Deluded (A Vampire story Part I)

Chapter 17 - Library duty

After the day was over. I was directed to the library. The library was located in the ground floor in the south wing far opposite to the classrooms. I walked alone till I reached the 9 foot wooden doors. Without much thought I pushed the door open and walked in. 

The moment I walked in the atmosphere changed. The cold hallway transitioned in to the warmth within the library. The fireplace on the left could have been what kept the room warm. The entire place had a warm light glow. The walls were filled with shelves and these being filled with books of all color, thickness and size. The sofas were placed in places that provided privacy to the readers. The library had two floors. Even if the library was big the books placed haphazardly made it look like a hoarders den. There were some books on the floors, some open on the tables and some placed horizontally on the shelves. The place needed proper upkeep. 

"You must be the new comer." I saw a man walk out of one of the many shelves in the room. "I am Paul, the librarian." Paul was a middle aged man. It was evident as he had white specks of hair in his beard. He had thick black glasses on and he wore an old school beige suit.  As he walked towards me I noticed he had a limp on his left leg. 

"You are here to help out with the sorting." He smiled. 

"Yes sir, I am." 

"Luis here will help you out with things. There are just a few rules though. The second floor is not for students so please do not go upstairs. Please do not eat here. Be careful while handling these books.  Some of them are older than you." He said with a slight wink. 

I smiled. 

"Luis!" He called out. As he did Luis walks out from the corner of the room. Luis was from my class. He was 5'11 with thick curly black hair. He was slight of frame and kept his head down throughout the walk he took to reach us. Luis kept to himself. He never spoke much. I remember Amelia mentioning something about how he was a smart cookie. 

Luis walks till Paul and waits to be directed. 

"Luis here will tell you what you need to do. Don't work more than an hour." Paul said as he smiled. Then he was gone. 

"Hey Luis nice to meet you." 

He looked at me and without a word he points to the back of the room. Then he walks towards the end of the room. I followed him. 

We reached the end of the room where there was a pile of books placed. 

"We need to dust them and alphabetically placed them on the shelf here." He points at the shelf behind me. 

"Okay. So Luis how long have you been here?" 

He looked at me. "Just a month longer than you." He said shyly. 

"You don't talk much huh." 

He shakes his head. 

"That's okay. I will do my best. Just let me know if I mess up." I smiled at him. 

I could see a slight smile on his face. 

I remove my jacket and get on with it. Each book I take, I dust it with the cloth and place it on the shelf. 

Luis did his own thing. He did not take rest or speak to me. The silence was okay with me. As I dusted the books I read the titles one by one. The science of blood, Brothers in the making, History of vampire wars..

I scoffed. I sometimes forgot where I was. 

"The science of blood is good." Luis mentions as he motions to the books held in my hand. "They talk about how blood link can be created to control others mind."