Dear diary,
Tonight was Hallowe’en at the library, and we put on the best show ever!
Pepper had been organising this for months. She’d put costume design sketches and itinerary documents all around the staffroom, so that it resembled a police incident room. She’d made each of our costumes from scratch, although it was us who were out of pocket – the petty cash jar in the staffroom has seen a lot of use over the past few weeks. I think she felt bad about having missed all the drama that happened last month, and was trying to get all of us (and succeeding in getting herself) excited about this party to bring some cheer back into the library.
I finished my shift at 5:00 and ran to the bathroom to get changed. There wasn’t much room, and I could hear Shannon struggling into her costume in the next cubicle (at least, I hoped that was what she was doing). Pepper had done an amazing job: it looked exactly as I would have imagined a devil-cum-trickster-cum-ghetto-pimp-cum-jazz-club-singer to look like. It took me almost an hour to put the whole thing on, making sure that my bowler hat didn’t cover the horns and that my automated swishing tail didn’t swish where it shouldn’t.
We all assembled at the front desk. Boudecia, dressed in a giant tawny owl costume (quite fitting, considering she can quite literally morph into one), stood beside Pepper, the most awesome-looking witch a library has ever seen. Her hat was crooked to perfection, and I had to duck whenever she came close for fear of losing an eye. Pepper cackled, and set us all to our tasks without breaking character.
Talia walked off towards Junior to set up for the Monster Mash dance. She was a paragon of seduction in her flowing red velvet dress streaked with black. She turned and for a moment I thought she smiled at me, her eyeshadow dark and vampiric fangs glinting. But then TJ, now her boyfriend, ambled past me to join her, stumbling in a zombie-like manner to match his costume. I sighed. Goldie and Ernesto departed together to the meeting room, now the Cave of Scary Stories. It was an unusual sight: Queen Nefertiti being accompanied by a shamanic priest.
We opened the library front doors at 7:30 to let the giddily excitable kids and their reluctant yet secretly impressed parents in. Sylvia and I had rigged the lights so that they emitted only a dim glow. The smoke machine and eerie instrumental music added to the effect. We greeted our guests divided them into four groups of about forty. Sylvia and Shannon – the gothic chick and Death – were hosting a collection of Hallowe’en-themed games in the meeting room; and Pepper and Boudecia roamed the library making sure all was going well, and doing some PR with the parents. That left myself and Bron (a.k.a. ride of Frankenstein) to host the treasure hunt in Non-Fiction.
We had twenty minute rotations so the kids wouldn’t get too bored of one activity. In between them we had five minute breaks so the kids could get drinks and stuff, though to be fair they were more a chance for us to recuperate. Overall the activities went really well. I won’t go into too much detail here as there are heaps of stories up on the library website. You can read all about it there. However, I do have one story which you probably won’t find on there.
THE MISSING GIRL
It was just after the third round, by which time we were stuffed. We’d been running around after the kids making sure they didn’t knock any more books off the shelves – we’d lost a chunk of the 150s when two of the little ones had accidentally head-butted each other and gone sprawling. I was holding Bron’s water bottle to her mouth because she was too exhausted to hold it herself. The bell sounded to signal that the fourth round was about to commence. I heaved Bron to her feet, and as we were psyching ourselves up for the final bout of chaos a girl came running up to us. I can’t find my friend Julie anywhere, she spluttered, she’s six years old, is she still in the maze?
I should explain: it had taken all week to set up, but we’d managed to turn Non-Fiction into a labyrinth. The shelves were naturally designed to lose people in, so all we needed to do to amplify that effect was rearrange them in the space we had and drape a thin black cloth across the top so you couldn’t navigate by following the starward lights. There were neon arrows inside warning kids of where the ‘walls’ were, and the prizes were just glow-sticks.
I dashed inside the maze but could find no sign of Julie. I emerged and immediately notified all the staff. Multiple headcounts and searches revealed nothing about her whereabouts. By this time the girl had become hysterical and was rocking back and forth on one of those tiny plastic chairs from the Junior section.
