fandomhigh | Library [2-18]

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library

Library [2-18]

There wasn't a teevee in the library for George to keep up on th'hockey scores so instead he was studying books on hockey drills.

He was really wishing there was a teevee though...

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Joan stopped by after her class to see if she could get an interview with the new librarian for the school paper.

Nothing like waiting until the last minute.

"Hello, Mr. DeTamble?" she asked, poking her head into his office.

"That's me," Henry said, glancing up from the stack of paperwork. "Can I help you with something?"

"I'm Joan Girardi," she said. "And I'm on the Fandom High Times staff. We were hoping to do a feature on you for our next issue, if you wouldn't mind answering a few questions."

"Sure, Joan," Henry said, and waved her in. "I can promise I'm not all that interesting."

"Everyone is interesting in Fandom," Joan said, entering the office and finding a seat. She pulled out her notepad and a pen. "It's just a matter of whether they share it or not."

That struck a little close to home, and Henry gave her a careful smile -- one that wondered if she was somehow onto him. "I'm about as dull as anybody you'll find in Fandom," he said. "I'm not from outer space or the distant future. I don't shoot fire out of my fingertips."

No, she wasn't on to him at all. She was simply one of the people who kept her secrets to herself.

She snickered a bit though. "I don't shoot fire from my fingers either, so you have nothing to worry about."

Then, "So, Mr. DeTamble, what brought you to Fandom?"

"Good to hear you won't zap me if I'm a lousy interview," Henry said, and glanced out the window as he decided how to phrase it for print. He usually called it a medical condition, but that was right out this time.

"I'm from Chicago," he started. "I'd been working in a library there ... a little over fifteen years. Anyhow, I had some personal business to take care of that meant I had to be near Baltimore for a while. I started looking for a job, and this was the best open position."

Joan nodded. "How are you adjusting to Fandom and all it's... quirks?"

"It's interesting," Henry said lightly, shooting a glance toward Special Collections, "I locked the part of the library that ate one of my aides for a couple days, does that count?"

"Most definitely," Joan agreed, jotting down a note. "I'm guessing Fandom poses some unique challenges your position in Chicago did not. What changes would you like to implement during your tenure here?"

"Mostly I'm focusing on trying to get more people into the library," Henry said. "We have a fantastic collection, and it doesn't get used nearly enough. But I haven't been here long enough to have a detailed plan."

"Do you have ideas?"

Joan was caught off guard by his question and took a moment to consider it before responding with, "Um, a book club, maybe?"

"Book club," Henry echoed thoughtfully. "Yeah, that's not a bad idea. I'll run it by the staff sometime."

"Thanks," Joan said. "What's your favorite thing about Fandom?"

"The people," Henry said, not needing to think about it. "I'm used to the whole city thing where you kind of ignore people until you have no other choice. Here it feels like people take care of each other. It makes for a soft landing after things like a gremlin attack."

Joan nodded. "No gremlins or magic or anything in your Chicago?"

"Completely boring and logical," Henry confirmed. "It's 2003 there, but that doesn't seem to be that big a change."

"No flying cars yet," Joan joked. "Do you have any family back there?"

"Figures that I wouldn't get flying cars," Henry joked, then reached to turn a framed photo around on his desk so Joan could see it. It was a studio portrait of an auburn-haired woman a few years younger than Henry holding a toddler. "Yeah, this is my wife Clare -- no i, if you put her name in the article -- and our daughter Alba. Alba's one and a half. I'm spending next week with them."

It was easy to tell how much he missed them both.

"My dad's back there too," he added, as an afterthought. "I was there pretty much my whole life."

"She's adorable," Joan said. "It must be hard not being with them. How much have you told them about Fandom?"

"Clare's known me about forever," Henry said fondly as he patted the photo and put it back into place. "I have a hard time lying to her. She hears a lot."

He leaned toward Joan with a sly look in his eyes. "Though I may fudge the parts that would just worry her."

"I'll do my best to leave those parts out then," Joan promised. "If Fandom turned you into an animal, what animal do you think it would be?"

Henry laughed, surprised. "I've never thought about it," he confessed. "Wait, should I start thinking about it?"

Joan chuckled. "I don't know if makes a difference, but it seemed like a fun Fandom related question."

Re: Talk to the Librarian [2-18]

one-who-goes.livejournal.com - 2010-02-19 02:32 (UTC) - Expand

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