fixing up the library

Who: Roy and Lily
Where: The Alexandrian Library
When: Late afternoon

Lily wasn't supposed to be working that day, having called off so she could go shopping but Jessica said something about not feeling well and the library was so slow anyway. Considering the director was absent as well, Lily had all sorts of ideas on how Jessica wasn't 'feeling' well. Which left Lily re-organizing the entire young adult section because no one seemed to care to put the titles in order.

So she was alone, wearing one of the new day dresses that Maya had helped her buy, black shoes kicked off in the corner. It was so nice outside that there really hadn't been anyone coming in, so Lily turned the radio on over the loudspeaker in the library and was singing to herself, no care in the world.

Roy had been meant to leave something for one of the people he ran for in the library. They made it pretty easy for him, and all he had to do was leave an unmarked envelope in a book. It was always the same book, and he'd already dropped that off. Though this was the first time that he'd heard music on the speakers in the place, and he wondered what was going on. Plus, the place was kinda emptyish, and so he was walking around, half wondering if he had the place to himself.

That was when he heard the singing. Following his ears, he peeked around the corner of the stacks, not announcing himself in any fashion, just trying to quietly look. When he saw her, he smiled just a little. He'd seen her around the place before, of course. She was hard to miss. Or, he found her hard to miss, anyways. He stayed right where he was, still not in any way trying to draw attention to himself, just barely looking around the stacks at her as she sang.

Lily was oblivious to being watched, not even a feeling of it. Her mood had fallen a little, finding how many books didn't belong in this section. Was she really the only one who actually cared about this place? She needed another cart.

She carefully climbed down the step ladder and headed over to the end of the aisle, wondering if there was a free cart in the back when she spotted Roy. Lily couldn't help it. She screamed, stumbling back in her haste and fell against one of the book cases, sending a few books to the floor. "Good God!" She looked at the boy -- the young man -- in front of her as she clutched at her chest, heart beating fast. "R-roy?"

Roy jumped back when Lily screamed and he immediately looked sorry, and possibly a little panicked. "I'm so sorry!" he immediately blurted, "Sorry, Ma'am. I didn't mean to scare you like that..." he said, scrambling to pick up the books she'd knocked down. "I really didn't, I just heard singing, and came to see who it was, and--sorry!" he continued, glancing up at her, looking just a little like he was afraid she was going to shout at him.

"It's okay!" she said, still a little breathless and surprised. "I haven't seen you around in awhile. I thought I was here by myself." She knelt down beside him and grabbed a few other books before he could grab them. "Really, it's okay." She smiled gently at him, brushing her hair out of her face and stood up to put the books back on the shelf. "What brings you here? Did you need help with anything?" She'd only met Roy once or twice before. The street kids occasionally darted in when the weather was bad and a few she knew by name.

He shook his head. "No ma'am. I was just lookin around." he told her, ducking his head a bit as he held out the books he'd collected. "I think you're here by yourself besides me." he offered, since he'd not seen another soul while he'd walked through, and he was usually pretty observant. He was a person who liked to be aware of his surroundings. It helped.

Lily smiled at him and put the books back on the shelf. "Please, call me Lily. 'Ma'am' makes me feel so old." And she was trying to move away from that. She was so trying to move away from that. "What brings you in here on such a nice day?"

Internally, Roy kinda winced. He didn't know if he could address her as 'Lily'. It'd be hard for him, strange for him. Maybe he could just avoid using any sort of name or address for her, and just attempt to talk without it. He did scratch a little nervously at the back of his neck, both due to her wanting him to be familiar with her, as well as her question on why he was there. "Just kinda like the place-" ma'am. "Thought I'd come in and look around." Liar. You're dropping off an envelope. He quirked an awkward, shyish little smile and looked at her again. "You always hang out in here and sing?" he asked hesitantly, like he wasn't sure it was allowed.