Bron seemed to have recovered completely from her weariness before. She whipped a radio out of her massive bouffant and told the person on the other end to Go Go Go. Immediately one of the windows by the carrels exploded in a shower of glass. A robot ran in and took cover under a desk chair. The robot looked at a complex-looking device on its wrist, then held it out towards the maze. It ran inside, and after a few seconds of silent suspense it emerged triumphant, a tattered doll held in an iron clasp by an iron clasp..
“JULIE!!!” The young girl jumped off her chair, ran to the pirate and sprang up into his arms. She clutched the doll and cried with joy. The robot removed its helmet to reveal his identity: Bron’s son, Bronson, our shelver. He stood heroic with the young girl around his shoulders for a few seconds, then, slowly, the combined weight of his costume and the damsel in distress took their toll and they crashed to the floor.
We sat around the staffroom after all the parents had dragged their kids home to bed. Everyone was exhausted, but it had definitely been worth it. Can’t wait for next year!
-Jay, shelver explorer
Friday, October 31, 2008
Sunday, October 5, 2008
#50 Farewells
Dear diary,
Well, that went well.
I pulled up at work this morning with a sick feeling in my stomach. There was a lot of risk involved in what Shannon and I were going to do today, I thought, so let’s get it over and done with. I rubbed my Shelvation Army badge, the one Talia had given me almost a year ago, for good luck, and walked into the library staffroom.
As soon as I walked in the door I knew something big was happening. Ernesto had come in from the hospital, with crutches. Sylvia was sitting beside him, and looked much more comfortable in her gothic make-up and long black dress than she had last time I’d seen her. Pepper was also there, trying to show everyone her holiday snaps and looking confused that no-one was paying her any attention. Everyone was… waiting.
Viktor and Boudecia stormed in, arguing with each other in that polite managerial way. Shannon waltzed in after them, looking rather smug and holding the damning documents in her hand. She coughed loudly to catch the attention of everyone. Once she had the stage she lifted the document up and announced that in this folder she had something very important to show everyone, and then proceeded to lay it down on the boardroom table. Everyone gathered around ot of curiosity. I couldn’t let her open it and take herself down with Viktor. They’d both be arrested and she’d never be able to work as a librarian.
I grabbed it out of her hands and rushed out of the room. I bolted through the library. Most people made way for me, but one old lady wasn’t fast enough and I had to spin deftly to avoid crashing into her. I snipped the side of her shopping basket and a cascade of fresh vegetables and family sagas went flying into the air.
A kid ran out of his mother’s arms and right into my path. He ducked, terrified, and I leapt over him heroically. That moment ended when I landed on a stray Eric Carle picture book and went skidding into BOB. Injured, I ran past Goldie at the desk and out of the library. I had to take the documents to the police, even if it meant sacrificing myself for the greater good.
My plans were (thankfully) thwarted by the protest that was going on outside the library. Bron had rallied a march against BiblioTech in the mistaken impression that they were to blame for the library’s downfall. I barreled into TJ, who was handing out pamphlets. Papers flew up and rained down on the amassed crowd. I fell backwards, winded, and passed out.
I came to in the staffroom. Pepper was waving smelling salts under my nose. I sat up quickly, and when my vision came to I saw I was surrounded by the rest of the staff: Boudecia, Bron, Ernesto, Goldie, Pepper, Shannon, Sylvia, TJ and… Talia! I jumped to my feet and gave her a huge hug. I was so happy to see her in these tough times. And then I noticed she was holding TJ’s hand, and they were both smiling awkwardly, and I knew that it was going to hurt later. But not yet.
Boudecia beckoned me away from the others. We walked over to the archival room. She nodded, and I pushed the door open. Viktor was sitting on a chair in the middle of the room, with a frozen look of pure terror on his face as he watched the ghosts circle around him. The Ghost Man appeared next to me and smiled before floating over to the other staff, none of whom, I noticed, were surprised in the least by his presence.
Boudecia walked into the room and closed the door. I counted three seconds before Viktor’s screams pierced the walls. There was a shredding sound, and another twelve seconds passed before he tore open the door and ran out through the back door of the library, his clothes torn and blood seeping from a scratch wound on his forehead. A white owl flew past me and harried him as he fled the building. I doubt we’ll be seeing him again.
