Garrett kept watching in astonishment. He’d been to the library near his home, but never the central library in the middle of the city. This was the library. The main branch that was rumored to have held a copy of every single book ever written throughout history. Now, it only held every book written for the past three hundred years, but still—that was a lot. It made the Darrington Library in the Undecided sector pale in comparison.
“Hi, we’re looking for a Miss Lyons,” said Opal to the man at the front desk.
“Ah, are you here for the shadowing?” asked the man with striking green eyes and black hair as dark as the night sky.
“Yes, we are looking to shadow a librarian for part of the day,” affirmed Opal, offering the pamphlet to the man.
“All right. I’ll call her to come to the front desk. It shouldn’t be too long.”
“Thank you.” Opal turned and leaned against the desk, watching Garrett still spinning around in amazement. “It’s impressive, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it is!” exclaimed Garrett, then clamped his hands over his mouth, his eyes swinging back and forth in shock at his outburst, hoping he hadn’t disturbed anyone.
Opal shook her head and stifled a laugh. Seeing a set of two chairs near the circulation desk, she gestured toward them and they both sat.
“Opal, why didn’t you ever tell me how amazing this library is?” wondered Garrett. Instead of trekking all the way to the Undecided sector, maybe he could have found what he needed here.
“I feel like I have told you once or twice before. You’ve just never been interested.” Opal gave her friend a wry smirk and nudged him in the ribs, “Stick with me and you’ll see lots more cool stuff while we’re here.”
Garrett chuckled and shook his head disbelievingly at his friend. When they were younger, he would have ruffled her hair, but now, he knew she’d kill him for messing it up, so he left it alone.
“Hi, you called for me to meet with some pre-submitters?”
“Yes, they’re sitting over there.”
Both Garrett and Opal quieted as a tall middle-aged woman turned in their direction and began walking their way. With caramel-colored eyes and black hair tinted in highlights of a deep red when the light touched it, the woman had an almost exotic beauty to her. “Hi, I’m Miss Sarua Lyons and I’m the head librarian here. You may call me Sarua or Miss Lyons, whichever you prefer.”
“I’m Garrett and this is my friend Opal. She’s joining me on the shadowing today.”
“Oh,” Miss Lyons’s gaze turned to Opal. “You didn’t want to do your own shadowing for today? Or have you already decided?”
“Actually, I’ve been pre-approved. I just got the results today,” announced Opal proudly.
Miss Lyons’s smile widened as she nodded, “Congratulations, you must be quite intelligent and organized.”
Blushing a bit at the compliment, Opal gazed down at the floor until the woman looked away.
“If you two would follow me, I will take you on a short tour of the library and show you what I do here.”
Opal and Garrett followed wordlessly, feeling like this woman deserved the utmost respect. She gave an air about her as if she were someone highly important. Once she began talking, neither one wanted to interrupt her.
Miss Lyons led them through the rows of shelves until they reached the staircase that curved upward to the second floor. While walking, she gestured to the different sections of the library and explained, “As the head librarian, I oversee all the other librarians and ensure the smooth functioning of the library. Since Anaxia Library is the largest library in the city and also one of the largest in the world, we have quite a collection to maintain. Any library in the city may ask to borrow a book or tome from this one. It must be returned eventually, but it is part of the connectivity of our city.”
Garrett listened to her talk and wondered if every library in the city included the Darrington Library or any other one in the Undecided sector. Were they allowed to have access to these books?
“As librarians, we are in charge of recording each book that goes in and out of the library as well as adding new ones to our collection. In this particular library, we accept all new books written and are therefore continually busy cataloging. Do you have any questions so far?”
“I do.” Opal instinctively raised her hand, so used to doing it in class. “How do you compensate for the increasing space needed to house all of the new books? If a book comes in that belongs in a section of the library that is already full, how do you accommodate it?”
“That’s a very good question, Opal.” Miss Lyons led them up another staircase to the third floor as she spoke. “Sometimes, if the volume of books in a particular genre exceeds the capacity of its current location, we will switch it with another one that isn’t growing as fast. If possible, we may add more bookshelves in the space or relocate the entire collection to a different part of the library that is yet unused. Most of the fifth floor still has empty space and the rear section of it is reserved for essential books not open to the public. You must have special permission to go in and view those books. They are also not allowed to be checked out or loaned to a different library in the city.
“What sort of books are those?” wondered Garrett, suspicious.
“They are books of such complexity that you would have to possess a high level of understanding to comprehend them.”
Garrett perked up. “Are they related to The Council?”
Miss Lyons’s gaze fixed on him, her eyes emitting a sense of suspicion rimmed with anger.