She blushed. Even around a what? Sixteen? Seventeen? Year old boy, she blushed. "When I'm by myself," she confessed with a shrug. "I wish we would get the old wing fixed. Used to be my favorite place." She looked around briefly then back at him. "I could use some help," she suggested. "Or, if you're hungry, I've got some pie in the back." It wasn't that she was one to always bring goodies to her co-workers. There were enough street kids who would drop in that she had started having some kind of treat stowed away in case anyone came in hungry. Sometimes she wondered if some kids came in just because they heard she had cookies or brownies or donuts, but it made her feel good to make things. "If you're interested that is."

He didn't have anything else to do that day, so far as he knew. So, when she said she could use help, he latched onto that. "Sure, if you need help, I can do that." he told her, nodding a bit, possibly just to himself. "You don't have to feed me though, ma'am." Even if he was hungry. He just didn't want her to think she owed him or something. He also didn't even recognize that he'd slipped already and called her ma'am. It was just something that was well ingrained in him, so it was hard for him to consider otherwise.

"So you're saying that apple pie doesn't appeal to you, huh?" she asked with a grin. "Or hot chocolate...?" It was hard, with some of the kids, to get them to accept something she was doing out of kindness, not because she wanted something and it usually led to her wanting to hug them tightly and take them home with her in her pocket or something. And she wasn't going to break him of the formality, but Lily figured she was just going to have to accept it.

He did perk up a little bit at what she offered. "...well...maybe, if it's not too much trouble." he decided. Because that did sound good. He hadn't had apple pie since...well. Since before his mom died. It was back when things were better, and that hadn't been in ages. Hot chocolate was the same way, not something he'd had in recent memory, it felt like forever ago. "But--what did you need help with?" he said, latching onto that. He'd said he'd help. It wouldn't do to get distracted by sweets. He found himself sort of half watching her out of the corner of his eye. She was such a pretty lady, after all.

Lily grinned brightly at him, pleased with herself. "Well it seems I'm the only one in this place that actually does their job. Some help re-shelving some of these books would be nice." Lily indicated the overflowing cart. "A lot of these books don't belong here. See?" She grabbed a book off the shelf behind her and showed him the blue sticker on the spine. "Blue means they belong in the young adult section. Red means adult and yellow means non-fiction." There were plenty of red and yellow on the cart, as well as some various other colors. "I was going to get another cart... maybe if you could keep pulling out books that don't belong?"

Internally, Roy breathed a huge sigh of relief. So long as she didn't expect him to put things in order on the shelves, or require him to read anything, he was fine. Color coding, that he could do. So, he smiled, a little more relaxed than the previous ones. "Okay, I can do that. I saw a cart over that way, want me to go get it?" he asked, figuring if they had more than one they could do more work. Or that was the running theory anyways. Plus, if anyone was going to go fetch things, he could be that person.

"Oh, that would be great, thanks!" Lily smiled at him and looked around again. "I really appreciate it. I was starting to get worried that I was going to be stuck here all night." She probably would anyway, long after Roy left. If the Young Adult section was in this bad of shape, she didn't want to think of what the other sections looked like. She found herself scratching the back of her own neck, much like Roy did. She went back over to where her cart was and started back on the next shelf.

Roy dashed off to go get the cart he'd seen, and was back with it in short order. "Here." he said, pushing it over closer to her so she didn't have to move to put books in it, then he started looking over the shelves, and taking the wrong colored books off. He didn't quite know what to say to her, though he was still doing that thing where he was watching her out of the corner of his eye. He just wasn't necessarily confident enough to try and strike up a conversation with her.

"We just don't have enough people working here," she confessed, breaking the silence for him. "We get some, but then they leave not long after so it's really just me doing this." She didn't say it like she was unloading all her woes upon him. She was merely showing him how much she appreciated his help. "I've been working here since I was a kid though." She laughed a little self-consciously. "I think I'm the longest working employee here."

"How's a place like this make money to pay people?" Roy asked, honestly curious about that. Since it was built on a borrowing system and all, he didn't know how it really worked. Especially when there was a woman like Lily working there, who looked far better dressed than anyone he usually spent any amount of time with. Like the pretty dress that looked so good on her. And he wasn't staring. He wasn't. He was just...watching a little more intently than he should be doing, and recognizing that, he abruptly turned his focus hard onto the books, so he'd stop that.

