A Visit to the Bookstore

An almost-normal visit to an almost-normal bookstore

Franklin walked in to a bookstore that he was pretty sure hadn’t been there yesterday. He hadn’t been planning on going to a bookstore, but it was right next to a new coffee shop that his friend had recommended, and, well, he couldn’t resist the temptation.

The front of the store was neat and cozy, with seating areas and a modest collection of the wooden bead toys that seemed to spawn in any sort of waiting room where there might be bored kids about. The store seemed to be staffed only by a distracted teenage girl with purple highlights who was texting furiously and not-so-secretly under the counter.

Franklin drifted past the seating and the girl and in to the stacks of books. The bookshelves and the books on them had the air of something from centuries passed, even as he recognized titles that had been published earlier that very same year. He pulled a cookbook from its place between a Stephen King novel and the Iliad, thumbing through its pages. He replaced it before wandering on, and he could almost swear he heard the book sigh when he turned his back.

Regardless, Franklin walked past the stacks of books, though he was certain by now that he should have reached the back wall by now. Buildings can only be so deep, afterall. Then again, he was making slow progress, as he opened a book every now and then, and glancing back he could still see the girl with purple highlights.

“Hi, can I help you find something?” A girl asked, peering out from around the shelves. She could have been the girl at the desk’s twin, except she wore glasses on a chain with little butterflies in it.

“No, I’m just taking a look around.”

“Oh, well, if you’re looking for a recommendation, this guy really needs a good read,” the girl said, handing Franklin a novel called The Twisted Ones. He flipped through the first two pages. He wasn’t normally such a fan of horror, but, then again, he wasn’t usually the type to wander in to a bookstore without first having considered the trip carefully. So, maybe he would give it a go. Franklin nodded to himself and was about to thank the girl for her recommendation when he realized she had disappeared.

Franklin shrugged and walked back towards the girl at the front desk. He stood for a moment, then cleared his throat.

“One moment please,” the girl said without looking up. She finally reached a pause in whatever enthralling conversation she was having and scanned his book without another word.

“There’s your total, cash or card?”

“Cash,” Franklin said, handing over a few bills. She handed him back the change and book, then went back to texting without even tearing the receipt off of the machine. Franklin shrugged and left it and the bookstore behind, shutting the door on the shiver of a several thousand cheering books.

Reviews

[Whim]

I'm really loving the use of language (and pacing) in this one! I feel as if using the word "spawn" instead of something like "be" primes the reader by hinting at the fact that this story is going to be having some unnatural elements. I also think it's interesting how Franklin barely remarks the oddities and how that gets the reader curious and keeps the pace of the story well maintained, since I have a tendency to sacrifice pace/flow for depth sometimes. Enjoyed it greatly :D