Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80982 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80982 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
To my surprise, I actually made it to work a little early, and I was able to sort through the last of the returned books. I was about to put them back on the shelf when Liv, the STEM teacher and a dear friend, stepped into the library.
Liv was a good bit younger than me, short, and just about as wide as she was tall. She had the most beautiful strawberry-blonde hair and freckles and the most contagious smile I’d ever seen. She was fun and a little silly, always dancing around like she had a secret no one else knew, and yet, she was the most organized, most prepared teacher in the entire school.
She scurried over to me with her lips pressed together and excitement in her eyes. As soon as she was close, she announced, “I have tea!”
“Okay, spill it.”
“We’re about to lose two good ones.”
“Define good ones…” I dropped my hands to my side and whined, “Because if you mean the ones who actually send their kids back with their library books, I might cry.”
“Well, then you might want to break out a box of tissues.”
“You gotta be kidding me.”
“No joke.” Liv glanced over her shoulder, making sure no one could hear as she said, “Lainey is putting in her resignation as we speak, and Melissa is submitting hers at the end of the month.”
“Lainey is leaving?”
“Yep. She’s decided she wants to stay home with the baby.” She sighed dramatically. “I’m so freaking jealous… Do you know how bad I want to stay at home and watch my babies? I could stay in my comfy pants all day, go to the bathroom whenever I wanted, and eat whenever I got hungry. It would be a dream.”
“Yeah, there’s just one problem.”
“I know. I know. I don’t have any babies, but one day…”
“Most definitely.” I took a sip of my coffee before asking, “So, what’s the story with Melissa?”
“No story. She’s just tapping out.” Liv shrugged. “It’s crazy. She’s been here longer than anyone. I thought she’d never leave, but I guess she’s finally had enough.”
“I can’t really blame her. All the testing is overwhelming. I thank the good Lord every day that I don’t have to deal with that nonsense.”
“Isn’t that the truth, and it doesn’t help matters that our pay sucks.” Liv shook her head. “You know, I heard her son went to work straight out of high school and is already making more than her.”
“Now, that would hurt my feelings.”
“It hurts mine. I hate living check to check, but it’s a job.”
“And you’re really good at it.”
“And you’re the best librarian on the planet.”
“You say that now.” I cocked my brow. “It won’t be long before I have to start the end-of-the-year audit, my very own, personal Hunger Games, where I have to hunt down the three hundred books that mysteriously vanished.”
“Ah, the joys of the librarian.”
“It’s crazy. I’ve been doing this for almost twenty years, and I still don’t understand what happens. The kids are good all year about returning them, but when the last few weeks of school come around, they suddenly lose all sense of responsibility.”
“Just mark them lost.”
“I can’t!” I wailed. “The district is so damn tight. I won’t have any books unless I find them, so I do what I gotta do. I go to each and every classroom, and I hound the kids and the teachers until someone coughs up my book.”
“It’s like spirit week, but with more tears.”
The words had barely left her mouth when the library door creaked open. Silence fell over the room when CeeCee stepped inside with her perfect bun, fitted dress, and her “don’t speak to me” expression. She glanced over at us, only for a second, and then she continued toward the copier room.
Liv, being Liv, couldn’t let her get away without saying, “I hear congratulations are in order.”
Cee stopped dead in her tracks, let out a slow breath, and muttered something under her breath before turning to face Liv. A sharp smirk tugged at her lips as she replied, “Well, I was hoping to keep things under wraps for a little while longer, but oh, well. What can you do?”
I didn’t look at her.
I couldn’t.
I was afraid I would lash out and say something I shouldn’t. It would’ve been easy. A dozen snide comments were sitting right there on the tip of my tongue, petty little things that would’ve hurt her and given me a small taste of vengeance, but I kept them to myself. I always kept them to myself.
Unlike me, Liv wasn’t afraid to say what was on her mind. She crossed her arms as she sassed back, “Well, the struggle is real, especially when you have as many secrets as you do.”
That little zinger gave my heart an extra beat, and I had to bite back my smile. CeeCee’s gaze flickered over to me, and for half a second, her expression changed, and she looked at me like she used to, like she was my best friend needing a shoulder to lean on.