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HEATHER BAY
I have to say, ever since I got hired at Barnes And Noble, more and more people have been buying books. Right now, the place is packed, guys and girls, elderly too. Charlie, my teddy bear of a boss, is loving the traction and hating the fact that I wear glasses. I lied and said I needed them; the truth is I wear them to seem less appealing.
This is a job, not a club. Despite my attempt, the glasses didn't work. I think I'm the hot librarian now; even the curly, bang blonde wig I have on isn't making me less attractive. Hopefully, the no-makeup does the trick. A few guys are right now, mostly checking me out from the bookshelves. I ignore this group and direct my attention to an old lady who lays cooking books on the counter. "He he he." She chuckles. "Men, am I right?"
I laugh with her. "Yeah."
"So scared to say the first word, but boy can they stare. Enjoy it, sweetie; it becomes flattering later in life."
I quickly scan her books and bag them just as fast, another talent my boss loves. "I hope you're right...that'll be $33.50."
"That's the fastest checkout I've ever had, thank you."
"You're welcome, and stay cool for the heatwave."
The lady shuffles off and gives me a nice wave. "You too, dearie."
One of the peeping toms heads over to the counter. He's short and dark-haired with a cock sure expression. "Hey..." The guy cooly leans onto the counter.
"Don't..." I cut him off with a huff. "I heard them all. Mind if I check you out? I bet you have quite a nice bookworm! Are you a librarian? Well, I really need to be shushed right now! Damn... you have more hardcovers than my private stash. Let's play search engine: enter your terms and see if you get positive results." I finally take a breath. "Either buy a book or leave. I don't have time for it."
"Oh, no, I actually wanted to ask a writing-related question. I'm a writer."
My face goes red. "Sorry...I'm just...sorry. I'm not an expert on writing, but I guess I can give advice."
He leans closer to me. "Yeah, I'm into science."
"That's cool."
"And I was wondering, do you know the difference between nooky and The LC Subject Headings?"
"No," I reply with a shake of my curly hair and part my lips.
"The answer is in my room." He pokes smoothly. I throw a violent stare at him; the jerk hackles at my face as he walks off to his group. "It's too easy!" He high-fives his friends.
Two teenager girls plop Twilight: New Moon, Hunger Games Book Set, and The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones down on the counter. I smile faintly and ring up the books, Enjoying the beeping scan sound. It soothes my nerves of embarrassment. The smell of roasted beans from the Starbucks within the book shop stains my nose. This also calms me. Relax, there's only two more hours. Just make it to 4 pm.
"Aren't you the librarian from TikTok?" A chubby, red-haired girl asks.
One of them gasps. "She is!" A girl with back-length, orange hair mouth drops. "Last I saw, you had 3.8k hearts and 332 comments!"
My eyes widen, and I freeze mid-scan. Did someone really record me! Fucking ridiculous! "What? No, no, I'm sure there's a mix-up." I dismiss the claim.
"No, you're right; that girl had dark hair and no glasses and was hotter." The redhead agrees.
Her friend bursts out in laughter. "Damn!"
Yes I succeeded at being less hot than my previous self 😉 I smile lightly at this achievement. "That'll be $64.20; thank you for participating in the 50% off sale. Enjoy our new green drink samples. The server will be back in five minutes." I bag the books as payment is fulfilled through apple pay.
"Cool, thanks." The chubby girl nods. I hand them the bags.
At home, I kick off flats and find redness around the sides of my sore feet. "God, I need new shoes." I hear my phone's FaceTime tune chiming. I remove my phone from my back pocket and answer.
"Hey, Boo!"
On the screen, a tiny featured girl with a shaved pixie cut beams at me. "Hiii!" I flop onto my bed in an empty room; the sound bounces from the walls like a tomb. "You still don't have furniture?!" My girlfriend's caramel eyes examine my background.
I stretch my arms high to get a better angle on the camera. "No, I'm saving up, plus no one is coming over, so it's a waste of money."
Jenna's chocolate skin glows under dim light as she shakes her head. "Wow."
"It's true, tho," I argue.
"Not to me; I always stock my place."
"Okay, miss fancy." I chuckle.
"Anyway, I found the video."
I groan and close my eyes in protest. "No."
"Yes."
"Wait, I only told you-"
"Two hours ago...I scroll fast; you should know that of all people." She winks flirtatiously.
I bit my lip. "Well, I would if you were here."
A ding comes from my phone. I exit from the video chat to view my messenger. I tap on the TikTok video Jenna sent me. I get redirected to the app and find myself in a video ringing up customers at the register. Black hair, no glasses, no bangs. 5.422k hearts and 402 comments. The video caption reads Hottie Making Coffee 😈
"You look so sexy." Jenna coos at me like a mother to a newborn.
"Sexy doesn't belong at work, Jen." I feel her roll her eyes at my statment. "I wonder who recorded me..."
