A book is only as good as its reader. [OPEN]

["ELLE" FAIRCHILD]

Elle found bookstores utterly charming, and even moreso when they had those cute little cafés connected to them. There was something about bookstores that she could not find in libraries; maybe it was the newness of all the books, the "fresh-minted" feel of all those shiny new paperback covers that gleamed on the shelves like polished pennies. Or perhaps it was the idea of making a profit off one's writing, something that she had always yearned to do, that pleased her so. She often made a point of buying a book by some unknown author when she could afford it, just to support the cause.

Today, she had come to the bookstore solely for this purpose: to seek out an interesting new book by a fresh face and to purchase it. Of course, she could never remember exactly how much of the money for each book went to the actual author - royalties were confounding - but it was still symbolic to her of an attempt to aid her fellow amateur authors.

Not that she was technically an author yet. As if she had the time to write a full novel, with all of the work she had to do. Still, she felt a kinship to those struggling new writers just setting foot in the literary world, and kin helped kin.

So, there she was on that fine autumn afternoon, unbuttoning her peacoat as she stepped into the climate control of the mall's bookstore. She inhaled, that distinct and quirky smile curling her lips. New book smell, everywhere. Delicious.

Elle let her hungry eyes wander about the store for a moment, her gaze traveling from bookshelves to patrons and over to that endearing little café. A cookie and a mocha latte would be in order after she had made her selections, she decided, and with that, she began to peruse.

"New authors, new authors," she mumbled, adjusting the strap of her messenger bag. "Around here somewhere..."

If she wasn't so new to the city so far, she would have been able to find the shelf immediately. She had known most of the bookstores in Chicago inside out - she could have walked through them with her eyes closed. Elle sincerely hoped that she could become as accustomed to this bookstore as she had been to the last.

[MARLENA CARTWRIGHT]

Marlena had needed a job. Not that she needed something to occupy herself with, of course, since she was involved in a number of extracurriculars at Barrie. It's just that she wanted to have some extra money, you know? It didn't have anything to do with the sign she saw at the bookstore that was pretty much a 'help wanted' advertisement. No, she wouldn't randomly decide on having a job simply because her favorite bookstore had an opening and was offering an employee discount. That was ridiculous.

Well, not all that ridiculous, because here she was, restocking shelves just after getting off her break in the café that was connected to the bookstore. So what if it was a quick decision she really didn't think through? She had gotten the job, so obviously something was right about this.

Plus, she had gotten into so many new books that were good. She was never really in to newer stuff- she mainly only read classics- but now, it was like everything she knew was out the window. There were books she had been missing before that were nearly better than classics, just not as popular. Oh yes, Marlena loved her new job, though there was one thing that wasn't quite perfect.

As much as she loved and could relate to fictional people, conversating and recommending these works of fiction with complete strangers was not something she could do easily. No, her people skills were not exactly up to par. It's not that she didn't like people, it's just that she wasn't all that trusting and she had always been taught not to talk to strangers. But the manager had said she wouldn't be able to keep this job by just restocking shelves, so it was a good time to try it.

So when her hands were empty of books (someone was already using the cart), Marlena walked around to look for someone to help. Ah, there was someone! Walking towards the woman, she smiled. "Do you need help finding anything today?" Well, there was the easy part, at least. She knew that from employees at practically any place when they asked her that. Now, after that was a little tricky.

notes; I hope this is okay. c:

["ELLE" FAIRCHILD]

Elle wasn't quite sure what she was going to buy today, come to think of it. She had come on the lookout for new authors, of course, seeing as she was always eager to support those fellow writers of hers, but as of now, she was starting to wonder if she shouldn't look for a little something different. She wasn't really one for nonfiction, but perhaps a good classic...but no, she'd read too many classics already, on her own time or in college. Maybe she'd just pick books off the shelves and see if she could find something...eh. That was a bit too expensive to do in a bookstore.

So what, then, could she do?

As she was perusing the shelves curiously, trying to find the new authors' section so she could just grab a half-interesting hardback and stop her worrying about content, she heard the soft voice of an employee to one side of her.

Turning, she looked up at the girl - Elle was shorter than almost everyone - and offered her one of her small half-smiles. "Um, hi," she said, shoving her hands in the pockets of her skinnies. "I came in looking for the new authors section...but I dunno, now I'm kind of thinking I might want to look at something else, too..."

Oh, what was she saying. She was yammering on about thoughts she had intended not to express, something she was never keen on doing. She turned a bit pink and tried again.

"Sorry. Yes. New authors? I always have trouble finding that section."

[MARLENA CARTWRIGHT]

Marlena did enjoy this bookstore before she started working here, so she pretty much knew it by the back of her hand. And though she loved her job, she would give the advice to any people who were shy like her to not work where you have to talk to people. Start conversations, to be more specific. It was obvious she was shy from her face and posture, but she had to, right? It was her job. And she liked her job, She liked having extra money and extra books.

But luckily, she wasn't the only one. This nice lady seemed to be a bit like her, too. Not that Marlena really noticed, seeing as she was too busy focusing on not being that way herself. "Oh yes... new authors. It's over here, I think..." She didn't know what to do when she said she wanted to look for something else. That was one thing Marlena didn't enjoy, when the customer expected the worker to know what the customer was looking for. It was rather confusing and she barely knew what she was looking for, so how should she know what someone else was? But Marlena was very patient and helped the people out as best she could.

When the lady turned pink, she didn't mind. In fact, Marlena did that all the time.

"Here, this way," Marlena said, starting towards the section, intending for the lady to follow. When she got there, she smiled. "It's not easy for anyone to find. I think they make the signs to small, peronally." It was only a little thing above the small section, amongst other sections. Marlena pondered over what she said about 'something else'. Hmmm. "What else do you like to read?" Yeah, she was probably too intrusive and not a good retail person at all, but oh, she loved this job, and she was just trying to help, that was all.

[/justify]

notes; wow i'm sorry i totally forgot about this thread. D: