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.
“Thank you!! I was thinking of running to the snack machine real quick,” replied Emily. “You want something?”
Angela nodded vigorously as she extended a few crumpled bills toward Emily.
“Please!” she replied, desperation coloring her tone. “Anything with chocolate!”
Emily laughed. Taking the bills from her boss, she turned and made her way toward the door, tossing a, “You got it, boss!” over her shoulder as she left the office.
One of the other student workers had arrived and was looking around. When her eyes landed on Emily she smiled and waved. Emily made her way back behind the circulation desk to get money from her own purse.
“How’s it going Penelope?” Emily enquired, as she searched through her bag for her coin purse.
“Great!” Penelope chirped. “I’m glad to be back, but I really, really enjoyed all the time off! It was really nice of you and Angela to take care of the whole library situation!”
Thankful she was still crouched down, facing the cabinet, Emily rolled her eyes. All of the student workers should have helped put the library back in order, in her opinion. Once the time came to put the library back in order, she was the only one that had showed up to help Angela.
Even though she was “second in command” it really irked her that the others hadn’t felt the need to help. When she had expressed her opinion to Angela, Angela had laughed and told her, “Em, that’s just the way life is sometimes. Not everyone is always as driven as we would like, or as reliable. Would it make the work go by faster for the others to be here? Sure. Is grousing about it going to make the work go by any faster? No. So I figure that we might as well keep working and if the others show up, then great, and if they don’t, great.”
Emily rolled her eyes in annoyance and crossed her arms.
“Now, Emily.” Angela said with a stern voice and a sharp look on her face. “The others are only working in the library for their work study. After so many hours they won’t be able to work here any more because of the guidelines with their financial aid. You were lucky to get hired on part-time as a student. AND you love this job. You work more than you’re required to and you don’t even get paid for it. I may be in charge of the library staff, but for all we know they were told by higher ups at the school to just leave it to us and not come in so their work study hours would last them longer.”
Though she had still been unsatisfied with that answer, she knew that Angela was probably right and went back to work without complaint.
Shaking herself from her bad mood and her flashback, she stood and turned to face Penelope.
“Thanks.” she replied, trying to sound more enthused than she felt. “It was a lot of work, but surprisingly enough, Angela and I had fun.”
Emily started to move out from behind the desk again, money in hand.
“I'm getting a snack. You want anything?” She asked Penelope.
“Oh no, that's okay!” Penelope answered. “I had an early lunch before I came in so I'm good!”
“Okay,” Emily replied. “I'll be right back. The bell is on the desk. There isn't really anything to do, but maybe see if any of the books need straightening.”
Penelope chirped, “Okie dokie!” And headed toward the shelves. Emily made her way out of the library and down the hallway toward the snack machine.
***
Emily was unsurprised to see the library still empty when she returned from grabbing the snacks. She was impressed to see Penelope was actually putting forth effort in straightening the shelves. Angela was sitting at the circulation desk, leafing through one of the newspapers they had received earlier in the week. Angela looked up and smiled when she heard Emily approaching.
“One. That has to have been the shortest break in the history of breaks,” Angela deadpanned, giving Emily a flat look. “Two. Woman, did you get my chocolate?!”
Laughing, Emily handed over the candy and Angela’s change. Angela snatched the chocolate bar the moment it was presented to her and proceeded to rip it open, snarfing the chocolate as quickly as possible, looking more like a feral animal than Emily’s mostly prim and proper boss.
“I’m telling you, Em,” Angela said between bites. “If Ralph doesn’t start cooking something edible real soon I’m going to waste away to nothing.”
Angela paused between bites and thought for a moment before continuing, “Or I’m going to have to send him to some sort of cooking school that boards their students so I can eat something edible on a daily basis, even if it’s burnt toast and cereal.”
Emily tried to stifle her laughter. This wasn’t the first time Angela had given a speech like this, but it was certainly her most passionate one. Before Emily could respond the sound of the library door opening caught her attention. Emily glanced toward the door and whatever response she might have given Angela died on the tip of her tongue. It was him, Jimin. Angela turned her head to see what had gotten Emily all tongue tied and she went slack jawed.
“Oh my gosh,” Angela breathed out.
Emily was still speechless. The campus wasn’t huge, but she certainly hadn’t expected to see him again this soon, if at all. He looked at the floor as he made his way into the room. He was wearing torn jeans and boots again today, but rather than a long sleeved shirt he was wearing a plain black t-shirt and had a black backpack slung over one shoulder. Once again, he was wearing a few silver rings, and this time he was wearing a few silver bracelets as well. Guys around here didn’t really wear much jewelry, aside from piercings, much like the ones Jimin had, though they didn’t usually have as many as he did, but there was something about the jewelry gracing his fingers and wrists that she found oddly attractive. He was about halfway to the circulation desk when he finally looked up, almost as if he had felt her eyes on him. When he noticed her behind the circulation desk, he momentarily looked surprised, but then a huge smile broke out on his face, causing his dark, shining eyes to almost disappear as they turned into crescents. He hefted his backpack higher on his shoulder and with a more confident, determined gait headed straight for her.
