Well, I'm back. This story has been completely rewritten and I hope you
enjoy the changes! The name of the song in this chapter is called closing
time. I'm not sure who sings it.
At 6:30, the bookstore was closed. The early morning sunlight streamed through the two large glass windows at the front of the store, hitting the bookshelves and sending strange shadows across the dusty floor. The smell of pastries form the bakery across the street wafted through the room; their delectable scent coated the air and made the mouths of passerby's water. The sound of birds chirping in a nearby park was droned out by the peaceful hum of the city as it slowly awoke. The noise of a key turning in a lock broke the tranquility of the morning, and the door in the back of the store creaked as it was pushed open by the owner of the Emperor Mage, a by the name of Numair, as he walked into the room and switched on the fluorescent lights. Bookcases that held hundreds of books were spread around the room and divided into many different categories- mysteries, fantasies, and nonfiction. A small counter was built into the back of the room in the left hand corner. An old computer and an equally ancient cash register sat atop the counter's cluttered surface; books were piled all around the two, filling almost every free space on the desk.
Numair, an older man in his late thirties, strode across the room and sat in the uncomfortable chair behind the counter. He quickly ran his fingers through his short, graying dark hair and then began to type. He was looking over the shop's financial records and, for the first time since the shop opened two years ago, the store was out of debt. Numair was hoping to use this money to hire a new employee. He already had two skilled workers: Neal, a college student and skilled procrastinator who usually force himself to get along with almost anyone who entered the store except, of course, for Joren, Numair's other employee. While Neal made himself easy to work with, Joren didn't even pretend to care about his job. He was cynical, narcissistic, and the most arrogant individual he had ever met, but for some strange reason, Numair found him the most fun to work with. You could tell just by looking in his pale blue eyes that he was brilliant, but an unlucky past had kept him out of college and any chance of a successful future. Joren and Numair were always insulting and picking fights with one another, but Numair knew he was the closest thing to a family that this boy had. Maybe it was the fact that he reminded Numair of an earlier version of himself that kept the boy around, but nevertheless he had been working at the emperor mage since it first opened.
Numair had gotten into some trouble many years ago and had basically just turned his life completely around. He had a great and entirely legal job, a beautiful girlfriend, hell, he even had a new name, and he was, for the first time in a very long time, truly happy. But occasionally he still thought about his past. He never meant to but it always seemed to sneak back into his memory when he least expected it, especially in his dreams 'We all have nightmares to remind ourselves who we are'. That was something that he had heard in a movie once. Unlike Numair, the man in the movie was trying to remember his past, not forget it. "Well this certainly isn't a positive way to start the day," Numair said to himself as he pushed the past out of his head.
After Numair had been at the store for about thirty minutes, he started to wonder where his employees were. Joren was always late, but Neal usually was there even before himself. Suddenly, there was a loud wrap on the door. "Speak of the devil" Numair thought as he saw Joren through the clear glass door. "I'm tempted to leave that locked," He said with a laugh as he went to let Joren in. " What are you doing here so early? I expected Neal before you" "Its his day off" "Oh, well then listen, I'm leaving about an hour early, do you think you can cover for me?" "Do you really think that I could handle this whole big store all by myself?" He replied with a grin. "Where are you going if you don't mind my prying?" Numair was pleased to find that Joren was in an uncharacteristic good mood. " I've got a hot date". " At your age I bet those are hard to come by" " Shut up and start unloading the new shipment of books" Joren laughed and went upstairs to unpack the boxes of newly printed books and came back down to stack them onto the shelves, doing this for the next few hours while customers started pouring in. For a Monday morning, business was booming. Numair was looking very frazzled as he tried to ring up the purchases of all of the avid readers in the store. "Need help?" Instead of replying to the grinning Joren, Numair just glared. Joren laughed as he took his place behind the counter.
Closing time, open all the doors
And let you out into the world
Closing time, turn all of the lights on
Over every boy and every girl
Closing time, one last call for alcohol
So finish your whiskey or beer
Closing time, you don't have to go home
But you can't stay here
By five that afternoon, business had slowed significantly. Only one woman was left in the store. Luckily for Numair, it was the perfect time to leave. " Have fun with Daine tonight". "How do you know I'm having dinner with Daine?" " Because you have been going out with her for the past four years." " You don't think that I could date two women at once?" Joren paused, gave Numair a once over, and started laughing. " Oh, all right. It's Daine, but you know you could at least humor me sometimes and lie to get me to leave you alone" " Not even close to as much fun. Hey you better get out of here before you get your ass kicked." "Pardon me?" " By Daine. You're late again." "Shit" Numair muttered as he made his way out of the shop. "Remember to close up at six." " I'll see if my dull, unintelligent brain could possibly process and remember that difficult of information." " Cut the sarcasm; it won't get you anywhere. And it's rude". " God forbid I should ever be rude". Numair yet again rolled his eyes as he walked out of the door, accidentally running into an entering customer. Numair issued a quick apology before rushing out of the door. The man who he hit was a tall, black-haired man somewhere in his forties. The man walked directly up to the counter and began talking to Joren. "Is Numair here?" The guy said, trying his hardest to be causal and failing miserably.
