So it's time to meet our main character! Just another reminder that I have switched over to first person. Have fun reading.
Predicting My Future
"Darcey Evangeline Sutton!" I cringed as Mrs. Ashmore yelled out my full name, one of the downsides of living in a small town where everybody knows everybody. We might have worked in a library but that didn't stop her from shouting at anyone.
"Yes, Mrs. Ashmore?" I asked, putting on a fake smile and turning to the sour old woman who unfortunately just so happened to be my boss. As always she had her signature scowl on as her red pointy glasses slid down her equally pointy nose.
"What are you doing away from the desk?" she demanded.
"I'm re-shelving the returned books," I answered gesturing towards the few books in my arms that I still had to put back. "Why do I have to be at the desk? I thought Cecilia was covering it."
"I let Cecilia go because her babysitter canceled on her. I need to head out for the rest of the night so I need you up at the front desk and I also need you to close," Mrs. Ashmore told me.
I stared at her flabbergasted, dropping the fake smile. "You're leaving me here by myself? But we're still open for another four hours"
"Oh don't complain, it's not becoming for a young lady to complain," Mrs. Ashmore scolded. Yet it was fine for her to complain as much as she wanted. "Now hurry up and get to the front desk, you're keeping the patrons waiting." With a swift turn of her heel Mrs. Ashmore stuck up her nose and walked away. I couldn't help but glare at her retreating figure.
"God I hate that woman," I muttered to myself. Sighing I looked down at the books in my hands. Only three books left. Looking up I assessed the front desk, checking to see if anyone was waiting. Finding no one there I chose to ignore Mrs. Ashmore's demand and continued on putting the remaining three books away.
Searching through the shelves I managed to locate two of the three books places rather quickly. Glancing down at the book last remaining book in my hand I couldn't help but smile. It was a collection of different fairy tales and one of my favorite books to read as a kid. Letting my moment of nostalgia wash over me I made my way over towards the children's section, knowing exactly the shelf the book belonged on. Once I reached the correct bookshelf I knelt down, placing the book on the lowest shelf. Satisfied with returning the books to their correct spaces I smiled and stood up. Turning to head to the front desk I couldn't help but let out a shriek as a small older woman appeared in front of me. Green almond shaped eyes stared at me. Small wrinkles lined her aged face as gray hair hung loosely from her purple silk scarf. She was so much smaller than me I almost towered a foot above her.
"You know you're not supposed to shout in a library, very rude," she commented with a smile, making fun of me a bit.
"Sorry, you scared me there," I apologized.
"So I did," she acknowledged. Giving her a once over I noticed that the woman's clothing resembled something of a fortune teller. Curious seeing how there wasn't any fortune tellers anywhere in town. I started playing with my ring, rubbing my fingers over the amethyst stones, getting a weird vibe from the woman. "Now young lady would you mind helping me find a book on tarot cards?"
"Tarot cards?" I questioned.
"Yes, I'm afraid I've gotten a bit rusty with my readings and need a refresher," she explained.
"Um, I'm sure we have one or two but it's best to check the library database just to make sure," I answered. I began to make my way over to the circle of computers with the fortune telling lady trailing behind me. Stepping up to one of the computers I shook the mouse, waking up the sleeping monitors before typing in "tarot cards" into the search bar. The woman stared at me the whole time as the computer pulled up three different books related to tarot cards. Grabbing a slip of paper and a pencil I wrote down their titles and catalog numbers before handing it to the old woman. "You're in luck. We carry three books on tarot cards."
The fortune teller kept her eyes on me while she took the paper from my hand. I went back to fiddling with my ring. "Thank you, dearie, I'll go look for those." Nodding I made my way towards the front desk, wanting to put some space between me and the old woman.
Back at the front desk I couldn't help myself from flopping down into the worn out computer chair. Sitting at the front desk wasn't my favorite part of the job, not that many people came into the library so it was a pretty boring position. I preferred moving around the library, putting books back and helping library goers find what they're looking for. Cecilia was the perfect fellow employee in how she always wanted to run the desk. Being a busy mom she preferred sitting down and getting some time to relax. It was also because she was a busy mom that Mrs. Ashmore was much more pleasant to her. To her if you weren't married with a baby by twenty-two than there was something wrong with you. It was one of the reasons why Mrs. Ashmore didn't like me. The only positive side about working the desk was that I was able to work on my sketches. Opening one of the drawers that I kept my bag in I pulled out my sketch pad and a few pencils and flipped to a fresh page. Drawing inspiration from the book of fairy tales I began to sketch out what would be the first drawing in a series of sketches, starting with Snow White and the apple. It had been a while since I did a whole series of artwork and I could feel the creative excitement fill me with the start of the project.
"Ah, you're an artist I see." I jumped, the voice startling me. I looked up and saw that it was the old fortune teller. "It seems that I scared you again."
"Uh, yeah, just a bit," I answered and set my pencil to the side. "Did you find what you were looking for?"
"Oh yes, thank you very much, for the help," the old woman smiled and stared at me. I looked around and saw that she didn't have any books with her. I started playing with my ring, puzzled why she came up to the desk if she didn't have any books. "You have a very strong aura about you, I sense greatness. I would love to tell your future." I didn't have time to reply before she reached into her long sleeve and pulled out a pack of tarot cards. I stared at it confused as she began to shuffle the cards.
"Um, I'm not sure that I –" I tried to protest but was interrupted at the old woman fanned out the cards in my face.
"Go ahead and pick one, dearie," she urged. Humoring her so that she would leave me alone sooner I picked a card from the middle, which she quickly took from me. Once again confusion set in when I noticed that the rest of the cards had disappeared. "Ah, The Fool. Now don't be misled by the name my dear. This card speaks of new beginnings and a great adventure for you in the near future."
Unsettled by the way she continued to stare at me I let out an awkward laugh. "Well, um, thank you for that. I'm glad you found what you were looking for and I hope you have a nice night," I said, hoping that the woman would get the hint.
"A good night to you as well, dearie, and I hope you have a wonderful journey," the old woman smiled and then slowly made her way out of the library, staring at me the entire time. I shuddered, creeped out.
Closing time couldn't have come faster. The old fortune teller woman left an eerie feeling in the library making me feel on edge ever since. So I was ecstatic when closing time came. Shoving my sketch book in my bag I hurriedly finished all the closing duties and locked the library up for the night. Letting out a sigh of relief I began to make my way over to my car. I was halfway there when I looked up and froze. The old fortune teller woman stood before me, staring at me with her unsettling gaze.
"Such a strong aura," she spoke, repeating her statement from before and began to walk towards me. I began backing up, fully freaked out. "I sense greatness in you." As I backed up I lost my footing and fell backwards, letting out a shriek.
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