"To the library," said old Kurokawa-san. She squinted at Ren, her eyes narrowing into long lines that stretched across her face like scars. They might actually be scars; rumor had it that old Kurokawa had been in a hundred wars, and had come out of each one the winner. Ren believed it. Old Kurokawa was terrifying.
"To the library you will go," said the woman. "Return these books, and money you will receive."
…But why are you talking like that…?
Ren didn't really want to know the answer to that, though (she'd learned that old people were weird, and she was fine with leaving Kurokawa to her weirdness), and instead turned to the stack of books on Kurokawa's coffee table. There were only two, small enough for Ren to slip into the messenger bag she'd brought over. She just wondered how overdue they were; their spines were straight and unbroken, and the dust on them was nearly an inch thick.
"Come back here when you finish." Old Kurokawa nodded sagely, and then sank onto the ancient looking sofa in her living room. She was perfectly still, like a statue, and Ren figured it must be another old person thing, to have that 'sagely' air around them all the time.
Does it carry to the bathroom, too? She bit back a smile - among other things, Old Kurokawa was known for pulling a walking stick out of thin air and whacking people with it - and put the books into her bag. Then she bowed slightly to Kurokawa, and made her way to the library.
Luckily, Ren knew where the building was. Her mom had dragged her out there a few times as a child, saying that Ren would at least pretend to be a smart kid rather than one who rolled around in dirt. Not that that had paid off, really; everyone knew that Ren was a little bit of an idiot (an old friend pegged her at 35% idiocy, though he'd said that she was probably around 20% or so since going to the academy), and no amount of library visits would change that. As it was, Old Kurokawa had only let Ren have this job after determining that there was no one else available.
Ren went through the library's doors, studiously ignoring the vast amounts of books inside. She felt like they were glaring at her, sometimes; 'read me!' they cried, trying to entice her with pretty pictures and big fonts. No. No way. Ren was not a library brat, she refused to be one. Books were bad for you, and she'd avoided them for this long and would continue to so for life.
Geh. Ren shuddered. Books. Books implied that you actually cared about getting further ahead and stuff; Ren was happy to be a mediocre person. There was nothing wrong with being mediocre, and someone had to do it…
"Excuse me." Ren's head shot up. An attendant behind a large desk smiled vaguely at her. "Is there something I can help you with?"
Give me drugs to fix my wandering attention, Ren wanted to say. Her idiocy wasn't that high, though. Not yet (she'd reassess after she got her first concussion, which was surely coming).
"Uh." Ren coughed and reached into her bag, pulling out Old Kurokawa's books. "I have to return these…"
The attendant waved her closer; Ren did so, gingerly placing the books on the desk.
"Ah…these are quite old." The attendant, whose name tag read Hana (Ren fidgeted at the memory of the little girl she'd once babysat for all of ten minutes), cracked open the cover of one of the books and let out a soft laugh. "Kurokawa? I can't say I'm surprised."
Feeling out of the loop, but not really wanting to know the whole story (that, like reading, implied that she cared and Ren was trying very hard to be a nonchalant, 'it's-not-my-business' kind of kid), Ren coughed again. The attendant looked up guiltily and smiled.
"Sorry, sorry. I'll take care of this. Unless there was something else you needed?"
"Nope," said Ren. "Thank you very much."
The attendant waved her off. Ren wandered back to Old Kurokawa's house, and was then subjected to a long-winded, oddly worded lecture about how books were the source of all power and she should really stop adding to her stupidity. Ren suffered through it, somehow refraining from mentioning that Old Kurokawa herself had only checked out books to maintain appearances.
But seriously, she thought as Old Kurokawa stopped to sip at her tea (which was also done sagely), why are you talking like that?
In the end, she didn't get paid until the sun had nearly set. When she finally came back home, her mom laughed. And then told her to go back to the library the next morning.
"Everyone thinks Kurokawa-san is a genius," her mom said. "If she can get away with pretending, you can do the same! I won't have to deal with the other moms' teasing, you know…"
…I think my own mother just called me stupid. That…probably means something.