"Nope, you just missed him. Well, actually you hit him, but you know what I mean. But I might remember to tell him you came by if you give me your name." The stranger smiled a very toothy grin and replied in a now creepily calm and arrogant voice, " Why my name is Jonathon, but I don't see how that is any concern of yours. Now, the reason I came in here was to see if you carried the book My Dark Places?" " Your dark places, huh?" Needless to say, Jonathon did not laugh at his joke, so Joren coughed and began talking again. "Yeah, we have it. Check the mystery section." "Well, I looked but I couldn't seem to find it". " Bullshit. You just got here about a minute ago; you didn't have time to look!" "Yes," Jonathan argued, an exceptionally phony smile on his face. "But I couldn't seem to find it". "Yes," Joren tried his hardest to mimic Jonathon's tone, "but you didn't look." " I couldn't find it so could you start showing why you're here and find the damn book!" Joren stared at the man; it was killing him not to say the comment that was about to come bursting from his mouth. 'Cut the sarcasm; it won't get you anywhere' Numair's voice stuck in his mind like an annoying pop song that you hate but have heard too many times on the radio. And, due only to Joren's extreme amount of self-control, he shut up, got the book, and began to ring up the man's purchase. "Will that be all for you, kind sir, on this very lovely evening?" Screw self-control, its not like anyone ever uses it. Jonathon, apparently oblivious to the sarcasm, grabbed his book and left the store, saying over his shoulder, "I hope I wasn't too much trouble!" "No trouble at all, asshole!" Joren yelled after him. " I leave you alone for one day and you are already cursing out the customer." Neal said with a grin as he walked through the door. "Today's your day off" "Yeah, but it's also payday. Where Numair?" "Out" "Oh, do you know where?" "Yep" Neal rolled his eyes. "Ass" "What's with the profanity, man?" Joren shouted to Neal's retreating back, a wide grin covering his face when he realized he finally had gotten to the guy.
Closing time, time for you to go out
To the places you will be from
Closing time, this room won't be open
Till your brothers or your sisters come
So gather up your jackets, move it to the exits
I hope you have found a friend
Closing time, every new beginning
Comes from some other beginning's end
AN: I'm not sure if the lyrics really fit this chapter, but it's a pretty cool song so it works. I decided to continue this story when I realized how much of the majority of all K/J stories were beginning to sound the same. Hopefully, mine will be different. And a note to my betas: If you still want to beta this story then EMAIL ME!!!
At 6:30, the bookstore was closed. The early morning sunlight streamed through the two large glass windows at the front of the store, hitting the bookshelves and sending strange shadows across the dusty floor. The smell of pastries form the bakery across the street wafted through the room; their delectable scent coated the air and made the mouths of passerby's water. The sound of birds chirping in a nearby park was droned out by the peaceful hum of the city as it slowly awoke. The noise of a key turning in a lock broke the tranquility of the morning, and the door in the back of the store creaked as it was pushed open by the owner of the Emperor Mage, a by the name of Numair, as he walked into the room and switched on the fluorescent lights. Bookcases that held hundreds of books were spread around the room and divided into many different categories- mysteries, fantasies, and nonfiction. A small counter was built into the back of the room in the left hand corner. An old computer and an equally ancient cash register sat atop the counter's cluttered surface; books were piled all around the two, filling almost every free space on the desk.
Numair, an older man in his late thirties, strode across the room and sat in the uncomfortable chair behind the counter. He quickly ran his fingers through his short, graying dark hair and then began to type. He was looking over the shop's financial records and, for the first time since the shop opened two years ago, the store was out of debt. Numair was hoping to use this money to hire a new employee. He already had two skilled workers: Neal, a college student and skilled procrastinator who usually force himself to get along with almost anyone who entered the store except, of course, for Joren, Numair's other employee. While Neal made himself easy to work with, Joren didn't even pretend to care about his job. He was cynical, narcissistic, and the most arrogant individual he had ever met, but for some strange reason, Numair found him the most fun to work with. You could tell just by looking in his pale blue eyes that he was brilliant, but an unlucky past had kept him out of college and any chance of a successful future. Joren and Numair were always insulting and picking fights with one another, but Numair knew he was the closest thing to a family that this boy had. Maybe it was the fact that he reminded Numair of an earlier version of himself that kept the boy around, but nevertheless he had been working at the emperor mage since it first opened.
Numair had gotten into some trouble many years ago and had basically just turned his life completely around. He had a great and entirely legal job, a beautiful girlfriend, hell, he even had a new name, and he was, for the first time in a very long time, truly happy. But occasionally he still thought about his past. He never meant to but it always seemed to sneak back into his memory when he least expected it, especially in his dreams 'We all have nightmares to remind ourselves who we are'. That was something that he had heard in a movie once. Unlike Numair, the man in the movie was trying to remember his past, not forget it. "Well this certainly isn't a positive way to start the day," Numair said to himself as he pushed the past out of his head.
