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xp_logsWorking her Monday shift, Alani comes across Jess in the mansion's library... it's certainly something that happened. Or is it?
With all the new people in the mansion, Alani had fallen behind learning who was who, she should have just asked for the tech people to give her the deets when they appeared. But the mention that there was a woman returning, had piqued her interest more than any of the others (though she couldn't deny her joy at having Sharon in the suite). The unknown figure at the library seemed to match the description, brought her forward, desk duty already taken care of and having seen no one else. "Hi there!" She greeted brightly, raising a hand in a half-wave. "I'm Alani, assistant librarian among other things, is there anything I can help you with?"
The woman, holding several books close to her chest while she browsed, visibly recoiled from this unexpected friendliness, her hand freezing in front of a copy of Poverty, by America. "Uh," she said, with suspicion that was absolutely undue in this situation. "I - no? I'm just . . . looking?"
The motion had Alani talk a half-step back, eyes widening a fracture though her smile remained, otherwise seemingly unbothered. She scanned over the books quickly, head tilting for a moment, before returning to her regular peppiness. "Okay, awesome. I just wanted to make sure you knew there was help if you needed or wanted to put in any requests — we do take them very seriously in our little library.”
The look Alani received in return was deeply skeptical, brows drawing together; the friendliness, rather than relaxing the dark-haired woman, seemed only to perturb her. "I, uh, thanks," she said cautiously - not the kind of caution of someone meeting a new person, but the kind of caution used when dealing with something alarming, perhaps potentially explosive. "Are you the librarian?"
“Assistant,” Alani corrected easily, finger raised to the tag she’d made herself. 'Assistant Librarian' had been spat out by the label maker and slapped on the face of of a blue 'birthday boy' ribbon. To date it was still worn whenever she sat behind the desk or walked the rows, really. "The librarian's a bit busy right now with her other job, so I just spend my free time here."
The ribbon, which had previously escaped Jessica's notice, made the dark-haired woman's eyes move dubiously. "This place is big enough for two librarians?" Or was there something else afoot - something suspicious?
"We could probably use more than two, honestly, or, one fully dedicated one with me pinch hitting." Alani shrugged, eyes flickering to the spines of the books beside Jess's head. "I myself have another job and do a fair bit of volunteer work, so I don't think I'm really giving this place the care it needs."
Jessica looked skeptical. "You have an entire other job and work for free, and do this? Are they giving awards for least free time achieved?"
She coughed, face flushing almost as red as her symbols as she raised a hand to push back the hair falling into her eyes. "Not that I know of, but I'd probably be up there in the candidates if that was a real thing, you got me there. When you put it like that, though, it sounds like I'm on my way to being a real psychologist when I finish up school."
"You're a librarian, with another job, and you work for free . . . and also a shrink in training?" Jess's eyebrows drew together. "Lady, this might just be my concussion talking, but what the fuck."
"Wel- I, uh, well when you put it like that," Alani floundered, she was floundering, face flushing as she tried to find words. "When you put it like that, it sure sounds like a lot, but it works for me. And that's what matters." She sighed at her own ability to speak finally returning.
Jessica stared at her flatly, then deliberately took the book she'd been looking at off the shelf, said, "Sure," in a voice that conveyed absolutely no actual agreement, and turned to leave.
She opened her mouth to respond but nothing came out, her face was burning as she looked back towards the desk, wondering if there was anything she could say or do or, why was she so bad at this all of the sudden? When Alani turned back, she was alone, and more confused than she'd been in almost her whole five years at the mansion. "Was that real?"
With all the new people in the mansion, Alani had fallen behind learning who was who, she should have just asked for the tech people to give her the deets when they appeared. But the mention that there was a woman returning, had piqued her interest more than any of the others (though she couldn't deny her joy at having Sharon in the suite). The unknown figure at the library seemed to match the description, brought her forward, desk duty already taken care of and having seen no one else. "Hi there!" She greeted brightly, raising a hand in a half-wave. "I'm Alani, assistant librarian among other things, is there anything I can help you with?"
The woman, holding several books close to her chest while she browsed, visibly recoiled from this unexpected friendliness, her hand freezing in front of a copy of Poverty, by America. "Uh," she said, with suspicion that was absolutely undue in this situation. "I - no? I'm just . . . looking?"
The motion had Alani talk a half-step back, eyes widening a fracture though her smile remained, otherwise seemingly unbothered. She scanned over the books quickly, head tilting for a moment, before returning to her regular peppiness. "Okay, awesome. I just wanted to make sure you knew there was help if you needed or wanted to put in any requests — we do take them very seriously in our little library.”
The look Alani received in return was deeply skeptical, brows drawing together; the friendliness, rather than relaxing the dark-haired woman, seemed only to perturb her. "I, uh, thanks," she said cautiously - not the kind of caution of someone meeting a new person, but the kind of caution used when dealing with something alarming, perhaps potentially explosive. "Are you the librarian?"
“Assistant,” Alani corrected easily, finger raised to the tag she’d made herself. 'Assistant Librarian' had been spat out by the label maker and slapped on the face of of a blue 'birthday boy' ribbon. To date it was still worn whenever she sat behind the desk or walked the rows, really. "The librarian's a bit busy right now with her other job, so I just spend my free time here."
The ribbon, which had previously escaped Jessica's notice, made the dark-haired woman's eyes move dubiously. "This place is big enough for two librarians?" Or was there something else afoot - something suspicious?
"We could probably use more than two, honestly, or, one fully dedicated one with me pinch hitting." Alani shrugged, eyes flickering to the spines of the books beside Jess's head. "I myself have another job and do a fair bit of volunteer work, so I don't think I'm really giving this place the care it needs."
Jessica looked skeptical. "You have an entire other job and work for free, and do this? Are they giving awards for least free time achieved?"
She coughed, face flushing almost as red as her symbols as she raised a hand to push back the hair falling into her eyes. "Not that I know of, but I'd probably be up there in the candidates if that was a real thing, you got me there. When you put it like that, though, it sounds like I'm on my way to being a real psychologist when I finish up school."
"You're a librarian, with another job, and you work for free . . . and also a shrink in training?" Jess's eyebrows drew together. "Lady, this might just be my concussion talking, but what the fuck."
"Wel- I, uh, well when you put it like that," Alani floundered, she was floundering, face flushing as she tried to find words. "When you put it like that, it sure sounds like a lot, but it works for me. And that's what matters." She sighed at her own ability to speak finally returning.
Jessica stared at her flatly, then deliberately took the book she'd been looking at off the shelf, said, "Sure," in a voice that conveyed absolutely no actual agreement, and turned to leave.
She opened her mouth to respond but nothing came out, her face was burning as she looked back towards the desk, wondering if there was anything she could say or do or, why was she so bad at this all of the sudden? When Alani turned back, she was alone, and more confused than she'd been in almost her whole five years at the mansion. "Was that real?"
