Librarian Blues❄Troy Barnes

just what i needed - chapter 4

I grabbed my coffee and purse, rushing out of my car and to the library. I was running late, by a lot, and needed to get into the office before Connor did. If he got there first, I wouldn't hear the end of it.

I pushed open the door to the building, almost dropping my cup as I slid past some of the students.

"Watch it, nerd!" an old man yelled, sliding to the side to get out of my way.

"Shut up, Leonard! We all know about your lotion addiction!" I yelled back, glaring at him, "Thank you for moving, though."

He waved me away, muttering obscenities under his breath as he stumbled through the hallway. I continued running to the library, cutting corners, and pushing the students out of my way when I needed to.

As I rounded the corner into the entry office, my stomach dropped as my eyes met Connor's.

"Oh no. You're three minutes late," he said, smirking.

"It's three minutes. I think it's fine," I sighed, trying to push past him. He extended his arm, blocking the door handle.

"I don't know. Being late is unacceptable. You already missed Mr. Barnes, too. How sad," he sighed, frowning.

"Troy? Did he say anything?" I rushed out.

"Yeah. But now you'll never know because you were late. But I guess you should get to work," he shrugged, opening the door for me. I shook my head and went to my desk, getting started on my day.

I had to do a little searching but eventually found the study room signup clipboard. I checked to see if Troy had put their names down. I was sad to see that he hadn't. Maybe he was mad at me for snapping yesterday?

"He meant to put their names down, but we couldn't find the clipboard. A shame, really. Guess they won't be able to get their study room," Connor said, walking up to my desk.

"I mean, no one has signed up for the room. They could very well just show up. Like they used to do," I stated, looking up at him.

"They could. But wouldn't that be breaking a rule?" he asked, leaning down onto my desk, "I thought you didn't like rule-breakers."

"Clearly, I do, since I was one this morning. Back to work, Connor," I laughed, rolling my eyes as I looked back at my work. He groaned, walking to the back office while mumbling to himself.

I focused back on what I was doing, getting lost in paperwork, labeling new books, and checking in ones that students were dropping off. I didn't realize how long I had been working until I heard Troy's study group walk into the library. I looked up and saw them about to go into their study room, but Troy rushed over to my desk before they did.

"Hey Maisy, sorry. I mean Miss James. I meant to sign us up for the study room, but the clipboard was missing. Your assistant said he looked everywhere but couldn't find it," Troy said.

"Hey, no problem. I assumed you all would be in around your normal time, so I just put your names down. Also, you can still call me Maisy. I'm sorry I was rude yesterday," I said, putting the clipboard down in front of him, "I didn't mean to snap about the name thing."

"Oh, it's no big deal. I didn't realize you were being serious about not telling Jeff your name. He wouldn't actually hit on you, by the way. You aren't his type," Troy smiled.

"Well, thanks! Can I call you Troy? Or do I need to call you Mr. Barnes?" I asked, smiling back at him.

"You can call me whatever you'd like. Troy, T-Bone, tonight, any of the above will work," he said, winking.

"Yeah? I think I might wait on the third option," I teased.

"Oh. Okay, that's fine," he pouted. I felt my stomach drop as he turned to leave.