"City funds." Lily was noticing the staring. She was incredibly aware of it and it both made her blush and want to pull Roy into her arms and pinch his cheeks. Even it was from a hormonal teenage boy, it was nice to know that she was found attractive.... and that sounded pathetic in her head. And vaguely creepy. Uhg. "But then, I think that might be why they never finished repairing the burnt out section. They don't have to put as much money in to replace books or pay us." Hell, she wasn't making all that much more than she was when she was 14.

Roy nodded, but didn't look up again, so he'd quit staring and not start up again. He resolutely kept his eyes on the books, and kept piling the wrong colors on the cart. He had a couple of things he'd taken from the burned out section back at the vault. "I guess so. Guess I never figured how someplace like this worked though. But you do get paid?" he asked, glancing over for a heartbeat, before he made his eyes go back to the books.

Lily felt herself smiling again while she piled books into her arms. "Yes, I do get paid. End of each month." She looked at him. "Are you interested?" It would be a steady job for this boy and although he wouldn't make enough to sustain himself, like get an apartment or something, he'd be able to buy a hot meal, save up. Anything he wanted really.

That had Roy looking over, and then back at the books. "I don't think I'd have time, ma'am." he said. Really, he was a little on the terrified side of being around her a lot, and of course, the larger issue, that reading wasn't his strong suit. Neither was math. Like there were numbers on the books, he could see, but yeah. He didn't know what kind of sequence they'd go in. He'd never be able to do it, unless it was just fixing broken things. How much ever really got broken at a library?

Lily studied him carefully while she put the mis-shelved books onto the cart. "Books like these," she told him, referring to the young adult books. "Are organized by author. Like how the letters C-A-R come before T-O-L." She said this all casually and conversationally. Careful not to offend him or scare him away. "And you don't have to shelve books. A lot of them are falling apart and need to be re-taped." She held up a battered copy of 'The Wizard of Oz'. The binding was falling apart. She grabbed an old copy of one of the adult books on her cart. It wasn't the neatest job, but clear book tape repaired the damage in the spine. "Re-gluing it is the worst though. Have to make sure the pages don't stick together."

As she spoke, he paid attention, but knew he wouldn't really remember the letter sequences she told him. "Sorry, ma'am. I really wouldn't have time. But if I meet anyone that I think could do a good job, should I send them your way?" he asked. "I mean, I can tape things up or glue things today if you want me to. I have time today." he added, since he did and that sort of thing was easy. He was pretty positive he'd be able to pull that off just fine.

"Well, I can always use help, so if you find someone." She blushed a little, feeling a bit embarrassed. "But yeah, if you could maybe help me out with some of the damaged books, that would be great." She smiled gently at him. "I do appreciate it." She'd even pay him for it and dammit, he'd accept it to.

He smiled at her a little shyly, but it was genuine. "I can do that." And it would mean he wouldn't have to admit that he didn't at all think re-shelving books where they were meant to go was going to work out for him. But fixing things, that he did well. "I kinda like fixing things." he told her. "Sort of...what I do I guess." he said with a shrug, trying to put a little more effort into his end of the conversation. He just had trouble sometimes, and needed a little while before he relaxed. Or he needed people who'd fill up a lot of the conversation with their own stuff.

"You do?" Lily looked at him curiously. "What kind of things do you like to fix up?" The bathroom stalls needed their doors fixed, for one thing. There were a couple of cracked windows that could use repaning. Her mind went to her own house. There were issues with the back kitchen door that no one had gotten around to taking care of.

"Yeah, and I don't know. All sorts of things, I guess." he said, rubbing at the back of his neck again as he glanced over. "I mean, if it's broken, I can usually figure out how to fix it?" he suggested. "Little things, furniture, radios...sort of whatever," he said, feeling a little like an idiot that he couldn't explain himself better.

"Well, the doors in the bathrooms could use some proper fixing," she told him. There was no hope for some of the sinks save for completely replacing them. "I'd pay you." Lily sounded hesitant when she suggested this, not wanting to put him off or offend him. It was so hard with the street kids.

