Design For Life

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Meh can haz Twilight?

                                                           Design For Life

"When I got my library card, that's when my life began". ~Rita Mae Brown

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Well, crap, I thought as I looked down and noticed that not only my shoes, but my new khakis, were splattered with mud, thanks to the truck that had driven past and splashed me. Taking a quick glance at my watch, I knew that I wouldn't have time to walk back home and change before work started. I guessed that was what I got for walking the seven blocks to work in the rain. Seven minutes later, I opened the back door to Forks Memorial Library and stalked in, upset that not only were my clothes ruined, but that my umbrella had been mangled by the wind. Tossing the umbrella in the bin next to my desk, I shrugged out of my soaked coat, and hung it on the back of my chair.

"Good morning, Edward!" the disgustingly cheerful voice of Mrs. Cope, the head librarian, called out to me.

"Morning," I mumbled back, as I pulled up my to-do-list for the day. The staff made fun of me and my to-do-list, because it rarely changed. I did the same thing day in and day out, but that was life in a small town library. After reviewing my list, I grabbed my mug and headed for the coffee pot. I hated coffee, but drank it regardless. Pouring a cup, I mumbled a hello to my two fellow co-workers. Angela, who I'd known since first grade, and Jasper, my best friend and my sister's boyfriend. Angela and I were clerks, while Jasper was in charge of our genealogy and local history department. And that pretty much made up the staff. We had a couple of high school kids who came in and paged for us in the afternoons, but it's not like we were ever really busy.

"What happened to your pants, Ed?" Jasper asked, in his southern drawl.

I scowled at being called Ed. I hated it, and he knew it. "Stupid driver in a truck splashed me when I was walking here."

"Eh, well, as long as your sitting down behind the desk, no one will notice."

I agreed with him, then went about turning on the computers at the front desk. Once that was done, I sat down and began stamping the due date cards. Yes, due date cards. Most libraries have moved into the 21st century, and have computers that print out a slip of paper with the list of books and due dates, but not us. The city of Forks wouldn't justify the cost of new computers and printers. Cheap bastards. I spent the next hour stamping cards and checking in the book drop, while Angela kept up a running commentary of her weekend. I liked her and all, but I could care less what she and her boyfriend did or what movie she saw. Noting that it was almost ten, I grabbed the keys to the front door and went to unlock it, letting the masses that were waiting, inside.

Ha! Man, I was funny. The only person waiting to be let in was Mrs. Riley. She was pushing 95 and had a crush on Jasper. She claimed that she was researching her family history, but in truth, I think she just wanted to spend all day with him. Walking back to the front desk, I let Jasper know that his girlfriend was there.

"Shut up, Eddie!" he hissed at me as he followed Mrs. Riley into the local history room.

I sat back down behind the check out desk and started filling out interlibrary forms that some of our patrons had put in. Thanks to the computer, it was a fairly easy task, and I was done fairly quickly.

"Edward?"

I looked over at Angela. "Yes?"

"I'm going to go pull some books for discarding, so you'll be on your own for a bit."