Where the Skies are Blue

Chapter Eight:

The bell dings above my head. Maggie's eyes dart up from the computer she's looking at, big funky glasses on her face making her eyes look huge. Her white hair wild around her face. She's in a navy green blouse. Her mouth opens in an O shape at the sight of me. "Oh, Auden! You came! I was so worried I scared you off and you wouldn't show up today." She flashes me a big smile, and I bring myself over to the register. "Excited for your first day?"

I nod. "Very."

"Don't say that just yet. Let me know if you're still wanting to work here after the long day, I have planned for you." She laughs and moves behind the register, waving for me to follow her. "So, really, all I need from you until it's finished is just help to organize the place. As you can see, nothing is where it's supposed to be. I've got Twilight in nonfiction and 1984 in romance." She thumps her head with the palm of her hand. "It's a complete mess in here. I've got you and Ender working to fix this place up."

"Ender?"

"Oh, the other employee, dear. He's your age, I believe. You guys can either knock it out together or take different sections, up to you." She turns sharply down an aisle, and I follow behind her, my eyes looking over the shelves of books that look like they're about to topple down on my head. "I'd also like you guys to help relabel the sections, and maybe jot down on a sheet of paper if I've got duplicates of any books. I haven't got a clue what I have at this point, that's how unorganized I am."

Maggie's short, about the same height as me, maybe just an inch shorter. I reached my growth spurt in sixth grade, making myself the tallest at five foot two, then I never grew again. Staying that exact height forever. Never getting any taller. Now, mostly everyone is taller than me. So much for having long, model-like legs.

"Ender, there you are!" Maggie exclaims. "This place is a maze. Auden, this is Ender, who you'll be working with. Ender, this is Auden. She's our new employee who just moved here all the way from Arizona!" Her excitement is contagious.

She steps to the side in this narrow space where there are bookshelves on either side of us, revealing a boy who is crouched down on the floor, slipping a book on the shelf.

As he rises to his feet, I clutch my elbow nervously.He's tall. Six feet, at least. Olive skin. Amazing cheekbones like he just jumped out of the Twilight novel Maggie mentioned earlier. With messy, dark brown hair that, in this lighting, looks nearly black. Sloppy curls are pushed off his face as he drags his fingers through his hair lazily, as if even that gesture is too much effort for him. He looks at me with these dark, deepening eyes, as if they're reaching into my soul, feeling around, searching for all my secrets. Lean, muscular arms that now fold across his chest as he leans against the unsteady bookshelf, unaware that a million books are probably seconds away from concussing him.

I swallow hard. Holy shit. Ender. The silence is deafening, as Maggie looks between us eagerly, her smile never fading. Obviously, I need to be the one to say something, as it's evident, Ender has no plan to do so. "Hello," I say simply, my voice squeaky.I clear my throat. His stare is so powerful, so mesmerizing, that I'm beginning to think maybe he can see into my soul. Maybe he really is finding out everything about me. I shift my feet nervously. "Hi." I repeat.

"Hi." He then says, in a husky, low voice.

"Hi." I repeat for some reason.

His mouth twists slightly. "Hi."

"Okay, great, you're acquainted." Maggie interrupts before I embarrass myself again by repeating the same thing over and over again. "Well, I'll be at the front, trying to figure out the new system. If you guys have any questions, you know where to find me. Chop, chop!" She claps her hands before whisking off, leaving Ender and I alone.