story2

         Here she is, as usual. She's always in the library poring over some old book. She reads the strangest things, and is always in the library. I can't figure out why she just doesn't check them out and go home. Her name is Alice.
          Alice is a nice girl. She doesn't talk much about anything but books. I consider her my friend even though I've never seen her house or her parents. I've never even seen her outside the library. Sometimes I think she lives there. I kid her about it and she just laughs and starts telling me about the latest book she's read. One day I asked her to take a walk with me. She politely refused. She said that she had to go home soon. I offered to walk her home, but again she refused. She wanted to finish the book she was reading. I told her she could just check it out and bring it with her. But again, no. " It's quiet here. This is the place I enjoy reading the most. I will finish my book here." It seemed she was just not going to leave the library. She assured me that she would go home as soon as she was finished and told me to go ahead without her. As I said, she's a nice girl, an absolute dear, but something is odd about her. I just have a feeling.
           My best friend Laurie suggested we should spy on her one day. I just wouldn't feel right doing that, but I am awful curious.
           Curiosity got the better of me so here we are in the library, spying on Alice. It's really boring to just sit and watch someone read. She reads book after book. The usual old, dusty, worn, sometimes falling apart text. Oftentimes she reads fantastical tales. Occasionally she'll tear through a history book. It's amazing how fast she reads. There's already a stack of five books on her left that she has finished reading. There's another stack waiting for her attention at her right. She seems so enthralled with her books that I doubt that she would notice us watching her if we were sitting in front of her face. I decide to test my theory. So I come out and sit right down across from her. I pick up one of the books she's already read and skim through it. It's the classic fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty. Glancing through the rest of the titles in the pile I find that she has read most every fairy tale I know. She's read every version even. She is almost done reading a version of Beauty and the Beast. Laurie and I look at each other. I motion for her to join me.
            Alice sighs as she finishes the book. Finally she notices us sitting with her. She smiles and says hello, ever the nice girl. However an instant before the nice girl face emerged there was another, a face of sadness and frustration. Perhaps it was a version that didn't have a happily ever after ending. "True love," she says. I look at her intently waiting for her to go on. Laurie is looking at Alice as if she is the biggest freak she has every seen. Alice looks at Laurie suspiciously. How silly of me, I have forgotten to introduce them! I quickly repair the blunder. Alice still seems wary of Laurie. "Excuse me, but I really want to finish these books. It was nice to meet you, Laurie. I hope to see you two again. Have a nice day." With that she immediately turns her attention to her next book. We no longer exist in her world, or rather she is no longer in ours. Nothing can break her concentration from her reading.
            Laurie and I leave the library puzzled. We consider today's mission a failure. We are no closer to solving the mystery than when we first entered. Instead we have more questions. What in the world was she talking about, "true love"? Of course it's a recipe in just about every fairy tale, but what has that to do with anything. Ah, she's probably just like every other young girl, dreaming she would meet Prince Charming and have this "true love" that she has always read about. I'm wondering how she expects ot meet Prince Charming when all she does is read books in the library all the time. Could there possibly be a book worm Prince Charming?
     It's time to think of another plan of action. The girl's positively driving me nuts with all this mystery swarming around her. She's so vague and elusive in answering any questions I ask her. It's so frustrating. She has mastered the art of being mysterious, that's for sure. I suppose I could pump the librarians for information. Sure, why not? Here goes today's mission!
     Ugh, what luck! It's only the meanest librarian of all on duty today! Miss Kerchunkerspliggen. Yes, you see that right, that's ker-chun-ker-spleeegen, and heaven forbid you ever pronounce it wrong! Miss Kerchunkerspliggen is the very embodiment of the stereotypical library matron. Tiny little bun at the tip top of her head, glasses low on her snooty little nose, a dress that is pressed, starched, able to walk on its own, and belongs in a museum. Of course, I wouldn't object to Miss Kerchunkerspliggen herself being put into a museum. She'd fit right in with the torture chamber. Sbe has beady little eagle eyes and I swear she sees everything that goes on in the library with mere twitches of her head. I'm not sure if she has lips or not, I certainly have never seen them. If you're brave enough to go near her you'll smell her nauseatingly pungent perfume that isn't the kind your grandma wears, but it definitely screams little old lady. And if you get really close, that is if you're not dead from the icy eyes she pierces you with as you approach or the fumes, I've heard that you can see her beard and mustache. No one I know has ever gotten that close so it may be a mere myth. I'm not too keen on being the first to find out. I'd rather face Miss Vague and Elusive than Miss Kerchunker-my-name-is-way-too-long-and-the-best-thing-that-could-ever-happen-to-me-would-be-to-marry-a-Mr.Yo-spliggen the Terrible. So I go find Alice.
     After searching through the first two floors, I finally spot Miss Elusive on the third floor hiding behind yet another load of books. She's beginning to disgust me with her endless reading. My eyes would never be able to take that much abuse. I think I'd end up having dreams of words chasing me! I know that happened to a guy in my Physics class. Talk about frightening! By this time I'm weary from my trek to the third floor, having covered every possible inch of the library, besides of course the very large bubble of space I gave Miss Kerchunkerspliggen.
     I pause to catch my breath before I idle over to Alice as if three flights of stairs were nothing. I plop into a chair at her table. My unladylike entrance upsets the topmost book of Alice's pile. It takes a tumble and as I reach to the fullest extent of my arm to retrieve it the slick back of the cover causes it to inch farther and farther away from me. In my final effort I nearly fall out of the chair and end up sending the bookd across the floor. It slips off the landing and begins its long decent down the stairs. I groan. Of all the days to play Slinky with a book! The sound echoes throughout the library as the poor book plunges to its doom. I want to hide. I finally tear my gaping gaze of dismay and disbelief from the spot where the book took a dive and look back at Alice. She is trying hard not to laugh. I might have the thought the scene funny myself if the wrath of Miss K wasn't coming this way. Somehow those beady little eyes would find the culprit and that culprit would be me. When I heard the shriek she gave at her discovery of the dearly departed book, I ran. My desperate eyes scan the top floor for a suitable place to hide that even old Bird-Eyes wouldn't find me. Alice, sympathizing with my plight, leads me to a room in the back and up a hidden staircase in the ceiling. It is a storeroom of some sort that from the looks of it hasn't been used in quite a while. I had a passing thought that this was where dead books go, books like the one I had just killed. It was a book graveyard! The fear of being caught by Miss Kerchunkerspliggen must have gone to my head, really now, a book graveyard? Me a murderer of a book? I'm losing it for sure! Of course I don't doubt that Miss Kerchunkerspliggen would consider it a murder. A book would never commit suicide.
     While I wonder where my sanity has gone, Alice disappears too. I hear the heavy footsteps of a madwoman below me and if my ears are hearing right, she's sniffing around for the murderer. Finally I find Alice, who is beckoning me through a door that I know wasn't there two seconds ago. She leaves me in a room that can only be described as bizarre and returns to the book cemetary. I hear feet clomping heavily and then a loud squawk. That can only mean one thing. Miss Kerchunkerspliggen has found her victim. Oh, no! Alice!

"My Friend Alice"