Roy hesitated, glancing in the direction of the restrooms. Any public place that had them if you didn't live in a proper place--you knew where they were. He considered, then looked back to Lily. "I could take a look, if you wanted me to," he said. He didn't quite mention or weigh in on the payment thing. He could use it. Or more, he could save it. Any little bits helped, of course, and he'd never reach his goal if he turned down perfectly legitimate money. So, he could appreciate that. Besides. Doors were easy. Even if it was really bad, he could probably manage to fix it right up no problem in short order. It'd keep him inside longer too, where it was warm. Plus there was company and everything. Easy on the eyes company, at that.

Lily smiled brightly at him. "That's great. And we've got everything you need and if you need anything we don't have, I'd be more than happy to get it. And... if after you've finished that and you're interested in other things, I'm pretty sure I could find something." Good. He wasn't babbling about not needing to be paid. Roy was smart, she could see that and it pleased her that he taking on the tasks that she was suggesting. "Some days I wonder if I'm the only one who cares about this place."

"Couldn't say, ma'am." Roy said, ticking his gaze around before he landed it back on her. "You said you've been here since you were younger though, right? Maybe it's just home." he suggested. He took another wrong book off of the shelf he was in front of, and looked at her again. "You want me to look at the doors now?" he asked. "Or am I still helpin with this?" he figured he'd just do whatever she wanted, since he had the time. Though really, this kind of work wasn't something that she really needed help with. The doors, those probably were.

Lily couldn't help but laugh and she took the book from him. "Yeah, this is pretty boring. Let me go get those tools for you." She beckoned for him to follow her to the back behind the circulation desk. It was fairly sparse considering hardly anyone worked at the library anyway and she pulled out a set of keys from her pocket to unlock the janitor's closet. "Umm, I don't know exactly what you'll need, so you can have at it I guess," she said lamely. The closet was lit by a single bare bulb, tools spilling out of an abandoned tool box on the counter top, some mops and brooms sprawled over a bucket.

Roy followed her, hands shoved into his pockets as he did so. His eyes, however, were kind of everywhere. Especially when she led beyond where he'd seen before. The architecture in the place was interesting. Roy liked different kinds of architechture. There were such nicely put together places in the city. Of course, he rarely got to see them. Only really when he was on specific jobs, or had to head towards the Drake for some reason. The buildings in his neck of the woods were a little on the shabbier side. Or, if they had once been nice, they certainly weren't now. Like the old bank building, where he lived. At one time it had been beautiful. Just...not so much anymore.

He walked into the closet, and looked over the tools, starting to put them back in the box. He had a sort of random, irrational thought that she might shut the door on him and lock it, like some kind of crazy game, and he had no idea where the thought even hit him from. That happened sometimes, though. He'd just be doing something normal, and some insane scenario would cast a shadow over his mind. Like everyone around him might have some kind of sinister plan, even if they didn't. Like Lily here. She wouldn't do that to him, right? Pushing the thought away, and wanting to get out of the space because he'd successfully creeped himself out with the idea of being trapped in there, he grabbed the tool box up and headed back out to the hall, giving a light half smile that revealed none of the weirdness that had just plagued him. "I'm sure I can work somethin out with this, thank you." he said. He also gave her a smile, because he felt guilty about the weird thought. That was terrible of him to think something like that...right?

"If you can at least fix one of those doors, my day would be completely made," she told him. "How about you get started and I'll make some of that hot chocolate I promised you." Perhaps that would help him relax.

Roy gave her a bit of a bashful smile, looking down then up at her out of the corner of his eye. "If it isn't too much trouble." he said. But, she didn't seem like it was trouble, in fact, she seemed to kind of want the company and was going out of her way to keep him around for the time being, so he was feeling a little better about things a little at a time. "I'll just...go." he said, not sure how to excuse himself to go take a look at the broken doors.

"I'll be back here if you need anything," she told him and went through another door into the kitchen. She hoped that he didn't think she was flirting with him or anything. That had happened once, years ago, and Roy was both reserved and eager at the same time that Lily wasn't entirely sure what to think. Not in a bad way, of course, she told herself, turning on the kettle for some hot chocolate. And hopefully he didn't think she was trying to come onto him or something and that was why he sounded more reserved? "You think too much, Mayfair," she scolded herself.