So all’s well that ends well. Mostly. When she returned from her hunt, Boudecia reinstated TJ and Bron on the spot, and welcomed the other staff to return whenever they were ready. Talia explained that she really liked her other job and was going to stay there; another pain I would feel later. Bron jumped in and asked if her son could come and work for the library as a shelver, to which Boudecia agreed. The theft committed at Council the other night was completely overlooked in light of recent events. And that was that, it was back to work as per normal.
I worked at the desk in a dazed zombie state for several hours before Goldie came and laid a caring hand on my shoulder and told me to have a break. I shook my head and ran off to the shelves, hoping that being surrounded by the old volumes would cheer me up. I picked up a reference guide to electrical engineering and sat cross-legged in the middle of the walkway. A gaggle of schoolgirls started giggling at me. I was about to shush them when the Book Man stepped out of the shelves behind them and quietly said:
“Boo.” The girls broke the world record for the fastest panicked group dash. I looked up and caught what could have been a wink from the Book Man before he faded away. The rest of the night went much better after that.
So, I guess that’s it then. I think the events of late have taken their toll on me, so I might give this journal a rest for the time being. It’s been a wild rollercoaster of fun, excitement, heartache and fear, all fueled by pure adrenalin. Who ever said libraries were boring?
-Jay
Well, that went well.
I pulled up at work this morning with a sick feeling in my stomach. There was a lot of risk involved in what Shannon and I were going to do today, I thought, so let’s get it over and done with. I rubbed my Shelvation Army badge, the one Talia had given me almost a year ago, for good luck, and walked into the library staffroom.
As soon as I walked in the door I knew something big was happening. Ernesto had come in from the hospital, with crutches. Sylvia was sitting beside him, and looked much more comfortable in her gothic make-up and long black dress than she had last time I’d seen her. Pepper was also there, trying to show everyone her holiday snaps and looking confused that no-one was paying her any attention. Everyone was… waiting.
Viktor and Boudecia stormed in, arguing with each other in that polite managerial way. Shannon waltzed in after them, looking rather smug and holding the damning documents in her hand. She coughed loudly to catch the attention of everyone. Once she had the stage she lifted the document up and announced that in this folder she had something very important to show everyone, and then proceeded to lay it down on the boardroom table. Everyone gathered around ot of curiosity. I couldn’t let her open it and take herself down with Viktor. They’d both be arrested and she’d never be able to work as a librarian.
I grabbed it out of her hands and rushed out of the room. I bolted through the library. Most people made way for me, but one old lady wasn’t fast enough and I had to spin deftly to avoid crashing into her. I snipped the side of her shopping basket and a cascade of fresh vegetables and family sagas went flying into the air.
A kid ran out of his mother’s arms and right into my path. He ducked, terrified, and I leapt over him heroically. That moment ended when I landed on a stray Eric Carle picture book and went skidding into BOB. Injured, I ran past Goldie at the desk and out of the library. I had to take the documents to the police, even if it meant sacrificing myself for the greater good.
My plans were (thankfully) thwarted by the protest that was going on outside the library. Bron had rallied a march against BiblioTech in the mistaken impression that they were to blame for the library’s downfall. I barreled into TJ, who was handing out pamphlets. Papers flew up and rained down on the amassed crowd. I fell backwards, winded, and passed out.
I came to in the staffroom. Pepper was waving smelling salts under my nose. I sat up quickly, and when my vision came to I saw I was surrounded by the rest of the staff: Boudecia, Bron, Ernesto, Goldie, Pepper, Shannon, Sylvia, TJ and… Talia! I jumped to my feet and gave her a huge hug. I was so happy to see her in these tough times. And then I noticed she was holding TJ’s hand, and they were both smiling awkwardly, and I knew that it was going to hurt later. But not yet.
