Kat stared up at the colossal building in front of here. Albeit squashed between two other buildings and abnormally slim for a building it was almost double the height of its neighbour and built on a slight slant not unlike a stereotypical haunted house. It was painted black with silver railing at the windows making it look rather gothic. But not in the same gothic punk style that Malachi obviously liked. Laxes floated at her right and gazed at the shop in awe.
"It's… huge…" She murmured.
"Yeah…" Kat nodded slowly.
"Huh?" Malachi blinked at her, not hearing Laxes.
"Oh!" She blushed in embarrassment, realising this. "N-Nothing, just thinking to myself. So let's get going hey?"
"You're keen today." He remarked with a raised eyebrow.
They walked off in different directions; Kat towards the front entrance, Malachi down the street. He came back and stopped her just as she was about to open the door. Jumping in alarm, she blinked up at him.
"Staff entrance down here remember? Ark will flip if you walk the customer entrance." He rolled his eyes. "Geeze, what would you do without me?"
"I-I'm sorry!" She looked down.
Malachi sighed and pulled her into a quick hug before dragging her down to the end of the street and round the back of the shops. Laxes hovered after them anxiously, Kat was blushing a little from the hug.
"What was that about?" Laxes asked.
"I-" She stopped herself from speaking aloud just in time. 'I don't know… I guess he's a pretty close friend?'
"C'mon!" Malachi called back to her and she hurried after him, through a quirky, old fashioned looking door engraved with the words 'Staff Only'. Inside was a small locker room where two girls sat and chatted on the bench in the middle. They looked up when they saw Malachi and Kat come in.
"Kat~!" The blue-haired one cried out and hugged her.
Kat staggered back a little. "H-Hey…" She mumbled, taken aback.
"I was worried when Malachi said you might not by coming in today, are you feeling alright?"
"Fine." She assured the clingy blunette.
"Good!" She let go suddenly. "Ark wasn't too happy either, especially with The Dragon Stone and Starlit Sky coming out today!"
"Ah… ye-es…" Kat tried not to look completely confused. She still had not worked out what type of shop this was or what she was going to be doing there. Seeing her plight, Laxes floated past the others and through the opposite door to investigate. Kat glanced after to her, a little daunted at the thought of being left alone with these strangers.
"You gonna get ready? Shift starts soon, people are starting to crowd around the doors." The other girl, a grumpy, honey-gold haired teen drawled.
"U-Uh, yeh, of course." She nodded quickly, looking around desperately. She needed Laxes, she was floundering here, what was she supposed to do. A locker with the label 'Kitty Kat' on it caught her eye and she walked over to it. Grasping the handle, she tried to open it. It rattled but did not budge, it was locked. She remembered the keys she had grabbed on the way out of her apartment and retrieved them from her pocket. One of them must go to the locker. She fumbled around for a few moments, testing each one and hoping the others were not looking at her strange. Finally she found the one that fit, a small crudely cut little key. The locker swung open to reveal what looked like a shine to her personality. The floor of the locker was strewn with sketches and stray bits of wire all centred around a pile of books that did not look as if they had been touched. There was a coat hook on the door that held an apron embroidered with the words 'The Abandoned Attic'. She took her coat off and swapped it for the apron. Noticing the other girls changing into plain shirts, she took her waist coat as well. Laxes floated back in and watched her curiously
"It's a book shop." The little sprite explained. "There are some popular books coming out today so people are crowding outside the front entrance… Your manager looks pretty scary."
'Really?' Kat though back to her worriedly. 'Why what does he look like?'
"Did you read the next batch of latest's?" The blonde asked her while, tying her apron around her waist.
"H-Huh?" Kat blinked out of her conversation with Laxes. "I-I…"
"Oh Kat, not again. Ark's going to be really mad at you this time." The blunette sighed sympathetically. "Seriously, what have you been doing all week?"
"You haven't even taken them out of your locker!" The blonde peered over her shoulder.
"I-I, well, uh… was pretty busy… I guess." Kat swallowed and tried to make up an excuse. "Please don't tell him!"
"We won't need to, what's going to happen when a customer asks you your opinion of it? How are you supposed to recommend anything, especially with the new releases!" The blunette regarded her anxiously.
"Wh-What if I read the blurbs on the backs of them now and form an opinion?!" Kat grabbed the first book off the top of the pile in her lock and sat resolutely down on the bench. The two girls watched her doubtfully while Laxes folded her arms and stuck her tongue out at them.
"I won't be much later, cover for me until I'm done." She told them.
Suddenly the blonde laughed and ruffled her hair. Kat blinked and looked up at her in confusion.
"Katherine's back!" She smirked. "I was beginning to think you were someone else, messing about with your keys and stuttering all over the place. We'll keep the battleaxe's mind off you for as long as possible ok? Now get reading!"
The blunette giggled and nodded in agreement with her friend before they both left to go and start work. Kat took a deep breath and glared at the teaser paragraph on the back of the volume. She needed to read this quickly, and remember it. Remember… Apparently she had been very good at that lately. But now was no time to think negatively, she had a mission and she was going to achieve it!
