Chapter 1- The Girl

It was mid-September, and already Summer seemed like a distant memory, a dream you only half-remembered. The air was getting cold, it was time to trade in shorts for jeans, and tank tops for long sleeves. Not yet ready to give in to the change in season, I wore my cut offs and tank top to work. The only reason I had my plaid shirt on was because Margaret-my boss- liked to keep the air conditioning on at all times. On her good days she lets me call her Maggie, she says it makes her feel young again.

I was in the middle of reading Doctor Sleep by Stephan King, that’s why I didn’t see her walk in. Like any ordinary work-day at Dog Eared, the bell made its annoying ring every time someone walked in and out of the store. “Excuse me, are the calendar’s buy one get one half off?” An elderly woman asked me. I looked up from my book, leaning toward the counter from my perch on the old wooden stool. “Yes mam’” I said ringing up the puppy calendars she had placed on the counter.  She smelled of butterscotch and too much perfume. I tried not to stare at the crookedness of her teeth while I handed her the bag and sent her on her way. That’s when I noticed her. Shifting her weight from one leg to the next while reading the back cover of a book from the fiction section. Her hair was a honey color, creating a curtain between the world and her face. I watched as she carefully fit the book back into its empty place.  She shuffled back into the depths of the fiction aisle, probably scanning the titles. Every so often she would pick one off the shelf and read the back or the inside cover. The loud ding of the bell disrupted me and I looked over at the entrance of the store.  A group of girls stumbled in eating candy out of plastic bags, talking and laughing loudly at a joke I didn’t seem to catch the punch line of.

“Michaela!” one of them yelled, disrupting the entire store, not that there were many people in here. The taller one of the bunch grabbed the loud one, leading the group into the fiction section. Noisily, the group followed. “Shhh... Guys be quiet there are other people in here!” I heard Michaela half chuckle, trying uselessly to quiet them down. I tried not to look like I was staring so I put my nose into my book and glanced up every so often to make sure they weren’t too disrupting. I didn’t need to look up to know that they were on their way out of the stacks, I heard the stomping of their feet, one after the other, surprisingly the girl was quiet, shuffling past me on her way out. I glanced up to watch the girls go. My eyes lingering on the girl: on Michaela. The door made its usual ding as the girls left.

I sighed and turned my attention back to Doctor Sleep. Stephan King seems like a masochistic man, always writing about some accident, or murder, I wonder how he manages sleep with those thoughts wondering around inside his head. My head snapped up as the door dinged and the girl rushed back in. “Sorry… I forgot something….” She breathed, I wasn’t sure if she was directing that at me. She strode back into the fiction section, grabbed a book off the shelf and made her way back to the counter.  

Author's Note

I am not finished with this chapter yet. I would love to hear what you guys think. Suggestions?