CYRANO AND ME

CYRANO AND ME-A YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

CYRANO AND ME

Chapter One

I lingered in the doorway of BOOKS FOR LESS to inhale the musty odor of the hundreds of used books stacked in a haphazard fashion on shelves and on the floor. The faded brown carpet, bare in spots, had its own unique scent. I took a deep breath. My happy place. A display of JUST ARRIVED books stood near the front. My gaze flicked to the small stack. Nothing but textbooks from the university students selling back their books before heading off campus for the summer. I took another breath.

"You're blocking the doorway," the clerk said. I gazed at him. He must be new. I was in here almost every day since school let out two weeks ago and it was always the same guy behind the counter.

"You just start working here?" I asked.

"Yeah, today's my second day," he said.

"Wish I knew they were hiring, I would've applied. Do you know if they are adding anyone else?" I asked.

"Sorry. I'm it until school starts in the fall. You might ask then." I didn't say anything. "Uh, you're still blocking the doorway."

"Sorry." I moved into the interior and glanced behind my shoulder. It's not like a crowd of book buyers were clamoring to get in. No one was behind me but there was an older gentleman perusing the books on a stand outside the door. He looked at me, put a book inside his jacket and walked off. "Hey, that guy just stole a book," I said, pointing.

"Yeah. Happens a lot to those books. It's fine. Those are our throwaways. You with the cute girl in the back?" he asked, staring at the back of the shop.

"Yeah." I stepped further back into the belly of the beast and called out. There weren't any windows in the back and the lighting didn't help illuminate much. "Rachel? Where are you?" I gazed with longing at the many books I couldn't buy, fingertips drifted across their spines.

"Romance section," was her answer. Where else? "They got new books in." She sounded excited. I was in for a long wait. Might as well try and find a book to read. Maybe Rachel would spot me for one book. I headed to the science fiction and fantasy section. Maybe I'll find a book with dragons. Or maybe a horror. Anything but romance. Blech.

Rachel's parents gave her extra money whenever she asked and she did odd jobs like helping out her elderly neighbors with chores, cat sitting and dog walking. She also had a knack for finding money. I called her a money magnet. Once she found $120.00 in the pocket of a jacket she bought at a resale shop. She offered to return it but the clerk let her keep it. Another time we were walking down the street and a twenty dollar bill stuck to her shoe. She always shared her findings with me so I couldn't complain about the fact money and I didn't coexist in the same universe. The minute I touched money, it flowed through my hands like it wasn't ever there at all. Maybe I should look for a job hunting book.

"Hey, I found a five dollar bill hidden in this book," Rachel said. I sighed. Of course she did.

"Lucky," I called out.

When I was younger I played a game in order to find the right book to read. I would close my eyes in order to feel the essence of the book in my fingertips. When a book wanted me to read it, a small shock of electricity would zap my hand. I hadn't played this game in ages. Closing my eyes, I let my fingers drift over the spines of the books. I knew they were there, I mean I spend hours in here but I had a momentary lapse of memory when I tripped over one pile, or was it two?, toppling stacks. My eyes flew open as I fell, face planting into the hasn't-been-cleaned-in-centuries carpet scraping my right knee, elbow and the bridge of my nose. I spread-eagled across several piles, groaning.