Wish (Wishing Well #1)

Chapter 4

The next week passed quickly.  Angela and Emily had worked in the library almost every day going through the books, disposing the ones that weren’t salvageable and making a list of what they needed to replace.  Thankfully there had been more books they were able to save than books they had to dispose of. They had managed to get all the useable books reshelved and the library began to feel less skeletal and more homey again.  While they had been going through all the books, Emily had made massive headway in the cataloging project Angela had assigned to her. This time, Angela let Emily input the information in the computer rather than making her do it all with pen and paper first.  Once the replacement books came in, Emily would be able to catalog them and be done with the project until the next time they bought new books or needed to remove any from the system.

The library had opened again yesterday. Surprisingly, it was slower than Emily was expecting.  Thankfully, the incident had taken place during a break, but there were still students taking Summer classes so she would have expected more traffic in the library. There was only so much a person could do when there was nothing to be done. Emily had shelved any books that needed shelving, had dusted and straightened the shelves, and as new books came in she had been adding them to the system and getting them covered and stickers before shelving them. She had gotten hopeful a few times when students came in the library, but it was usually that guy that liked to sleep on the couch at the back of the room, or people passing through to get to the campus’ back parking lot.

The second day that the library was open Angela had asked Emily to go through the accounts and check for overdue books. Emily was glad for something to do even if it was one of the most tedious jobs there was in the library. After receiving her directions from Angela, Emily rolled to the metal cabinet in the center of the circulation desk area and retrieved a notebook to write out the overdue books. Placing the notebook on the desk beside her keyboard she got to work.

She had been slogging through the accounts and copying down overdue books for almost an hour when she decided it was time for a break. She leaned back as far as her chair would allow and stretched her arms over her head and behind her back. The cracking in her spine felt heavenly after switching between leaning towards her computer and being bent over her desk for so long. She rolled her shoulders and  leaned her head from side to side, trying to relieve some of the tension from her shoulders and neck. Standing, Emily pushed her chair in and grabbed the be back soon sign and the small, silver bell from beside her computer and placed it on the upper ledge of the circulation desk. She made her way to the back of the library where Angela's office was situated. Emily knocked on the door and peeked in.

Angela’s office was so opposite its owner that sometimes it still shocked Emily.  Angela was very conservative and straightlaced in her attire and her behavior, but her office was so colorful and out there.  Honestly, Angela’s office always reminded Emily of the fortune teller’s tent at a renaissance festival. There were beautiful colored scarves thrown over the lamps, dampening the light, beaded curtains rather than actual curtains or blinds, air plants were housed in glass globes hanging from the ceiling, and the room itself was painted a deep, rich plum color.  The only thing in the whole room, other than Angela, that didn’t fit the vibe and style of the office was Angela’s large, mahogany desk that housed her computer, her phone, and all of her files and paperwork.

Angela looked up from whatever paperwork she’d been working on and smiled at Emily.

“What's up, Em?” Angela asked.

“Would it be okay if I took a quick break and got a snack?” Emily asked.

“Sure! Where were you going to go?” Angela asked, as she reached for something under her desk. Retrieving her purse, she started to rifle through it, presumably digging for money.