Boudecia beckoned me away from the others. We walked over to the archival room. She nodded, and I pushed the door open. Viktor was sitting on a chair in the middle of the room, with a frozen look of pure terror on his face as he watched the ghosts circle around him. The Ghost Man appeared next to me and smiled before floating over to the other staff, none of whom, I noticed, were surprised in the least by his presence.
Boudecia walked into the room and closed the door. I counted three seconds before Viktor’s screams pierced the walls. There was a shredding sound, and another twelve seconds passed before he tore open the door and ran out through the back door of the library, his clothes torn and blood seeping from a scratch wound on his forehead. A white owl flew past me and harried him as he fled the building. I doubt we’ll be seeing him again.
So all’s well that ends well. Mostly. When she returned from her hunt, Boudecia reinstated TJ and Bron on the spot, and welcomed the other staff to return whenever they were ready. Talia explained that she really liked her other job and was going to stay there; another pain I would feel later. Bron jumped in and asked if her son could come and work for the library as a shelver, to which Boudecia agreed. The theft committed at Council the other night was completely overlooked in light of recent events. And that was that, it was back to work as per normal.
I worked at the desk in a dazed zombie state for several hours before Goldie came and laid a caring hand on my shoulder and told me to have a break. I shook my head and ran off to the shelves, hoping that being surrounded by the old volumes would cheer me up. I picked up a reference guide to electrical engineering and sat cross-legged in the middle of the walkway. A gaggle of schoolgirls started giggling at me. I was about to shush them when the Book Man stepped out of the shelves behind them and quietly said:
“Boo.” The girls broke the world record for the fastest panicked group dash. I looked up and caught what could have been a wink from the Book Man before he faded away. The rest of the night went much better after that.
So, I guess that’s it then. I think the events of late have taken their toll on me, so I might give this journal a rest for the time being. It’s been a wild rollercoaster of fun, excitement, heartache and fear, all fueled by pure adrenalin. Who ever said libraries were boring?
-Jay
Saturday, October 4, 2008
#49 Unity, part 3
(Previously, in Shelver Explorer: Shannon and I break into Council to recover documents which will liberate the library. As we try to leave the building we encounter trouble in the form of two security guards. The story continues as we are given the ultimatum: surrender or die (well, not literally)…)
I breathed deep, too scared to go for the expected shallow breathing in this ind of situation as it would have alerted the guards to our position. I’ve never been in trouble with the law before! Once I was driving home at night and was pulled over by a booze bus for a random breath test. I hyperventilated so much they had to call an ambulance. I don’t do illegal things! I’m good, and law-abiding. It’s all Shannon’s fault – she got me into this mess!
As I turned to accuse Shannon silently I noticed that she wasn’t next to me. My eyes darted wildly and found her leaning against the doorway to an office, rummaging through the duffel bag. She fished out a pile of library DVDs, ripped out the discs and nodded quickly to me. I dove my hands into the bag and came up with old, thick leather-bound journals. Time for us to check out.
We jumped out in plain view in the corridor. The DVDs went flying at the security guards like shurikens. One got hit between the eyes by a fast-flying U2’s Greatest Hits, stunning him momentarily, and a well-aimed edition of Alluvial Geomorphology: A Compendium Of Field Reports took him down. The second guy copped a barrage of Walking With Dinosaurs and the complete first and third seasons of The Sopranos before falling to a Collection Of Poems By Edgar Allen Poe straight to the face. While the men were dazed we made our hasty exit to the library next door.
We made a beeline for the room where I had first met the ghosts. They were waiting for us there, and once we were inside the door closed and the lights to the rest of the library went out, covering our getaway tracks. I flicked on the light function on my pocket knife, and myself, Shannon and a multitude of ghosts peered over to read the pilfered documents.
We sped-read our way towards the truth. It turns out that Viktor was not actually representing BiblioTech when he took command of the library. He had resigned several months ago over the incident with the other library that went bankrupt, but before he left he stocked up on library technological gadgetry. He had been using our library for a testing ground to see if one could work as a private business rather than a public service.