[Word Count: 830]
[Topic Entered & Left]
"To the library you will go," said the woman. "Return these books, and money you will receive."
…But why are you talking like that…?
Ren didn't really want to know the answer to that, though (she'd learned that old people were weird, and she was fine with leaving Kurokawa to her weirdness), and instead turned to the stack of books on Kurokawa's coffee table. There were only two, small enough for Ren to slip into the messenger bag she'd brought over. She just wondered how overdue they were; their spines were straight and unbroken, and the dust on them was nearly an inch thick.
"Come back here when you finish." Old Kurokawa nodded sagely, and then sank onto the ancient looking sofa in her living room. She was perfectly still, like a statue, and Ren figured it must be another old person thing, to have that 'sagely' air around them all the time.
Does it carry to the bathroom, too? She bit back a smile - among other things, Old Kurokawa was known for pulling a walking stick out of thin air and whacking people with it - and put the books into her bag. Then she bowed slightly to Kurokawa, and made her way to the library.
Luckily, Ren knew where the building was. Her mom had dragged her out there a few times as a child, saying that Ren would at least pretend to be a smart kid rather than one who rolled around in dirt. Not that that had paid off, really; everyone knew that Ren was a little bit of an idiot (an old friend pegged her at 35% idiocy, though he'd said that she was probably around 20% or so since going to the academy), and no amount of library visits would change that. As it was, Old Kurokawa had only let Ren have this job after determining that there was no one else available.
Ren went through the library's doors, studiously ignoring the vast amounts of books inside. She felt like they were glaring at her, sometimes; 'read me!' they cried, trying to entice her with pretty pictures and big fonts. No. No way. Ren was not a library brat, she refused to be one. Books were bad for you, and she'd avoided them for this long and would continue to so for life.
Geh. Ren shuddered. Books. Books implied that you actually cared about getting further ahead and stuff; Ren was happy to be a mediocre person. There was nothing wrong with being mediocre, and someone had to do it…
"Excuse me." Ren's head shot up. An attendant behind a large desk smiled vaguely at her. "Is there something I can help you with?"
Give me drugs to fix my wandering attention, Ren wanted to say. Her idiocy wasn't that high, though. Not yet (she'd reassess after she got her first concussion, which was surely coming).
"Uh." Ren coughed and reached into her bag, pulling out Old Kurokawa's books. "I have to return these…"
The attendant waved her closer; Ren did so, gingerly placing the books on the desk.
"Ah…these are quite old." The attendant, whose name tag read Hana (Ren fidgeted at the memory of the little girl she'd once babysat for all of ten minutes), cracked open the cover of one of the books and let out a soft laugh. "Kurokawa? I can't say I'm surprised."
Feeling out of the loop, but not really wanting to know the whole story (that, like reading, implied that she cared and Ren was trying very hard to be a nonchalant, 'it's-not-my-business' kind of kid), Ren coughed again. The attendant looked up guiltily and smiled.
"Sorry, sorry. I'll take care of this. Unless there was something else you needed?"
"Nope," said Ren. "Thank you very much."
The attendant waved her off. Ren wandered back to Old Kurokawa's house, and was then subjected to a long-winded, oddly worded lecture about how books were the source of all power and she should really stop adding to her stupidity. Ren suffered through it, somehow refraining from mentioning that Old Kurokawa herself had only checked out books to maintain appearances.
But seriously, she thought as Old Kurokawa stopped to sip at her tea (which was also done sagely), why are you talking like that?
In the end, she didn't get paid until the sun had nearly set. When she finally came back home, her mom laughed. And then told her to go back to the library the next morning.
"Everyone thinks Kurokawa-san is a genius," her mom said. "If she can get away with pretending, you can do the same! I won't have to deal with the other moms' teasing, you know…"
…I think my own mother just called me stupid. That…probably means something.
[Word Count: 830]
[Topic Entered & Left]