Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 68870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 344(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 344(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
It looks like boxes and boxes of The Leader’s autobiography that they have to label and wrap in cellophane. I want to roll my eyes, but I don’t dare.
“Of course. You know I never mind going through books,” I say.
“Thanks, Naomi. I wash my hands enough times each day, and those books come back smelly and dirty from those street kids,” she says then shudders.
A streak of anger rolls down my spine at her words, but I nod silently and move towards the door. They’re children and just so happen to be on the other side of the wall that divides the elites from the working class. Her words are like so many others’ on this side of privilege, and I wish there was something I could do about it to change things.
I place my hand on my flat stomach as I walk, thinking that I’d love to have a baby someday. I’ve always had this silly dream of marrying for love and having children. But to raise them in a place where people speak hate makes me sick.
When I get to the door, I key in the code to unlock it. Each week the library loans children's books to the other side of the wall. It’s one of the charitable crumbs that the elite offer to the poor. It’s not enough, and we have so much more we could share, but I wouldn’t know how to go about doing it.
I open the door and grab the big laundry-sized bin the truck driver unloaded at the back door. I wheel it down the long hall and over to circulation desk then begin the process of scanning the books back into the system one by one.
As I look at the cover of each book, the titles stir something inside me, reminding me of my charmed childhood. I had a beloved nanny who read to me until I fell asleep every night. I wonder if one day I’ll be able to do the same for my child. I wouldn’t want a nanny to do the job for me, though. If it were my baby, I wouldn’t want to miss a moment.
I enjoy putting my hands on the children’s books, even if nobody else does. I think about the little children sounding out the words or being read to while they’re snuggled in their parents, laps.
As I pull out each book and sort them in where they’re supposed to go, I’m also keeping an eye out for one book in particular. I’ve checked in about thirteen books when I see the one I’m looking for. I pull it out and look around me, but no one else has me on their radar. I flip open the book and see a note tucked in between the pages. I glance back up again to make sure I’m in the clear, then I pull it out and read over it. It’s written in code, but I don’t need to consult the key hidden in my office to decipher it. It’s from a man I only know as O. I scan over it once, then read it again. It reads, Ten p.m. Need a ride to nursing dormitory and plans for the building.
Weird, but not the weirdest request O has ever sent. After everything that had happened over the weekend, however, I’m getting nervous. And this would put me alone with someone I don’t know.
“Naomi.”
The sound of my name causes me to look up in panic. When I see a man with a badge holding my bag, I crumple the note and let my stomach relax. I’m so jumpy these days, but that was close.
I walk up to him and take my purse before shoving the note deep inside of it. I thank the detective, shake his hand, and then watch him leave. Thankfully it’s a quick process.
I smile politely at the woman sitting at the circulation desk then go back to the small stack of books I have left to log in. I finish the rest of the work quickly, then I make my way to the library’s winding staircases and down to the dark bottom floor and then even farther down to the basement. I key in my code and walk into my private office, closing and bolting the door behind me. I’m the library’s sole archivist, and the floor above me is nothing but study rooms. Nobody ever comes down to use those, least of all a floor below it to where I’m at. It can be a little creepy down here, but I like the quiet.
After I put my bag down, I go over to one of my metal filing cabinets and look up where the city’s building plans might be archived. When I find it, I locate the numbers and scan the plans.