Shannon, her father and I each smiled in the knowledge that by this time tomorrow we could have Viktor out of the library and our lives (or afterlives). I carefully wrapped up the documents and stored them in a filing cabinet. Shannon promised that she would show them to Boudecia at the next meeting. We left the room and the door shut behind us, sealing itself form the inside. Shannon hugged me and told me I wasn’t as stupid as I looked. She then pecked me on the cheek and walked out through the back door, leaving me alone in the library.
As I drove home I wondered whether I should have said something back the, when I had the chance. If Shannon reveals those documents I her possession, she’ll go down with Viktor and probably be arrested. Even if she doesn’t go to jail for breaking into Council property, she’ll be suspended and won’t be able to work in a library again. I’ve come to admire her since that night; I wouldn’t say I like her, but I do have a newfound respect for her trepidation. I don’t want her to have to leave because of this. What should I do? The next meeting is... tomorrow!
-Jay
I breathed deep, too scared to go for the expected shallow breathing in this ind of situation as it would have alerted the guards to our position. I’ve never been in trouble with the law before! Once I was driving home at night and was pulled over by a booze bus for a random breath test. I hyperventilated so much they had to call an ambulance. I don’t do illegal things! I’m good, and law-abiding. It’s all Shannon’s fault – she got me into this mess!
As I turned to accuse Shannon silently I noticed that she wasn’t next to me. My eyes darted wildly and found her leaning against the doorway to an office, rummaging through the duffel bag. She fished out a pile of library DVDs, ripped out the discs and nodded quickly to me. I dove my hands into the bag and came up with old, thick leather-bound journals. Time for us to check out.
We jumped out in plain view in the corridor. The DVDs went flying at the security guards like shurikens. One got hit between the eyes by a fast-flying U2’s Greatest Hits, stunning him momentarily, and a well-aimed edition of Alluvial Geomorphology: A Compendium Of Field Reports took him down. The second guy copped a barrage of Walking With Dinosaurs and the complete first and third seasons of The Sopranos before falling to a Collection Of Poems By Edgar Allen Poe straight to the face. While the men were dazed we made our hasty exit to the library next door.
We made a beeline for the room where I had first met the ghosts. They were waiting for us there, and once we were inside the door closed and the lights to the rest of the library went out, covering our getaway tracks. I flicked on the light function on my pocket knife, and myself, Shannon and a multitude of ghosts peered over to read the pilfered documents.
We sped-read our way towards the truth. It turns out that Viktor was not actually representing BiblioTech when he took command of the library. He had resigned several months ago over the incident with the other library that went bankrupt, but before he left he stocked up on library technological gadgetry. He had been using our library for a testing ground to see if one could work as a private business rather than a public service.
Shannon, her father and I each smiled in the knowledge that by this time tomorrow we could have Viktor out of the library and our lives (or afterlives). I carefully wrapped up the documents and stored them in a filing cabinet. Shannon promised that she would show them to Boudecia at the next meeting. We left the room and the door shut behind us, sealing itself form the inside. Shannon hugged me and told me I wasn’t as stupid as I looked. She then pecked me on the cheek and walked out through the back door, leaving me alone in the library.
As I drove home I wondered whether I should have said something back the, when I had the chance. If Shannon reveals those documents I her possession, she’ll go down with Viktor and probably be arrested. Even if she doesn’t go to jail for breaking into Council property, she’ll be suspended and won’t be able to work in a library again. I’ve come to admire her since that night; I wouldn’t say I like her, but I do have a newfound respect for her trepidation. I don’t want her to have to leave because of this. What should I do? The next meeting is... tomorrow!
-Jay
Friday, October 3, 2008
#48 Unity, part 2
(Previously, in Shelver Explorer: Shannon summons the ghosts in the library, ad I discover one of them. Together we make plans to infiltrate Council to find documents which will reveal the corruption of BiblioTech. SIR overhears us (can a robot even ‘hear’?) and attacks.)
