Page by Page.
A/N Title still up for debate,
also, I hate fiction press, this is original, and the only person I used for
newsies was klopman as the librarian, sorry if that upsets anyone. Enjoy the
story!
*~*
Dani coughed into her hand, the musty air surrounding her, clogging her lungs and clouding her vision. She started to rise from her crouched down position, her fingers shaking in effort. The Good Son and Dark Waters tumbled from her hand into her blueish gray pack. She looked up quickly, her eyes slapping hard against the sun. She winced, her eyes protesting against the imposing light. Dani turned away, opened her eyes until the sickly green dots subsided and looked around. The musty shelves of the library were chock full of a variety of books, looking through, she could swear she could see someone behind them, but the image vanished and she dismissed it quickly. The strap around Dani's chest pulled her shirt into a crease between they tiny bumps that were her breasts, the heaviness cutting into her skin, or so it felt. Her sneaker-clad feet rocked back and forth as she gazed intently up the shelves.
Oliver
twist… another book tumbled into the bag.
All creatures great and
small… after a few more minutes her tiny twigs of 6th grade legs
started to give way under the heavy bag. Her glasses tipping back off her nose
and poking her in the eye.
She tipped herself forcefully
forward and looked at the clock. 7:45. They library would only be opened
another 15 minutes. Dani started the long haul down the deserted isle to the
metal spiral staircase.
*~*
Panting like she had just run a mile Dani hoisted the overflowing book bag onto the counter. Kloopman raised a brow at his favorite patron.
"Getting a
little a head of yo'self aren't ya?" He asked as she started to empty the
contents onto the counter.
"Are you kidding?" She asked,
pulling out copies of the sword and the stone and the once and future
king. "Summer vacation comes but once a year."
"I know, do you think we won't
be open all summer?"
"I know you will." She said sadly. "But alas, I'm going to be gone for an entire two weeks." Kloopman stopped instantly.
"But why?"
"Summer Camp." She said. "My mother said it's a right of passage, before I graduate to Junior High." Dani hung her head miserably. Kloopman's heart sank. Summer camp, he remember, some of his best readers had gone. The wicked consolors had told them that books were nonsense, that they should only ride horses and swim. They had ruined his readers, his friends. Too many had slipped through his grips and been poisoned against him. He looked down miserably at the mass of auburn hair. No, he thought, not this one too.
"There, there." He said
consolingly. "Here, have yourself some grape juice for the way home." He pulled
out the bottle and cup, letting her see him pour it. She wrapped her small hand
around it. "Cheers mate." She said, as he checked out Treasure Island for
her. He smiled knowingly and watched the grape juice transfer into her mouth.
She looked at him, the dizziness taking place instantly. Her brown eyes met his
blue ones, her pupils dialated till the brown was only a thin ring around the
darkness.
First
"I feel kinda funny." She said, her words slurring and a moment later her knees buckled under her and she slumped on the floor. Slowly kloopman finished checking out her many books. "Goodnight dearest." He picked her up and laid her on a couch in the back, sweeping her book bag underneath the couch, her books stacked around her. Cautiously he opened The Journeys of Siris Fantasion. After locking and cleaning up, he glanced affectionately at the sleeping youth.
"This is for your own good." He reassured the unconscious teen and then disappeared into the secret passage under the antique building.