Penny sat at the kitchen counter and skimmed through the newspaper. Coupons, obituaries, television schedules that could easily be looked up online, more coupons…

Her eyes stopped at the Local Events section. She smiled at her minor victory before returning to her skimming. Dance class? Maybe. Yoga class? Mmm… That sounds more like that spinning ballerina robot. Yard sale? Sure, he seems interested in old things but who knows if he likes shopping? She leaned back in her chair, placing the paper down. "All of them are duds," she grumbled to herself. "How am I supposed to have a nice day out with my own Springtrap when there's nothing to do?"

Instead of leaving this thought alone, she left her dishes once filled with breakfast essentials and wandered into the fully sunlit foyer. She craned her neck up to get a better view of the second floor. "I guess he's pouring into some of my books," she thought as she climbed up those stairs for what felt like the thousandth time that day. "I wonder if he's interested in—" She halted three-quarters of the way up. Her face flinched as a realization smacked her across her face. After a silent pause, she finished her latest trek and knocked on the library door.

"Come in," HB's voice responded from inside.

Penny swung open the door. "So, I've got good news and bad news," she announced as she walked to the armchair HB was now reclining in.

HB lowered his book. "That's strange," he admitted, "I have good and bad news myself. But you can go first, since you're the master of the house."

Penny's confident smile dropped. She looked over her shoulder and all around the room. No, nothing was out of place or bent out of shape. She breathed a sigh of relief and returned to a more cheerful posture. "Well, I'll start with the bad news first," she began. "If you wanted to go out to see a local stage play in the park, there's none of that this week."

HB raised an ear. "Thank you for the head's up, but I don't think that's what I had in mind anyway," he answered. "You are busy, after all."

Penny giggled. "That's the good news," she said. "You've actually showed up on the weekend, which means we have all the time in the world to get to know each other."

The rabbit's lower jaw dropped. "Oh," he said hoarsely. "I was never installed with an internal calendar, so I had no idea."

"Are you up for going out somewhere?"

"Are you?"

"Sure," Penny replied casually. "Besides, I know the best place for us to start with."

HB's eyes narrowed. "And what's that?" he asked cautiously.

Penny hummed. "I'm not going to tell you," she winked. "It'll be a surprise." She waited for a joyful response, but she was only met with suspicion. "It's not some gimmicky pizzeria," she chuckled nervously. "I should've told you that right away."

HB sighed in relief. "As long as it's not that, I'm fine with whatever," he explained as Penny walked to her library's entrance. "Just… let me finish this chapter first."

Penny turned her head, nodded, then left her friend to his reading. She soon walked out the front door and onto the nicely mowed lawn. Her eyes gazed at her run-of-the-mill car sitting on the driveway. "Do I have a sun roof?" she said as she entered the vehicle's key code. "I know that was an option, but I don't remember if it's on mine." She opened the driver-side door and leaned inside. Thankfully, the sight of a rectangular outline in the roof assured her that was the case. "At least HB won't have to deal with a huge pain in his neck," she sniggered to herself.

Ten minutes later, and the pair was already downtown. The trip was relatively quiet with Penny driving and HB looking out the window. Well, he was trying to. Any confused glance sent his way caused him to turn his head back to face the road. And then any glares from backseat passengers made him lower the sun visor. "On very rare occasions, I forget I'm not human," he admitted aloud, feeling Penny's own stare. "When that happens, I get… tense about what I am."

"'Tense' is putting it lightly," Penny quipped. "You act like you should have a bag over your head."

"Shouldn't I?"

Penny blinked, but kept driving. "I mean, there are more Springtrap models out here," she reasoned. "You really aren't the first one in the area. I think a local barbecue joint actually bought a Flaming model and converted it into a greeter for Halloween."

"Is that your way of dancing around the subject?"

The journalist squirmed. "Okay, you've got me," she sighed. "But you've really put me on the spot here. I mean, we've only just met today." A huge sign came into view, reviving Penny's initial joy. "If you want answers about anything, then maybe you'll find it here," she said as she pulled into the parking lot. "This library is huge, trust me."

"A library with its own building?" HB asked, pushing up the visor and leaning forward. "I thought this was like one of those buildings of a bygone era!"

"Not here," Penny shrugged before unbuckling her seatbelt. "We still rely on it for a whole bunch of things. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Just wait until we get inside, all right?"

HB's head eagerly bobbed up and down. His foot thumped with impatience as he undid his own seat. Once Penny opened the door, HB sprung out and instinctively hobbled to the front entrance. He waited for Penny, hoping that no one was alarmed by a nearly seven-foot tall metal rabbit hanging around the place. Thankfully, Penny was fast enough to join him before he found himself in any conundrum. "Are you ready?" Penny asked, her hand already on the door handle.