After Numair had been at the store for about thirty minutes, he started to wonder where his employees were. Joren was always late, but Neal usually was there even before himself. Suddenly, there was a loud wrap on the door. "Speak of the devil" Numair thought as he saw Joren through the clear glass door. "I'm tempted to leave that locked," He said with a laugh as he went to let Joren in. " What are you doing here so early? I expected Neal before you" "Its his day off" "Oh, well then listen, I'm leaving about an hour early, do you think you can cover for me?" "Do you really think that I could handle this whole big store all by myself?" He replied with a grin. "Where are you going if you don't mind my prying?" Numair was pleased to find that Joren was in an uncharacteristic good mood. " I've got a hot date". " At your age I bet those are hard to come by" " Shut up and start unloading the new shipment of books" Joren laughed and went upstairs to unpack the boxes of newly printed books and came back down to stack them onto the shelves, doing this for the next few hours while customers started pouring in. For a Monday morning, business was booming. Numair was looking very frazzled as he tried to ring up the purchases of all of the avid readers in the store. "Need help?" Instead of replying to the grinning Joren, Numair just glared. Joren laughed as he took his place behind the counter.
Closing time, open all the doors
And let you out into the world
Closing time, turn all of the lights on
Over every boy and every girl
Closing time, one last call for alcohol
So finish your whiskey or beer
Closing time, you don't have to go home
But you can't stay here
By five that afternoon, business had slowed significantly. Only one woman was left in the store. Luckily for Numair, it was the perfect time to leave. " Have fun with Daine tonight". "How do you know I'm having dinner with Daine?" " Because you have been going out with her for the past four years." " You don't think that I could date two women at once?" Joren paused, gave Numair a once over, and started laughing. " Oh, all right. It's Daine, but you know you could at least humor me sometimes and lie to get me to leave you alone" " Not even close to as much fun. Hey you better get out of here before you get your ass kicked." "Pardon me?" " By Daine. You're late again." "Shit" Numair muttered as he made his way out of the shop. "Remember to close up at six." " I'll see if my dull, unintelligent brain could possibly process and remember that difficult of information." " Cut the sarcasm; it won't get you anywhere. And it's rude". " God forbid I should ever be rude". Numair yet again rolled his eyes as he walked out of the door, accidentally running into an entering customer. Numair issued a quick apology before rushing out of the door. The man who he hit was a tall, black-haired man somewhere in his forties. The man walked directly up to the counter and began talking to Joren. "Is Numair here?" The guy said, trying his hardest to be causal and failing miserably.
"Nope, you just missed him. Well, actually you hit him, but you know what I mean. But I might remember to tell him you came by if you give me your name." The stranger smiled a very toothy grin and replied in a now creepily calm and arrogant voice, " Why my name is Jonathon, but I don't see how that is any concern of yours. Now, the reason I came in here was to see if you carried the book My Dark Places?" " Your dark places, huh?" Needless to say, Jonathon did not laugh at his joke, so Joren coughed and began talking again. "Yeah, we have it. Check the mystery section." "Well, I looked but I couldn't seem to find it". " Bullshit. You just got here about a minute ago; you didn't have time to look!" "Yes," Jonathan argued, an exceptionally phony smile on his face. "But I couldn't seem to find it". "Yes," Joren tried his hardest to mimic Jonathon's tone, "but you didn't look." " I couldn't find it so could you start showing why you're here and find the damn book!" Joren stared at the man; it was killing him not to say the comment that was about to come bursting from his mouth. 'Cut the sarcasm; it won't get you anywhere' Numair's voice stuck in his mind like an annoying pop song that you hate but have heard too many times on the radio. And, due only to Joren's extreme amount of self-control, he shut up, got the book, and began to ring up the man's purchase. "Will that be all for you, kind sir, on this very lovely evening?" Screw self-control, its not like anyone ever uses it. Jonathon, apparently oblivious to the sarcasm, grabbed his book and left the store, saying over his shoulder, "I hope I wasn't too much trouble!" "No trouble at all, asshole!" Joren yelled after him. " I leave you alone for one day and you are already cursing out the customer." Neal said with a grin as he walked through the door. "Today's your day off" "Yeah, but it's also payday. Where Numair?" "Out" "Oh, do you know where?" "Yep" Neal rolled his eyes. "Ass" "What's with the profanity, man?" Joren shouted to Neal's retreating back, a wide grin covering his face when he realized he finally had gotten to the guy.
Closing time, time for you to go out
To the places you will be from
Closing time, this room won't be open
Till your brothers or your sisters come
So gather up your jackets, move it to the exits
I hope you have found a friend
Closing time, every new beginning
Comes from some other beginning's end
AN: I'm not sure if the lyrics really fit this chapter, but it's a pretty cool song so it works. I decided to continue this story when I realized how much of the majority of all K/J stories were beginning to sound the same. Hopefully, mine will be different. And a note to my betas: If you still want to beta this story then EMAIL ME!!!