I dropped and rolled under the Large Print shelving as SIR sped towards me. I managed to avoid its attack but suffered in the process as my T-shirt snagged on a loose hook. As I crawled out from underneath, I heard a RIIIIIIIP sound as half of my top tore away. Feeling exposed in both senses of the word I grabbed a display poster proclaiming the library to be a World of Learning and held it before me. SIR stopped midway through its retaliation strike, confused at the sudden disappearance of its prey. There was a loud THWONK followed by a couple of ZAPs and a BRRRRR-CHUNGGGGGG, and then silence.
I peeked over the poster and saw Shannon holding the heavy Reference book and panting. She was standing over the battered ruins of SIR. She looked up at me with a glint of mischief in her eye, and thanked me for creating a diversion for her. I felt a pang of bereavement for the fallen warrior, but quickly reminded myself that it had just tried to kill me and had almost put me out of a job before. Revenge is a dish best served cold and from behind.
We fitted our camouflage gear in the toilets then waved goodbye to the Book Man and the other ghosts. We left the library via the staffroom. Council is right next door so we didn’t have to travel far. As we walked we talked. Shannon had found out about her father’s ghost after working here for a year. She developed a bond with them, and began doing a four year librarianship course so she could work alongside her dad. I never knew this about her, but now I think I get why she was so spiteful towards me.
We snuck into the council building. Shannon went ahead to deactivate the security system, and returned a few minutes later with a smug look of vandalistic satisfaction on her face. We wove through the many corridors until eventually we came to the Archives. Tentatively I opened the door and discovered a room filled with wall-to-wall folders. The Book Man floated out of one of the walls, startling us both until I remembered that this room was a kind of library in itself.
The ghost led us over to a particular corner and pointed to a folder. I grabbed it and held it so Shannon could see too. I read the documents. They all looked legit, to the untrained eye, but as a shelver I have the ability to notice fine details at a glance – it comes in handy when shelf-reading Reference books and having to pay attention to the 20th decimal number. I found something that looked out of place, something about Viktor…
Before I could finish an alarm siren sounded. Red and blue lights flashed in the corridors and in every room. Shannon wasn’t fazed, just looking mischievously guilty at being caught out. I shoved the documents into a duffel bag like a petty thief and we ran for the exit.
As we were about to turn the last corner Shannon grabbed my shift and pulled me back. I snuck a peek around the corner and spotted two burly security guards blocking the exit. They didn’t look like they were going to move aside for us, and we couldn’t tackle them. One cleared his throat and announced that they knew we were in there and oh boy were we in trouble and that we had better come out with our hands above our heads or there would be hell to pay. Things weren’t looking good for us.
To be continued...
I dropped and rolled under the Large Print shelving as SIR sped towards me. I managed to avoid its attack but suffered in the process as my T-shirt snagged on a loose hook. As I crawled out from underneath, I heard a RIIIIIIIP sound as half of my top tore away. Feeling exposed in both senses of the word I grabbed a display poster proclaiming the library to be a World of Learning and held it before me. SIR stopped midway through its retaliation strike, confused at the sudden disappearance of its prey. There was a loud THWONK followed by a couple of ZAPs and a BRRRRR-CHUNGGGGGG, and then silence.
I peeked over the poster and saw Shannon holding the heavy Reference book and panting. She was standing over the battered ruins of SIR. She looked up at me with a glint of mischief in her eye, and thanked me for creating a diversion for her. I felt a pang of bereavement for the fallen warrior, but quickly reminded myself that it had just tried to kill me and had almost put me out of a job before. Revenge is a dish best served cold and from behind.
We fitted our camouflage gear in the toilets then waved goodbye to the Book Man and the other ghosts. We left the library via the staffroom. Council is right next door so we didn’t have to travel far. As we walked we talked. Shannon had found out about her father’s ghost after working here for a year. She developed a bond with them, and began doing a four year librarianship course so she could work alongside her dad. I never knew this about her, but now I think I get why she was so spiteful towards me.
We snuck into the council building. Shannon went ahead to deactivate the security system, and returned a few minutes later with a smug look of vandalistic satisfaction on her face. We wove through the many corridors until eventually we came to the Archives. Tentatively I opened the door and discovered a room filled with wall-to-wall folders. The Book Man floated out of one of the walls, startling us both until I remembered that this room was a kind of library in itself.
