The Last Bookstore

Happy Halloween! It's time, it's time! Time for some little Halloween truffles, a few two-fers.

All credit for characters and setting to the amazing Stephenie Meyer, of course. She creates, I play.

Chapter 1 – Seeing and Losing

October 24th

Another college weekend, Southern California this time. What made her parents think she would want to go to USC anyway? But then, why wouldn't they? It wasn't like she was a stranger to California. Her mother had grown up in Downy, and she had Bella had lived in both Downy and Riverside when she was young. The school guidance counselor/principal (in a town the size of Forks, one person wore many hats) thought there was a chance of a scholarship, so Bella was visiting USC and a few other campuses.

Bella remembered California. It had sun, not as much as Phoenix, but it was better than Forks. But to live here? So many palm trees and so much Hollywood. She wasn't sure.

But her parents had insisted she check it out. And as long as she was in town, she had a list of Must-See Bookstores. Which included the Last Bookstore in downtown Los Angeles. It was on the red line subway, so she could get there easily from the USC campus.

The USC campus had been amazing. Large buildings, both modern and classical brick, yet organized and laid out she could easily get around. And the students-well, many looked rather well off. Almost like in Phoenix. She shuddered, remembering all the snooty rich kids in Phoenix. On the other hand, she had been able to lose herself in the enormous high school in Phoenix. She didn't attract attention, which was fine.

She was finishing high school in Forks, though, not Phoenix. What a change. Forks High had less than 400 students in the entire school. Bella had spent weeks as the center of attention when she transferred. She'd made a few friends quickly, though. More friends then she had in Phoenix. She knew Angela and the others would be waiting to hear about her experiences.

As for the Last Bookstore, it had surpassed her expectations. It was filled with what she could only call book art or book sculpture. Murals made of books, peek holes in stacks, and a walk-in safe containing mystery and crime novels. The checkout counters were made of stacks of books and she had even walked through a book tunnel! She'd spent an hour exploring before looking at any individual books.

Now, browsing in the stacks, she saw a sign for an upcoming book signing. It was for the hot new YA book, Life and Death. She'd heard of it, even in Fork, and thought it sound-well, melodramatic. What else was there to write about? That title 'bout covered it all.

She picked up the book. It was huge. As she flipped through it, she noticed the page orientation reversed around the midway point. Misprint? She turned it over and saw it was two books. Clever. Two books for one.

She sensed someone next to her as a musky, sweet scent filled the air.

Closing her eyes, she inhaled the amazing cologne, letting the notes roll over her. When she opened her eyes, no one was there. She peeked around the stacks, but only saw a girl at the far end. She couldn't shake the felling that someone had been next to her; someone who had come and gone too quickly to see.

That's when she noticed. Her backpack was gone. Damn. She had only looked away for a second and she'd been robbed. She patted the purse she wore on her shoulder. It was still fastened and she kept her cash there. She still felt violated. Bookstores were supposed to be safe.

So much for her purchases. She'd have to replace the books in her backpack.

She walked up to the front to report the theft and pulled up short, stunned. There it was. Her back pack was on the counter.

Bella picked it up and looked inside. "Excuse me," she said to the bearded guy behind the counter who was going through a box of books. He looked up. "Do you know where this came from?"

He shook his head.

"I mean, it's mine," Bella said, "but I looked away and it was gone."

"Probably some good Samaritan dropped it off," the employee said. "Book people watch out for one another." He smiled and went back to sorting the box of books.

Bella returned his smile, though she wasn't feeling it. She watched him for a minute, wondering about all the books. Whose were they? Where would they go next?

Before leaving the counter, she did a quick inventory of the backpack contents. Most of her stuff was still there. Only her red blouse was missing. Crap. Renee had given that to her.

Before leaving, she refiled her stack of books. As she exited, she put out her arms and stretched, soaking in the evening sun. The buildings lining the street were like canyons above her, and the heat reflected off of the sidewalk, even this late in October. This area was part crazy town. It had a bohemian feel, buildings rising and decaying all around. The stale smell of old urine mixed with the smell of churros from a small shop. Someone must be trying to develop the area, but the results were spotty.

The mentally disturbed homeless lining the sidewalks wailed or yelled to people no one else could see. People passed without giving them a second look. Two policemen on a corner were giving someone a ticket.

Bella hurried to get back on the subway and catch the bus for the airport. She had kept her trip short, just in and out, only having stayed one night.

She didn't have to wait long for the red line metro. The station in non-rush hour was well-it, but there weren't many people in the echo-ey platform. A whoosh of wind from the tunnel announced the train before she saw it.

When the doors open, she grabbed a seat, holding her backpack on her lap. A few other people got on. Only a few stops to Union Station.

She noticed that distinctive aftershave again. Stronger this time, even more powerful. She wanted to lose herself in it. This time she focused on the notes of the fragrance more closely. The scent was musky with hints of honey and sunshine on a hot dusky day outside. How had someone bottled sunshine?

One of the other passenger must be wearing it.

Glancing around, she tried to guess which one. She eliminated the women and a few homeless who looked unwashed. She narrowed it down to a tall guy standing to the side with his back to her. Wiry build, wearing a blue hoodie over jeans. Dang, she couldn't get a look at his face.

Funny, she hadn't remembered seeing him on the car when she boarded, but whatever. Big city. She would be glad to get out of here. Being robbed in the bookstore was definitely helping form her opinion of whether to live here or not. Not was winning.

She shivered and debated whether to get her book out for the short ride and decided against it, opting for staying alert. She'd already been robbed once. She clutched her backpack a little tighter to her chest.

The train slid to another stop then finally approached Union Station. The announcer took forever to announce the coming stop, but she knew she was there because all of the other passengers pushed off the train when the doors slid open. She looked around, hoping to see the face of the wiry guy from the corner, but didn't see him. He must have gotten off at the other end of the car.

Once on the platform, she saw someone wearing a hoodie going up the escalator, so she took the same escalator.

When she got to the top of the escalator, he was gone.

It wasn't like he had been enveloped in a crowd, as Union Station wasn't as busy as it had been when she arrived the day before. Yesterday morning, the cavernous halls of the Art Deco building had been filled with a stream of people. She hadn't had any trouble finding the subway as she'd been told to just "follow the people." It was good advice, as they had led her down the escalator to the red line platform.

She sighed. The guy must have ducked into a Starbucks or one of the other little shops in the corridor. Oh well. Her mystery man had vanished.

Bella followed signs to the bus port where she waited for the airport bus, taking a last look at the setting sun. She looked around a few times, having the curious sense she was being followed. Oddly, this didn't disturb her as much as it should have. She felt a sense of excitement, almost a yearning, from somewhere deep inside.

Must be jet lag, she thought. Soon she would be back home, in rainy Forks.

Xxx

So, another little story popped into my head, after all the book signing events recently. Bella in a book store.

I also have a little drabble going, called "Halloween, the movie-Twilight style," I'll be posting the final chapters on Halloween.

Please leave a review and let me know what you think. Hope you're having a great October. Tomorrow is Halloween!