Clearly school irritates me right now, but that's okay since I'm sure its a universal thing.
Algebra swirling around her head in a flurry of letter and numbers, Sarah shoved her text book away from her, a flick of her wrist causing the book to slam closed with a heavy thwump. She ignored the looks thrown her way as the sound proved to be above and beyond the norms of pens scratching and the slither of pages turning. She was sick of math, and she was sick of studying.
Sarah glanced up the row of long tables, a frown pulling at the corner of her mouth as she saw all the other students hunched over their homework or thick textbooks. Their focus was a tangible, foreign thing, and she silently scoffed at them for it. Libraries weren't for studying, obviously. They were for reading.
Dismissing the rest of the students, Sarah turned her attention to the massive bookcases that flanked the tables like an honor guard. The cramped shelves were placed so the middle of the main room was devoted entirely to the long tables and the students who claimed them. The edges were filled with endless rows of bookcases, except for the entryway. A narrow corridor had been created where the shelves grudgingly gave way to those who would enter their domain.
Sarah badly wanted to disappear amongst them. She was only here because her dad had told her that he would be late picking her up from school today, and that she might as well get her homework done in the library. She hadn't bothered telling him how useless that suggestion was. How could one get any work done in the library when they were surrounded by hundreds of worlds, all with great adventures just waiting to be revealed?
Sarah glanced over her shoulder at the heavy desk the librarian used. Several tables separated her from being under the hawkish woman's immediate view, but there were few students seated between them, for obvious reasons. It wasn't like the woman would object if Sarah decided to get up, she probably wouldn't even notice, but Sarah was still hesitant to disrupt the intense quiet that had settled over the library as students got things done.
Her gaze drifted to the sheet of paper lying in front of her, and the algebra equations that had been penciled neatly across the surface. She was tired of working on math. Instead her mind yearned for a good book to engross her self in, something to relieve the endless monotony that was school.
Jaw clenched mulishly, Sarah abruptly stood, pushing her chair back so she could leave the table. She pointedly did not look behind her to where the librarian sat. All the better to say she honestly didn't know that she wasn't supposed to leave the table. Her back stiff as she waited for the inevitable command that didn't come; she nearly sagged in relief once she reached the sanctuary of the book shelves.
Positively gleeful in her defiance, Sarah smiled, and skipped down the narrow walkway that squeezed between each overflowing shelf. Unbothered by the towering weight of each shelf as it loomed over her head, Sarah easily navigated towards her favorite spot. She did not acknowledge the heavy books and their bold titles of various sciences, ancient histories, and more. Her eagerness was not for the dry words of learning, it was for distant worlds of dark creatures and forbidden love.
The fantasy selection was meager to her standards. She'd read all the books more than she could honestly count, but it was her refuge and she was not above returning to her favorite 'worlds'. Three bookcases were all that had been allotted to her favorite genre, and they were crammed full, books lying upon rows of books in order to make them all fit. It irritated her, the way her worlds were so easily disregarded. Reality was so boring. Why would anyone want to stay in it when they could so easily send there mind somewhere so much better? Who would willingly live in a place so utterly devoid of magic?
Sarah wove amongst the three bookcases, her hand reaching up to trail across the row of spines like she was petting a cat. Which one? There were so many choices, and yet so few. Would it really be so much trouble for them to add a new book once in a while? Guess the school really wasn't into enriching the minds of their students. Not with anything truly worth while anyway.
She was considering whether or not to reread her current favorite when a red spine caught her eye. Sarah zeroed in on the intruder, frowning as she dragged her finger down the blank spine. No title? Eyes glittering with suppressed excitement, she tugged the book from between its neighbors.
It was a small book, just large enough to fit comfortably on her palm and light enough that it could extend past the length of her fingers without falling. There was a black border decorating the edges of the cover, and the title was faded gold.
"The Labyrinth," she read aloud, smoothing one hand over the cover. "I've never seen you before."
Holding the book, Sarah would have sworn she felt the skin of her palm tingle where ever she touched it. Flipping it over, she perused the back for a summary of the contents only to find it blank. Turning it back over, she ran a finger over the faded title, thinking.
It was stupid, but beneath the excitement of her new discovery, Sarah heard the tiniest whisper of caution. There was something about this book…..something that urged her to place the book back on the shelf and walk away.
Sarah was on the cusp of putting the book back, of listening to the warning, when she realized just what she was thinking. How could there be anything wrong with reading a book? Smiling at her own over active imagination, Sarah turned and trotted down the aisle towards the librarian and her monstrous desk. Looks like she'd found something new to read after all.
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