"That's the spirit!" Laxes encouraged. "I'll read with you so that if you do forget anything I know it too."
'Thanks.' Kat smiled thankfully at her and went back to her reading. By the time she was halfway through the pile, someone opened the door again. She looked up in fright, thinking it was Ark the scary manager. Malachi raised an eyebrow at her.
"Not done your research again?" He sighed and shook his head. "I guess that's why Cheerios and Vivi are bothering Ark so much. Hurry ok?"
"'Kay." She nodded. "Tell them to hang in there."
"Will do, it's like a riot in there already, wish me luck." He rubbed his forehead ruefully.
"Good luck." She smiled sweetly and moved on to her next book.
10 minutes later and she was done. Locking the books back in her locker, she peered through the door to the shop. In actual fact it was the door to the staff hallway, Laxes peeked around above her. On the right there was a door behind which a lot of noise was coming from. She assumed that must be the real door to the shop. In the hallway there was a tall, handsome figure that seemed to be spaced out against the opposite wall. Kat walked out and tapped his shoulder curiously.
"Hm?" He looked up from his thoughts. "Oh hey Kat, I'm glad you're not feeling ill anymore."
Although the only light came through the blinded window of the shop door, Kat could see enough to make out the boy's dark mauve hair was wavy and long below his shoulders. It was tied back in a loose ponytail. He was wearing a name badge wit printed onto it. Jaden was built tall and slim like a model and in combination with his lucid gold eyes he was rather dashing.
"Y-You knew out that?" She asked.
"Of course, I was there silly." He raised an eyebrow. "You must have been feeling really bad last night to have forgotten."
"O-Oh yeah, sorry." She looked down apologetically.
"No need for that, it was my fault for leaving early. Some fans spotted me and I had to leave with that goth guy of yours. I still won't accept you and him, ok? I'll sweep you off your feet one day."
"Wh-What do you mean?!" Kat blushed furiously.
"I don't know what you see in that depressed roughneck, but then, you have known him longer than me." Jaden sighed. "Maybe you're doing this out of pity..?"
"I-I don't understand." She stammered. "And shouldn't you be helping out, the new released are out now."
"I took a break for some air." He explained. "Despite what you all seem to think having women draped over me constantly does bother me sometimes."
"What an arrogant snob!" Laxes huffed, pulling a face at him.
"W-Well, I'm going in." Kat forced herself to stop blushing and walk past him. Did this mean she was going out with Malachi? Or maybe he just thought they were… Opening the door she was confronted by a blast of loud voices, tills and moving bodies. She reeled a little before focusing on the situation. Malachi, and the other girls, Vivi and… Cheerios was it? That was a strange name, stranger than Lark.
"Maybe it's another nickname" Laxes suggested. "You must know these people well, they all knew you were ill last night…"
She nodded and looked around again. All the employees, Malachi, the girls and two other, very tall people in the shop uniform were swamped by eager customers. One of the employees she did not know turned to her awkwardly. Well over six foot, sickly pale and wearing a blind fold over his eyes, he seemed to regard her with a stern aura.
"Katherine, you're late. We've been needing help for quite some time now, especially since Jaden have mysteriously disappeared."
"I'm sorry." Kat swallowed. This must be the scary manager. Why did he wear a blindfold?
"Go and help the girls by the door, they're having the most trouble." Ark turned back to the customers he was dealing with. Kat waded her way through the people, murmuring apologies as she battled her way to the front of the shop. Vivi and 'Cheerios' were welcoming customers in while manning the pyramids of books that were the new release display. The blunette, she still did not know which was which, beckoned her frantically.
"You take The Dragon Stone, it's slightly less popular, only slightly." She huffed. "Welcome back to the Attic, we hope you'll find another world within our shelves!" She was diverted by another onslaught of people. Meanwhile Kat struggled to the right stand. Laxes floated above her anxiously, looking a little traumatised by the whole ordeal. A stranger caught her attention.
"Excuse me, I've heard this book has critical acclaim, what can you tell me about it?"
"U-Uh, well, it's the awaited climax of a trilogy," Kat struggled to keep her voice heard above the din. "The Mythic Stone trilogy. So the adventure is coming to an exciting close, the ending is very surprising, but I won't spoil it for you."
"You can't, you don't know the ending." Laxes rolled her eyes.
'I'm supposed to be making it sound appealing.' Kat snorted back up at her.
"That does sound interesting, maybe I'll get the trilogy." The customer decided. "Do you know where the other books can be found, it's an awfully large store you know."
"Yes, it is…" Kat agreed grimly. "Well, I can't leave here to show you but, um…"
She looked around frantically before spotting Malachi.
"Malachi!" She called. "Could you help this person with directions?!"
He looked up from his own crowd and beckoned them with a welcoming smile. To her relief, they shuffled over to him and someone else began to pester her.