HB nodded with a grin, but his enthusiasm plummeted. "Are they ready?" he questioned, his eyes looking through the glass. "Am I even allowed in?"

"Only one way to find out," Penny answered slyly. "'Race' you to the front desk!" Without any other warning, she bolted inside and slowed her speed to a brisk stride. She walked straight up to the desk and greeted the confused librarian. "Good morning, Mrs. Dodd," she said, eyeing her beaten opponent. "I'd like to register my new friend into your library card system, please."

Mrs. Dodd pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "An animatronic this time?" she chuckled as HB joined them. "You've finally caved in and got one for yourself, you clever girl."

Penny scowled. "It was only for research on a news story," she muttered, her cheeks burning.

"Sure, Penny," Mrs. Dodd grinned mockingly. She then turned to HB with a more warm smile. "And who might you be, young man?" she questioned. "You look different from those Spring models I see scrounging for gunk out back."

"I'm a customized model, ma'am," HB stuttered. "You can file my model under 'Heart-Broken Springtrap', if you'd like to be specific."

"'Custom' will do just fine," Mrs. Dodd replied, lightly patting him on the shoulder rather than on the head. Then she typed the information on a nearby computer, her fingers flying on the keyboard. "Now, do you have a nickname in mind for him?" she asked, returning her attention to Penny. "Like 'Norman' or 'Spots'?"

Penny gulped. "To be honest, I've just been calling him HB," she admitted, lowering her head. "That's what everyone's been doing, but I think he wants to change it soon."

"It's a good thing he does," Mrs. Dodd added. "Our systems have been a little twitchy when it comes to printing out cards with only two letters on them. Must be because of some software update." She shifted her eyes to look at the fidgeting HB. "If you have something in mind, you may as well say it now," she advised. "Don't want to keep the line waiting."

HB shuddered, making a soft clanking noise. "I was thinking about 'Harley' or 'Harvey', but I wasn't sure if either one fit me," he confessed with a growl. He paused with his jaw slightly open, his eyes darting as his computer did several calculations. "If I had to choose between the two, I'd go with Harvey," he concluded, hiding behind Penny as if he said a horrible insult.

"Harvey, eh?" Mrs. Dodd inquired with a lifted eyebrow. "Well, it's fitting for someone who's been in a head-to-head battle with Penny Campbell!" She tapped the last seven letters into the system, then hit the 'Enter' button. A nearby printer awoke from its slumber, rumbling and whirring until it spat out a rectangular piece of plastic. "Here you go, sonny," Mrs. Dodd smiled, holding out the newly-made item in her hand. "This is your library card. You can now borrow whatever book you want. Well, from here, of course."

Harvey's LED lights glowed brighter than usual. He gently took the small card and held it in his hands. "Thank you," he rasped softly, not taking his eyes off his new prize. Penny and Mrs. Dodd watched as he dazedly wandered into the main area. "I haven't felt this joyful about giving a library card since I gave my niece her very first one," Mrs. Dodd mused wistfully. "The first thing she did was walk right into the kid's section and went on the search for Alice In Wonderland. She always had a thing for rabbits, that little diva."

"Mrs. Dodd, I appreciate you giving me a little piece of personal history," Penny said, shaking the clerk out of her reminiscing, "but I really have to stay with HB— Harvey. Maybe we'll talk about your niece some other time."

"Oh, all right," Mrs. Dodd groaned, waving her hand like a fan. "Go on and find your little black rabbit. If you need anything, Mrs. Pole and I will be right here."

Penny bid the librarian goodbye and quickly searched for Harvey. It didn't take her long to stumble across him skimming the General Fiction section. "If you want to find something in particular, you could try looking for the author's name," she suggested. "Those are listed in alphabetical order."

"Thank you for the advice, but I'm not here for a certain author," Harvey responded. "I still haven't received the answer I'm looking for."

Penny's shoulders slumped. "I'd offer you Frankenstein or Pinocchio, but I don't think that's what you're interested in," she muttered. "'Beauty and the Beast' could work if you're more into fantasy."

Harvey's ear perked up. His strolling stopped. "That last title sounds intriguing," he said with a hint of fascination. "Do you know where it is?"

"If you're looking for the original, it's usually in a collection of fairy tales," Penny explained, gesturing towards the fantasy section. "Just search through until you find Brothers Grimm or something."

"Thanks!" Harvey cried out, a smile finally showing through. "I hope you find what you're looking for."