The ghost led us over to a particular corner and pointed to a folder. I grabbed it and held it so Shannon could see too. I read the documents. They all looked legit, to the untrained eye, but as a shelver I have the ability to notice fine details at a glance – it comes in handy when shelf-reading Reference books and having to pay attention to the 20th decimal number. I found something that looked out of place, something about Viktor…
Before I could finish an alarm siren sounded. Red and blue lights flashed in the corridors and in every room. Shannon wasn’t fazed, just looking mischievously guilty at being caught out. I shoved the documents into a duffel bag like a petty thief and we ran for the exit.
As we were about to turn the last corner Shannon grabbed my shift and pulled me back. I snuck a peek around the corner and spotted two burly security guards blocking the exit. They didn’t look like they were going to move aside for us, and we couldn’t tackle them. One cleared his throat and announced that they knew we were in there and oh boy were we in trouble and that we had better come out with our hands above our heads or there would be hell to pay. Things weren’t looking good for us.
To be continued...
Thursday, October 2, 2008
#47 Unity, part 1
Dear diary,
We’d just closed up the library last night. SIR had chased all the patrons out (literally, in a few cases), and so I stored him in his cupboard and plugged him into the power point. Goldie left hurriedly, as though she was afraid to stay one minute longer in the library. It was just Shannon and I left. We hadn’t spoken to each other all night – we’d avoided each other as per usual – so I knew something was up when she approached me in the staffroom.
“Care for a little sabotage, Mr Mack?”
There was a susurrus behind me, and an eerily familiar rasping noise. I froze. Surely not… I forced myself to turn around, very slowly. My eyes were closed. I really wasn’t in the mood for ghosts. There was the sound of books being whipped off the shelves (you become acutely aware of any book-related sounds, working in a library), and then I saw…
The Book Man floated in mid-air directly in front of Shannon. There were ghosts all around the library: from my vantage point I could see them hovering in Large Print, in Junior, in the remains of Community Languages, around the catalogs and the computers, just waiting there patiently.
Shannon and the Book Man were talking to each other in hushed tones. When they’d finished they both turned to face me, and I noticed the uncanny likeness in their features. Shannon must’ve seen my expression, for she then said,
“Jay this is my dad. Dad, this is Jay. He’s not that bright but he’s pretty good with books.”
Suddenly it clicked. “Mr Colin Harper?” I asked.
A receipt paper roll and a pen flew towards us and stopped in mid-air. The pen wrote furiously.
\“Not bad Jay, not bad at all. Please excuse my daughter’s rudeness. I believe her to be inaccurate on one count. You have it in you to do many great things. Which is why I have chosen to appear before you now. I need to ask a favour of you.”
Shannon’s father’s ghost told me his sad story. He had died seen years ago, of a sudden stroke. He remembered falling over in his bathroom one minute, and then wandering around the library the next. He found out from the other ghosts that they were all former library workers who had died in the line of duty. While they can move between libraries using something called L-Space, they are unable to actually move outside of a library environment.
The ghosts were there when BiblioTech took over a different library. It went bankrupt and closed down two months later. The library ghosts lost part of their world, and vowed to seek vengeance on those responsible. Mr Harper explained that he believed BiblioTech had taken over the library without official authorisation. He said (or rather, wrote) that he needed Shannon and I to steal the documents and expose BiblioTech’s fraud.
Part of me really wanted to say no and walk out of the building right then. But I didn’t: I stayed and signed my name on the printer receipt roll in agreement. I knew I couldn’t just leave the library to crumble. It was worth getting a criminal record for, despite Shannon’s assurance that we would never be caught.
Shannon unveiled a plan of the Council building, drawn hastily on a sheet of the blueprint paper Pepper always keeps in her drawers. It stung to think that there was nobody else left from the library who could do this – they’d all left or weren’t willing to put themselves at further risk.
We discussed the best way to break into the building – our swipe cards could get us into anywhere, so that was no drama – and how to deactivate the alarm system. Once we had the documents the ghosts would hide them and essentially cover our tracks. And then we were all set to go. Shannon had brought camouflage gear for the two of us, and I had my trusty penknife ready to perform a multitude of different functions.
