The library balcony is lined with tables, the corner one; just by the stairs, is where I am seated. A woman is thumping down the stairs. Her backless heels click as the stick and un-stick to the souls of her feet. People by the dozens are glued to computers, all with a fixed gaze at the screen. The motor of quick typing is coming from somewhere, also is the hum of talking.
A girl is sitting bellow me in an arm chair. She is carefully draping her plum sweater over the arm. She smoothes it down and then fumbles with her cell phone. The light steps of another girl come up the stairs with only the swishing of her jeans making noticeable noise. She’s followed by heavy steps of a stout man and girl with a yellow backpack. They disappear into the hallway behind me. The talk is getting louder, but only a few people are speaking. I can hear one girl’s voice over it all, but I don’t know what she’s saying. The light step girl has disappeared back down the stairs; she doesn’t carry a backpack like everyone else. A man with many keys walks right beside me and picks something up off the ground. He is about to go down the stairs but stops at the rain covered window and looks out for a brief moment. He carries coffee in his hand, in a paper cup with a lid. The sweater girl is now reading, headphones on. Her sweater is still there and untouched. She looks focused, but a faint smile is on her face; it’s almost unnoticeable. She yawns.
I meet eyes with a boy in a plaid hat. We hold the gaze; it is short but feels long. I couldn’t see his mouth; it was resting against his fist. His eyes are back on whatever he has in front of him. His mouth is still buried.
No comments:
Post a Comment