Angela was still in awe of Jimin.
“Emily who is that?? Is it him?? Is it the coffee guy?” Angela asked, firing questions at her more quickly than she could formulate an answer.
All Emily could do was nod. Angela smacked her lightly on the shoulder.
“Why didn’t you tell me he was one of the most handsome men to ever grace this campus??” she whispered, moments before Jimin reached the desk.
Emily's face burnt in embarrassment as she turned to look at Jimin. As soon as she took in his face her fears were confirmed. He had heard what Angela said; the blush staining his cheeks was proof enough. Emily shifted uncomfortably, not sure what to say. Angela kept elbowing her in the hip, and when Emily cut her eyes over to Angela, she kept staring pointedly from Emily to Jimin and back again. They were taken from their silent conversation when Jimin cleared his throat, immediately snapping their attention back to him.
“Hello again,” he said softly. “It's nice to see you when I'm not about to inadvertently cause you bodily harm.”
Suddenly feeling shy, Emily ducked her head, “It's nice to see you again, Jimin.”
She looked back up at him and returned the smile he was giving her. Angela cleared her throat, startling them.
“Since Emily seems to have lost her manners,” Angela said huffily. “I'm her boss, Angela.”
She extended her hand to Jimin. Jimin jerkily reached out and clasped her hand, giving it a shake.
“It's nice to meet you, ma'am,” he said, the blush returning to his cheeks.
“It's nice to meet you, too.” Angela replied warmly. “I appreciate youths with manners. Even young men that almost flatten my favorite employee.”
Jimin's blush deepened as he shuffled his feet in embarrassment. Angela's eyes were twinkling with mischief.
“Angela,” Emily started, embarrassment coloring her tone.
“Oh, calm down, Em,” Angela said with a roll of her eyes. “Jimin, I'm just teasing and it really is nice to meet you. Emily spends most of her time here working and if she isn't here, she's at Tracks, or hanging out at home.”
Emily's eyes widened. She could not believe that Angela was doing this to her. Jimin didn't need to think she was some kind of sad recluse. She had a life. She just preferred to spend it doing the things she enjoyed. Meeting people and making new friends was hard when you don't like to go out and socialising stresses you out.
“Angela,” she groaned.
“Maybe having a friend like you will be good for her!! Maybe she'll come out of her shell more!” Angela said, enthusiastically.
Emily covered her face, wanting nothing more than for a hole to open up in the floor and swallow her. Jimin chuckled, furthering Emily's desire to disappear. Before Emily could apologize for Angela and make some excuse to get out of there, Jimin spoke.
“Honestly, I think if Emily wants to be my friend I'll be honored. From what little I know of her she seems like a really cool person.”
He looked over at Emily and gave her the sweetest eye smile she had ever seen in her life. If she wanted to be friends with him. Pffftt. Was he crazy? Of course she would be happy to be friends with him. She just hoped that she wouldn't be too awkward or anxious and chase him away. She'd always struggled a little bit to make friends, because she always felt too much or enjoyed things too much for most people.
“Emily,” Jimin said, obviously having spoken to her while she was off in lalaland.
“I would love to be your friend,” Emily answered, probably a little more enthusiastically than was necessary.
Jimin giggled.
“Um, great, but I was asking if you had plans later and if not maybe you'd like to show me around campus? Or around town?” he asked, fidgeting with the strap of his backpack.
Emily smacked her hand to her forehead.
“Oh my gosh. Yes. I can do that.” She replied. “I get off work at four, so I can meet you in the student union around then if you want.”
“That would be great!” Jimin answered, enthusiastically.
Before either of them could say anything else, Angela reinserted herself in the conversation.
“Emily, you put in so much time on your time off and putting the library back in order why don't you just take the rest of the afternoon off,” she said, a glimmer in her eye. “The library is dead anyway. I'm sure Penelope can manage without you until the end of her shift.”
Emily opened and closed her mouth. She was sure she looked like a goldfish, but as much as she felt like she should stay she knew Angela was right. For the first time in a while she was going to do something out of character for her.
She turned and walked to the cabinet to retrieve her bag. As she situated the bag on her shoulder she turned around and smiled at Angela and Jimin. Angela was giving her the biggest grin and conspiratorily gave her a thumbs up.
“All right!” Emily said, a surge of excitement running through her as her eyes met Jimin's. “What would you like to see first?”
Thanks for reading!! Sorry for the slow chapter. You have no idea how much I agonized over this one 😂😭 anyway, I hope you're enjoying the story! I'll try to have a new chapter out on Sunday!