The library was quiet, as libraries should be. The librarian sat at his desk and surveyed his domain. Parents read to children in the cheerfully painted Children's Section. A group of teenagers worked on a project in a corner and a smattering of college students sat at the tables, studying or researching on laptops. The librarian's eyes stopped and lingered on one such student, taking in the messy blonde hair, muscled torso, and long legs before getting a hold of himself and looking instead at the computer in front of him.
'Shame on you, Arthur Kirkland,' He thought to himself. 'Creeping like that on a college student.' As he berated his self, he checked the small pile of books from the Drop Box in. he then placed them on a cart so he could return them to their proper places. As he stood up to push the cart, his eyes wondered once more to the college student. He was sucking the tip of his pen before pulling it out and writing something on the paper in front of him. Arthur gulped and shook his head. 'Stop staring…and thinking about what other things that mouth could suck on…No! Enough. Do your job.'
After giving himself a talking to, Arthur pushed the cart to the first of many aisles and began putting books away. By the time he had gotten all of the books put back into their proper places, twenty minutes had gone by. He pushed the cart back to the front desk, purposefully staring straight ahead.
When he got back to the desk, he sat back down, grabbed a few stacks of paper, and got to work. He sorted all the people with books that were overdue in alphabetical order, and placed the other sheets-books people wanted to renew- aside. As he was about to start typing the notices for the late books, a shadow fell over the papers.
Arthur raised his head to see the college student standing in front of his desk with his arms full books to check out. Arthur gulped, and then smiled. "Did you find everything alright?"
The boy smiled back. "Yeah, man. I got everything I needed."
"Good. Library card?" Arthur replied, mentally congratulating his self for not stuttering like an idiot.
"Oh, right. Hang on." The student said, setting the books on the desk and rummaging through his pockets. He pulled out a wallet with a hamburger on it, pulled out his card, and handed it to Arthur.
Arthur took it and scanned it, glancing at the name as he did so. Alfred F. Jones. He handed Alfred his card back and began checking out the books. "What are you studying, Alfred?"
"Call me AL. Everybody does. I'm studying business; I hope to have my own someday." Alfred replied, grinning broadly.
"What kind of business?" Arthur asked, as he scanned the last book and printed the receipt.
"A restaurant, I think. A place people can go to enjoy good, comforting food, family, and friends. A place to unwind, you know?"
Arthur nodded. "Sounds pretty great. I hope you succeed." He put the receipt in the book on top of the pile. "Your books are due on the 22nd."
"Thanks man. See you next time." Alfred winked, grabbed his books, and sauntered out. Arthur watched him leave, eyes drawn down to his yummy ass. When Alfred stepped outside, Arthur looked back at his desk, where he noticed a folded sheet of paper.
He looked around, and then picked it up. His name was scribbled across the front of it. His fingers shook slightly as he opened it. As he read it, his eyes widened, his face grew red, and his palms grew sweaty. He gulped and looked around again. His eyes slid back down to the paper. He folded it and slipped it into his pocket. He glanced at the clock and groaned. 7:30. An hour and a half until closing time. How the bloody hell was he going to survive?