I literally hate the author's notes at the beginning of a chapter, but I need to let all the readers know.
*Pauses dramatically*
Keefe has an inner fanboy.
That I created, but it still counts.
Keefe sighed as he stepped into the Mysterium library. This time, he wasn't here to solve some crazy mystery, not that he got any information about it last time.
Fitz was right next to him, so it was nice that he didn't come alone.
Keefe walked over to the librarians desk and handed over the card he had gotten last time. The librarian looked up from her work and watched him from under her glasses.
Wait, she didn't have glasses last time...
"Hi Lady Lindra." Keefe said.
She opened her mouth, probably to ask how he knew her name, and then closed it. Recognition sparked in her eyes.
"I know you.." She said, pushing her glasses up her face.
"You do. I came here not so long ago?"
"Ah, yes. Security boy."
"What?"
"You told me what you would do if everyone knew your name. I think it had to do with 3 locks, the chicken dance, and blue plastic hairbrushes?"
"Oh, right. I remember. Did you actually do that?"
"Your system worked perfectly. I might ask you to write a book about security systems for houses."
"Nah, I'm good. And also, did you get glasses? I feel like last time I was here, you glared at me from across the room for talking."
She made a 'Haha-loser-I'm-so-much-better-than-you' face and sniffed self importantly. "They make me look like a librarian,"
"Of course." Keefe said. He did not want to get on this lady's bad side.
Fitz walked up next to Keefe from where he was standing in the back and plopped the poster boards he was holding on the ground so they were leaning against the desk. "Hey, Lady Lindra, how are you?"
She smiled. "Hello, Fitz. I'm perfectly fine. How are you?"
"I'm good. By the way, how does Keefe know you? I don't think he's ever gone here?"
"Oh, he only came once. But he gave me such a good idea for a security system."
Fitz's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What do you need security from?"
Lady Lindra and Keefe spoke at the same time
"Fans."
"Book Recommendations."
Fitz looked more confused than ever. "First of all, Keefe, I doubt you even have fans. And if you did, they wouldn't come to your house. No one comes to your house. And Lady Lindra.. aren't you a librarian? Wouldn't you like book recommendations? And book recommendations can't exactly walk to your house and knock on your door."
Keefe and Lady Lindra looked at each other. "You'll never understand." Lady Lindra said.
At the same time, Keefe said, "You're not cool enough to get it."
Fitz rolled his eyes. "Okay then. We need to focus. Do you have any books about The Universe? We need books to do our homework. We're supposed to research as much as we can and then make a project about the coolest things we learned."
"Ah. Fun facts about stars? I have tons. Follow me."
They both trailed behind her as she walked to a shelf full of books near the front.
"Hmm, stars, right?" She pulled out an entire section of books and handed the stack to Fitz.
Keefe made a face at how many books Fitz was holding. You couldn't even see his face over the books.
"Have fun!" Lady Lindra called back as she went to her desk.
"So, uh, Fitz?" Keefe asked, quietly since he didn't want the whole library to tell him to shut up. Again.
"Yeah?"
"Do we have to read all of those?"
"Nope. You have to read all of those." Fitz said, smiling smugly. "You have a photographic memory. So you read them, tell me the facts, and I'll make the poster."
"Woah, you're making mine too?"
"No way. You're on your own." Fitz put all the books down at a random table.
"So why should I read all these books to you if you're not helping?"
"Because you're too kind to say no?" Fitz guessed.
"Uh. No." Keefe said. "No way. I'm not doing that."
He plopped down at the table and started looking over the covers and titles of the books.
"Fine. You tell me facts and I'll make mine, and I'll tell you facts and you make yours."
"I'd do the same amount of work if I just work alone." Keefe said.
"But you're not going to do that." Fitz said.
"I'm not." Keefe agreed. "So, let's do this." He took the book at the top of the pile and scanned the first page.
Fitz sat on the ground and started to write the title of his poster. Keefe flipped through the pages, trying to focus on the ones that seemed cool.
***************
After two hours that felt like a hundred years, Keefe and Fitz finished their posters.
As much as Keefe hated to admit it, he would have finished way slower if Fitz wasn't helping him.
But he could tell that Fitz was impressed by his drawing. It wasn't something Keefe liked to share, though, so he acted like it was nothing.
To him, drawing was not nothing. But still.
When they finished, they told Lady Lindra to keep their posters safe. Biana was feeling particularly angry at Fitz and Keefe did not want his father to go anywhere near his poster, so they asked Lady Lindra to keep them safe for them.
She took out a blue plastic hairbrush.
Keefe wondered what that meant.
"I had this custom made. You see, there is this book series I quite like, but it's in human. English, I believe. Anyway, I read the translated version, and just had to get this. We don't use plastic in the Lost Cities, you know."
"I happen to love reading." Keefe said. Fitz gave him a strange look. "What's it called?"
"Peter Johnson and the Olympics, I believe."
"Woah, you mean Percy Jackson?" Keefe grinned. "I love that series. I read it last time I was here."
Fitz made a strangled sort of noise, and Keefe looked at him, eyes glowing with excitement. "It's so good, Fitzy! You should read it!"
Fitz looked like he might pass out.
"The plot is so good! It had complex and likable characters, an interesting plot, and it was just so good!"
Keefe made a sound that could have been a squeal. It sure sounded like a squeal.
Fitz sat down on the closest table with his head in his hands.
"It took Percabeth so long to happen. Don't they just belong together?"
Lady Linda grinned. "Yes, it is so good! Percy and Annabeth together are unstoppable. Beautiful." She sniffs and wipes an imaginary tear from her eye.
"Have you read Harry Potter?" Keefe asks Lady Lindra.
"Of course I have! Honestly, some of these human books might be better than ours. Some elves just don't have any sense of creativity."
"You could write a book." Keefe suggests.
Lady Lindra's eyes light up. "You're right!" She gasps, and hurries away into a room at the far corner of the library.
Fitz stands up and holds up his home crystal. He drags Keefe forward.
"Take out your home crystal." Fitz says. "If I ever come to a library with you again, I'm going to be sick."
He did look a little green. Then again, Keefe was not acting like himself either.
Anyway, that took way too long to write. I've been writing my other story, Hidden Royalties.
I'm terrible at titles, but at least check it out...
*Coughs awkwardly*
Anywayyyy.......
I'm in a strange mood today, as you can tell from my writing.
I'm pretty sure everything that happened in this chapter is pretty impossible and they don't have translated forms of human books in their libraries, but still.
It was worth it for Keefe to squeal over Percabeth.
This chapter was boring.
~Zara