Whistle while you work

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna finished dusting off the small bookshelf she'd just cleared and sat down on the floor cross-legged. She knew if anyone came by she'd hear the bell on the door, so she wasn't worried about being hidden behind a stack of small boxes in a back corner. Out of habit, she began whistling the tune from "The Adam's Family"; a muggle T.V. show she'd watched with her parents. Opening the first box, she began separating the muggle books into categories. When she had all the books split between history, non-fiction, fiction, and science fiction, she began deciding which collection would go on which shelf for her new muggle area.

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase was lucky he'd even found this place. He hadn't ever needed a book store, so why would he know where one was? But thanks to Dru, he needed the next book in the series. Chase held the book she'd given him in one hand and pushed open the door with the other. He stopped just inside the shop and looked around, but couldn't see anyone. He heard someone, though. "Hello?"

[Annabelle Hennessy]

At the sound of the door, Anna turned in her spot on the floor to glance through the shelves of books and view her customer. She let out an irratated sigh when she saw it was Chase who had interupted her progress. She wondered breifly if she could ignore him. then knowing that would be wrong, she stood at the sound of his voice. "Just a minute." She called to him as she made her way out of the maze of books she had piled around and out around the shelves that blocked her from his view. "How can I help you Chase?"

[Chase Firebrand]

Why was he surprised? Of course Anna ran the bookshop. "I'm looking for a book," Chase said, and before Anna could make the obvious comment on that statement, he held up the one in his hand. "This is the first in a series, and I need the next one." He offered her his slightly dog-eared copy of The Memory of Earth.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna took the paperback book, and instictively flipped it over to the back cover and scanned the description. "Hmm, I've never read this series, I take it you liked it?" She turned back to the section she'd come from, slightly shocked that Chase read, let alone read muggle books. She hadn't even advertised the new addition to the store yet and here she already had a customer for it. She began looking through the piles of Science Fiction books, knowing that she'd ordered several from the Autor, but not remembering which ones.

[Chase Firebrand]

"If I didn't like it, I wouldn't be buying the next one," Chase answered. The surprised look on Anna's face had been easy enough to read. Speaking of which, "I do read, you know. I met you in the library." Not that he'd ever be found sitting under a tree with his nose in a book, but every once in a while he found one worth his time.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

"Well yes, of course you do. I just assumed you were there for some sort of assignment or something." Annabelle blushed, greatful that her back was turned to him as she continued her search for his book. "Just not many students are interested in reading for the fun of it, especially Muggle books. Most wouldn't even know where to go to get a muggle book, since most wizarding shops don't bother with them."

[Chase Firebrand]

"But it's easy enough to get a book ordered," Chase said. It's how he'd always done things. "Most places don't really care as long as they get business." Chase ignored her comment about him being in the library for an assignment. She didn't need to know how little schoolwork he actually did to get the grades his parents demanded. Chase sidled up next to Anna, since she didn't appear to be having much luck. "Want me to help?"

[Annabelle Hennessy]

"Sure." Anna managed to get out, nervous at him being so close. Memories of their short encounter in the library kept playing on her mind. She Moved around to the other side of the stack, putting space between them and noticed she'd moved into the fiction section which consisted mostly of the romance novels she hadn't wanted to bring attention to by giving them their own section of shelving. Not wanting Chase to know she'd moved to get away from him, she began looking through the titles knowing that she wouldn't find anything. "Sorry for the mess, I'm in the process of adding these to the store's invintory. I find it rather inconvienent to have to wait on the post when I'm in the mood to read."

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase looked up from a stack of history books. "You read all these?" he asked. If she was reading her stock, he hoped she sold them at used prices. "Do you live at all? I'd have thought you'd put the books down once in a while now that you're with Michael." It was the same question he'd asked her in the library, the last one he'd managed before she turned skittish and ran off.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

"I do have a life thank you very much." Annabelle glared at him, anger at him wiping away any embarrassment she might have over the topic. "Some of us are able to persue multiple avenues of enjoyment in a day." She moved onto a new pile of books, one in the science fiction section again. "And of course I've read most of these books, what type of customer service could I give if I didn't even know about the things I sold?"

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase picked up on Anna's annoyance, and his own flared in response, but he held his tongue. That is, until he abandoned the history books to trail after her. He'd only meant to help her with whatever shelf she chose, but his eyes caught on the spines of those she'd just left. His lips curved into a knowing smirk, and he pulled a likely candidate off the shelf. "You know much about this?" he asked, brandishing a rather trashy-looking romance.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Annabelle looked to see what Chase was holding. Her cheeks began to heat, and she focused on her irritation and being mad. "You shouldn't judge a book by its cover. If you thought I'm such a prude that I couldn't enjoy such book then you are greatly mistaken. That book happens to have an excellent murder mystery and great character development.” Annabelle humphed and turned back to the pile, scanning the spines as fast as she could.

[Chase Firebrand]

"Really?" Chase said, just enough disbelief in his voice to be audible. He flipped the book open to a random page and started reading, his voice emphasizing everything with a hint of the melodramatic. "Honoria rediscovered his hard body, his strength, his perception, his unfailing expertise." He paused to look at the blush on Anna's cheeks, one brow arching skeptically. "Great character development, hm?" He shrugged. "I guess if you aren't getting it in real life..." He trailed off, leaving Michael's name out of it, even if the comment was obvious. That, and the reference to his own unfailing expertise.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna snatched the book from him, refusing to rise to his baited insult. She flipped to one of the first pages, knowing she wouldn't find anything to fuel his mirth. "The ground shook; thunder engulfed her. Looking up, she beheld Death. A massive black stallion screamed and reared over her, iron-tipped hooves flailing within inches of her head. On the beast's back sat a man to match the horse, black-clad shoulders blocking out the twilight, dark mane wild, features harsh -- satanic. It really is excellent writting, the first in a whole series of exellent books." She tried her hardest to defend the story's plotline, even if she knew that Chase probably wouldn't buy that she read the books for anything other then the graphically written scenes. It wasn't like she had been caught reading a Kama Sutra, but she was embarrassed about how detailed the author could get.