this all the time she couldn't help but be curious once he met their coworkers.
They both left the small threshold labeled as the Youth Services.
"For starters," Sakura began, her hands moving as she pointed at each section of the library, starting off with the left side, "the majority of the library is dedicated for older readers, usually casual, not so much university level. So here we have fiction books for adults. I won't tell you about their sorting methods since you won't be working out here, don't want to confuse you."
She pointed to the small row of shelves at the center of the library, "Out here we have some African American literature, encyclopedias, romance novels, sci-fi, fantasy, and the beginning of the young adult's section. The rest of the books go around in an arc, lining the wall here and circling over by the back wall."
Naruto nodded, knowing most of the sections already. The library was quite large and consisted of youth services and adult services (that he was aware of). Most of the library could be considered 'adult' while 'youths' (children) were kept in the back, where he would now be working. When entering the library patrons would find a single shelf of new books a few feet away with four computers. The circulation desk was right up front as well, to the right and behind the desk there were offices, the library ground was split into three parts. The closest section to the library was the adult services, next was the lounge area, and lastly was the section Sakura had just mentioned. Going further into the library was where patrons would usually find the neat rows of shelves, typical library style.
"This office here," Sakura motioned to an office between the young adult books, "has the tech-support people. They take care of the technical aspects of the books, like keeping them in the system, replacing them when they're damaged or too old. When we get new books, they come here first, etc."
Half-paying attention, Naruto couldn't help but sneak a peek at the manga section, sighing as he noticed that the second volume of Attack on Titan was still not there! Not only the second, but the third as well. Perhaps he would need to go request it. It had been almost two weeks since he had checked and the book had yet to come back.
He met the people in circulation. He was able to catch a few names. Hinata was one of the pages in that section, as well as Kiba, a brunette who merrily shook his hand and patted his back. There had also been some guy named Shikamaru and a Sai. He was sure they were more the paperwork-people than actual on-the-floor employees. Tsunade, the director of the library, had come out to greet him before disappearing into her office, making sure to lock it. He frowned as he saw the silhouette of a sake bottle from the drawn shades. Was that even allowed?
He was sure there had been more but their names escaped him.
At adult services and technology they found three others. One was Ino who worked with tech and both Shino and Neji were both at adult services. He couldn't help but wonder if many patrons went over with questions since they both looked rather intimidating, Neji with a scowl on his face and Shino with most of his face covered. Again, he couldn't help but wonder if this was allowed.
"Well! Now you've met some of the people outside our department!" Sakura nodded as they headed back to their department, "There are many others, some who are only part-timers, others who work mornings only, but you probably won't meet them since you're working evenings. Unless they work weekends, then you may bump into them."
Naruto nodded and couldn't help but ask one more question. He had met both Tenten and Lee, both his department coworkers but he had yet to meet the other page, "So, will I be meeting the other page today?"
Sakura's eyes seemed to light up and he blinked. It almost seemed like Sakura had rejuvenated, her eyes seemed brighter and a smile tugged at her lip gloss covered lips, "Oh yeah! I almost forgot about him. By the way, he's probably already checked your stuff. He's pretty quick and I'm sure he already has some stuff ready for you to do. He's the one that will be your 'trainer' so to speak, especially when Kakashi or I are busy."
Ah yes, there was also Kakashi who worked in the youths services, which was a mystery to him. He hadn't really known the man long but on their first meeting he had spotted a little orange book in the man's hands. His eye had twitched a bit too much as he recognized the series and author.
And that little question had brought back the feeling of nervousness that he had felt at the start of his shift. At least now he knew why he had felt that way.
The man standing before him (because, obviously he couldn't call him a boy!) was perfection, if that even existed. Dark midnight eyes that peered into the soul, black hair that framed a pale face, high cheekbones, a perfectly angled jaw, a body of an athlete. Naruto towered over the raven by a few inches but his mere presence commanded attention. He wore a pair of navy blue jeans with the ends slightly ripped, black and white converse, and a black shirt with white specks (which drew out a city if you looked closely enough…). His dress was very different from Naruto's, less color considering that Naruto had decided to wear an orange t-shirt with a blue vest, and white washed light blue jeans, a pair of black and white scribbled converse adorned his feet. Even his socks were more colorful than Sasuke.
"Hn," was the only response he received from his introduction.
Sakura giggled but he failed to see what was so amusing.
"Well then, now that you two have met I'll leave him to you," Sakura stated, turning on her heel, ready to go back to her office.
"I thought you said the new page was competent," Naruto couldn't help the shiver that ran through his body when this stranger spoke. His voice was deep, almost seductive without him even trying. Like velvet it caressed his spine but he couldn't help but scowl at the words that spilled from those pale and thin lips (did he mention they were also very inviting?)
"Hey!" his voice echoed slightly and a glare was directed towards him.
"This is a library idiot, keep your voice down."
"Idiot? I'm not an idiot you bastard!"
The raven sighed, "You're lucky our department is closed because of water damage otherwise I wouldn't be the only one who would want you out of here."
Naruto blushed. He had a point. If the place had been littered with children and their parents…he didn't even want to imagine that. He turned towards Sakura but instead of finding her angry or annoyed, he found an amused smirk on her angelic features. Again, were people allowed to just show their true nature like this? Was he the only one who noticed that these people were insane, and no, he wasn't including himself. He was very sane, thank you very much!
"This really the only thing you've got?"
Sakura shrugged slightly, "He was better than the other two."
"You do realize we have only a week to get this place cleaned up and ready for opening, right?"
"Very aware, which is why I chose him. He's got some book experience. I already showed you his resume and interview papers, you weren't against it then. Besides, like you said, we have one week and Lady Tsunade already ordered all the new books. We'll be getting a shipment within a day or two, so instead of arguing with me, why don't you start showing him how to sort? We need him to be quick already."
Sasuke only glared at Sakura, "You're sure? Nobody else has applied?"
Naruto, finally getting tired of being ignored butted in, "Hey, I can do it! Believe it! Don't take me lightly, I can learn what you have to dish out 1-2-3!"
A disbelieving look crossed the raven's features but Sakura continued to grin, "See? That's why I chose him. I'm sure the kids will love him."
"Hn."
"Now, go along, scurry and finish sorting the non-damaged books. Put some slips in another batch again and check them once he's done. I'll be in my office, good luck Naruto!"
Naruto nodded, waving at the pinkette. Suddenly, he had a bad feeling about all of this…
"Let's go idiot, I've already got a cart ready."
Naruto growled, "I'm not an idiot bastard."
A smirk graced the pales features, "Prove it idiot."
A/N: This may have more chapters. Maybe three or four, maybe more, haha! Hope you all enjoyed.
And if anyone noticed...yes! I'm the new page at my local library, haha
If only there was a Sasuke working there, kyaa, I'm such a masochist lol
Tell me what you think! :D