Suddenly I heard an angry whirring sound come from behind. I leapt out and tackled Shannon to the ground, just as a heavy Reference book sailed past where her head was a fraction of a second ago. We both looked up from our position and saw SIR, it’s eyes flashing red with the word TRAITOR. Its attached shelving platform was rotating wildly, and there was a mechanically maniacal gleam in its eyes. It sped forward, through the Book Man, coming straight towards us.
To be continued...
We’d just closed up the library last night. SIR had chased all the patrons out (literally, in a few cases), and so I stored him in his cupboard and plugged him into the power point. Goldie left hurriedly, as though she was afraid to stay one minute longer in the library. It was just Shannon and I left. We hadn’t spoken to each other all night – we’d avoided each other as per usual – so I knew something was up when she approached me in the staffroom.
“Care for a little sabotage, Mr Mack?”
There was a susurrus behind me, and an eerily familiar rasping noise. I froze. Surely not… I forced myself to turn around, very slowly. My eyes were closed. I really wasn’t in the mood for ghosts. There was the sound of books being whipped off the shelves (you become acutely aware of any book-related sounds, working in a library), and then I saw…
The Book Man floated in mid-air directly in front of Shannon. There were ghosts all around the library: from my vantage point I could see them hovering in Large Print, in Junior, in the remains of Community Languages, around the catalogs and the computers, just waiting there patiently.
Shannon and the Book Man were talking to each other in hushed tones. When they’d finished they both turned to face me, and I noticed the uncanny likeness in their features. Shannon must’ve seen my expression, for she then said,
“Jay this is my dad. Dad, this is Jay. He’s not that bright but he’s pretty good with books.”
Suddenly it clicked. “Mr Colin Harper?” I asked.
A receipt paper roll and a pen flew towards us and stopped in mid-air. The pen wrote furiously.
\“Not bad Jay, not bad at all. Please excuse my daughter’s rudeness. I believe her to be inaccurate on one count. You have it in you to do many great things. Which is why I have chosen to appear before you now. I need to ask a favour of you.”
Shannon’s father’s ghost told me his sad story. He had died seen years ago, of a sudden stroke. He remembered falling over in his bathroom one minute, and then wandering around the library the next. He found out from the other ghosts that they were all former library workers who had died in the line of duty. While they can move between libraries using something called L-Space, they are unable to actually move outside of a library environment.
The ghosts were there when BiblioTech took over a different library. It went bankrupt and closed down two months later. The library ghosts lost part of their world, and vowed to seek vengeance on those responsible. Mr Harper explained that he believed BiblioTech had taken over the library without official authorisation. He said (or rather, wrote) that he needed Shannon and I to steal the documents and expose BiblioTech’s fraud.
Part of me really wanted to say no and walk out of the building right then. But I didn’t: I stayed and signed my name on the printer receipt roll in agreement. I knew I couldn’t just leave the library to crumble. It was worth getting a criminal record for, despite Shannon’s assurance that we would never be caught.
Shannon unveiled a plan of the Council building, drawn hastily on a sheet of the blueprint paper Pepper always keeps in her drawers. It stung to think that there was nobody else left from the library who could do this – they’d all left or weren’t willing to put themselves at further risk.
We discussed the best way to break into the building – our swipe cards could get us into anywhere, so that was no drama – and how to deactivate the alarm system. Once we had the documents the ghosts would hide them and essentially cover our tracks. And then we were all set to go. Shannon had brought camouflage gear for the two of us, and I had my trusty penknife ready to perform a multitude of different functions.
Suddenly I heard an angry whirring sound come from behind. I leapt out and tackled Shannon to the ground, just as a heavy Reference book sailed past where her head was a fraction of a second ago. We both looked up from our position and saw SIR, it’s eyes flashing red with the word TRAITOR. Its attached shelving platform was rotating wildly, and there was a mechanically maniacal gleam in its eyes. It sped forward, through the Book Man, coming straight towards us.
To be continued...
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