"You too, Harvey," Penny replied warmly, watching the bunny walk away with a spring in his steps. As soon as he disappeared into the bookshelves, she refocused her gaze onto the books before her. "I guess I could read Frankenstein again," she thought to herself. "Is it still here, or did they move it somewhere else?"

While Penny was deep in her own search, Harvey skimmed through one huge book. "Sleeping Beauty, Princess and the Frog, Cinderella…" he read softly, using the dictionary's database to help him pronounce certain words. "Here it is!" His padded finger tapped on the fabled words printed in some old-time font: Beauty and the Beast. He carefully flipped through the stories, repeating the starting page number over and over. Then, when he reached his destination, he halted his rapid page-turning. "Let's see what you're made of," he chuckled to himself right before diving in.

Time seemed to slow as he read. In his mind, he could see himself as some young brother of Beauty always tagging along whoever left the shabby cottage. Some sick, frail soul who somehow managed to join his father as he left to find out what happened to his ships at sea. Then, as misfortune continued to rear its head, he found solace in the Beast's castle as it tended to Beauty's father. That is, until the betrayal with the rose bush. As soon as the Beast revealed himself, gruff and harsh though he was, Harvey now understood why Penny sent him down this path. "I am in the Beast's state, aren't I?" he thought as he paused his simulation. "Someone isolated from society and forced to live alone, perhaps? At least I don't mind the solitude sometimes. I can't imagine what dark thoughts might be going through his head."

He pressed through his self-reflection and continued on his quest. Now he followed Beauty as she attempted to rectify the mistake she made. He watched the negotiations as they went much better than he expected. Well, apart from Beauty being absolutely terrified of what the Beast looked like. On and on the tale's days went. Beauty explored the castle, Beast did whatever his routine was, and they dined together in the evening. Unfortunately, each night, the Beast felt the need to propose to her when she clearly wasn't ready. That Harvey didn't care for. "Unless this is to break some curse, I don't see the urgency," he thought with a scowl. "Can he not just accept their friendship as is?"

His first guess was proven right in the end. Many a page later, the Beast laid on the ground with Beauty mournfully apologizing. Harvey watched this sad scene with a lump in his throat. "You fool, you're too late," he muttered aloud, shaking the book as if it were Beauty herself. "You let those wretched sisters twist your arm into staying, and now look what's happened!"

"Wow, I didn't think you'd be so into it," Penny gently remarked from behind him. "I'd thought you would skim right through, find the moral, then move on to the next topic in your head."

Harvey tore himself away from the pages. "Th-The narrative got too interesting," he stammered hoarsely. "When Beauty started having those dreams with the prince, I—"

"You really don't have to explain yourself, Harvey," Penny smiled, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I get it. Books like this are wonderful at what they do. They welcome you into a brand new world by giving you just the right words you need to hear. Like more considerate sirens."

"Can this siren give me a break?" Harvey asked quietly. "I think I need one after so much reading."

"Only if you want one," Penny giggled. "Hey, if you want to read it at home, that's what the library card is for."

Harvey shut the book and looked at his card. "So if I let the librarian scan my card, then she'll let me borrow this book?" he deduced, fixing his eyes on the tiny printed writing.

"That's how it works."

Harvey stared right into Penny's eyes. "I think I'l finish when we get home," he decided, moving slowly out of his reading position. "I just have to know what happened to Beauty and her… friend. There's not that many pages left, so how else could it go?"

"Surprises can still happen," Penny smiled knowingly. "You just wait until the end to find out."

Harvey thumped his foot, but sighed in defeat. "I just hope you don't get stuck in traffic somehow," he growled, his eyes shifting away from her gaze. "I hear that's a danger to be had here."

After checking out both Harvey and her books, Penny walked him back to her car with tote in hand. "So, you said you had good and bad news," she said, finally remembering another piece of their earlier conversation. "What was the good and bad news you had, Harvey?"

Harvey scanned through the databanks of his mind. "Oh, the good news was that I figured out that 'foyer' and 'entrance' were synonyms after all," he said wearily.

"Okay, but what was the bad news?"

Harvey dug deeper. "I can't exactly remember now," he admitted solemnly. "All traces I could find in my storage has disappeared. I just hope it wasn't anything too important."

"Well, there's an old saying we humans have," Penny began nonchalantly. "'If you've forgotten something, then it's probably nothing'."

"You could be right," Harvey said thoughtfully. "But I'm not that sure. Maybe reading the dictionary again will jog my memory banks."

"After you find out what happened to Beauty and the Beast, right?"

"Yes," the rabbit agreed tiredly. "After that story."