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If she had to reorganize this bookshelf one more time, Artemis was possibly going to blow a gasket. This had been the third time this week that someone had decided their intellect was superior to everyone else’s when they decided to move a certain sci-fi series into the non-fiction section. Although she kept a decent eye on the section and the store wasn’t all too busy, the books seemed to maneuver their way to that half of the store far too often for her liking. She loved her job, but she didn’t get paid enough for this.
The first time, it had been kind of cute, kind of funny. She had liked the series enough when she had read it. She had just been shelving the new books when she would them and heard a failed discreet cackle from behind her. Not a giggle, not laughter, a cackle. Artemis turned only to find the unnatural sound originating from no one. Not only did this make her somewhat uncomfortable with the whole situation, but really? Who cackles?
The second time it was distinctly less cute. Growing irritated, Artemis decided to pull the books off the shelves altogether. If they weren’t out there to begin with, no one could move them. Problem solved, right?
The next day, Artemis came in and the books were right back in the non-fiction section. Where they didn’t belong. Again. At this point, she wasn’t even surprised. Just irritated. If anyone knew her, they would know she wasn’t someone to mess with. Just a girl with a broken family and a record. She had learned to hold her own, and that tended to scare off potential friends. Maybe someone was just getting back at her.
Finally deciding that enough was enough, Artemis set out to catch the troublemaker. (Not that it made that much trouble, because it really didn’t. The used bookstore was out of the way of the normal crowd of college students, so those who came in knew what they were looking for and left as soon as they came. But it sure was bothered her that whoever was doing this KEPT doing it. For NO REASON.) Refusing to move the books back yet again, Artemis left a post it note on the first book in the series and left it in the non-fiction section.
Can you not?
After she placed her note, Artemis smiled to herself. Finally. Even if she couldn’t catch him, she could maybe have some fun with the guy.
This time, she made a point to get to work sooner. To her disappointment, there were no lurkers, but her green post-it note had been upgraded to a red one.
What, and rob you of your only entertainment in your shift?
Artemis scoffed, but silently had to agree. It’s not like she did much else during the day. But what kind of boring life would someone else have to lead to lower themselves to passing post-it notes in a bookstore?
Artemis scribbled hastily and stuck it back on the book, shoving it back into the shelf mercilessly. Doing her best to stow away all thoughts of the bookstore stalker, she got to work shelving. The bookstore itself was a mess, but it was an unkempt beauty. The used bookstore had been around forever, and those who came didn’t expect it to be pristine, they expected it to have quality content. As Artemis had gotten behind on her work a bit because of finals, she decided to stay overtime to compensate for her lack of attention to upkeep.
As it was nearing 10:30, the bell jingled. “Hello?” Artemis called warily.
A redheaded boy peeked around a shelf. “Hi I know you’re closed but I really really need this book and I—“
Artemis sighed in relief, cutting him off. “It’s fine,” she waved him off. She had seen him often enough, he was a regular. He normally went for heavy duty non-fiction or dumb sci-fi novels. The clues clicking in her brain, Artemis began to trail after him.
Before she could investigate, he popped up seemingly out of nowhere yet again. “What’s with the post-it notes? And why is—“ He paused as he considered the front cover, “this in the non-fiction section?”
Artemis deflated a bit. So he wasn’t her guy. Too bad, he was kind of cute. If you liked freckles and klutzes and all. “Someone keeps moving it back. Every time I put it where it’s supposed to be, someone puts in right back in this spot. I guess we’ve evolved to some communication, at least.” She rolled her eyes. “Not that I’m getting much out of it.”
He snickered, leaning up against the bookshelf. “You know, I think the way to get his attention would be to stop paying attention. Leave the books there. Knock off the post-it notes. They’ll show up eventually or stop.”
“That’s a good idea,” Artemis mused. “Thanks.”
The boy shot her a charming grin. “Thanks. I’m Wally, by the way.” He glanced down at his phone and cursed. “Man, I’ve gotta go. This paper is due tomorrow.”
She laughed and proceeded to check him out as quickly as possible. “Thanks, Wally. Let’s hope you write as fast as you talk.”
Wally smirked. “You have no idea.”
This left Artemis alone with her thoughts again. As much as she hated to admit it, the shop was boring and she did enjoy the little entertainment this scheme brought her. On the other hand, if she could find the owner of the mysterious cackle, her curiosity would be very much satisfied. After much deliberation, she decided to follow the redhead’s advice and stop leaving post-it notes…but she left the one on there from earlier because she couldn’t bear to take it off. Shrugging on her coat, Artemis closed the door to the shop and headed out, doing her best to shake off the day’s events.
I don’t think I would be too distraught.
Artemis was off the next day, but the first thing she did when she got to work was check the non-fiction section. She was the hardest working employee of the bunch, and she was pretty sure whenever Kal worked, he did help out, but he was constantly working on his dissertation. And Zatanna was always painting her nails and flirting with the hot college guys that came in, so she doubted she would bother it, either. Making her way toward the back wall, she was unsurprised and maybe a little bit happy when her green post-it had been replaced by a red.
Get traught, then.
Smiling at the absurdity, Artemis peeled off the notes and shoved it into her pocket. That was going to be the end of that, unless her book moving friend wanted to make an appearance. Doing as Wally suggested, she left the books there and resigned her note writing duties. Her freckled friend came in occasionally, both getting updates on her “book beau” and buying comic books and scientific books. She enjoyed the company, but she couldn’t help but wonder if his advice had actually been misleading.
As finals came, Artemis took fewer shifts. Her time was occupied by late night studying and donut runs with Wally. They had become a real duo, and she encouraged him to apply for a job at the bookstore. She teased him that he was there often enough anyways. As finals drew to a close, Artemis took more shifts. It was a bit busier typically as people were getting their last minute holiday shopping done, so there were two employees at a time.
Normally, she was scheduled with Zatanna, but as Zee had come down with a cold, Wally had taken over her shift. He was restocking shelves in the front as she sat behind the register, cleaning up the tornado of junk food wrappers he had left behind. “Wally,” she complained.
He simply shrugged without turning around. “Hey, you convinced me to get a job here. Your problem.”
She scoffed. Even though he was a total mess, he was nice to have around. People even came by to see him often, one of them being his best friend, Dick. Dick was gorgeous, Artemis had to admit. He rocked that whole blue eyes black hair thing. Last time she said that, Wally accused her of being in love with Conner, the guy who slept through all their classes, as he also had blue eyes and black hair. That was the end of that discussion. Dick was one of Wally’s smart friends, so although he was entertaining, she normally tuned out their conversations out of necessity to stay awake.
Dick was in the shop today, having made himself at home in one of the leather chairs by the fireplace. He was doing his own sort of research, apparently, and Artemis ignored him as she had to get more shelving done. She glanced at the counter quickly, hoping no one would come in while she made a quick run to the back for some display books for the counter.
As she returned, she realized a book was lying on the counter that hadn’t been there when she left. Artemis picked up the book to examine it, and narrowed her eyes in suspicion at the cover. Suddenly, someone cleared their throat. She slowly raised her gaze, only to meet with the blue eyes of Dick Grayson. His smile was crooked, and he held out a post-it note and stuck it onto the book.
We’ll laugh about this someday.