As Ashley began to frantically search for the box containing her coat, she kept noticing new books not yet on the shelves that she couldn't help but take a peek at.
Namely, ones by her favorite authors, both new books and sequels of old ones, some manga she was interested in, and much more. She couldn't stop herself from grabbing them and reading them.
"Ugh, I just want to know how that cliffhanger gets resolved, dammit!" She said aloud as she held the next volume in one of her favorite series. After reading one page, she realized how ridiculous she must've looked right then: a girl standing completely nude as she read a book. The thought made her blush, and she set down the book to finally focus. They would go up eventually; for now she needed that coat.
But so far, she'd had no luck. The longer she searched, the more panicked she became that she'd get caught. The fact was that the place was just so big that it could be anywhere. Ashley knew she couldn't give up, though, so she kept going.
At one point, she was bent over searching through cabinets low to the ground, silently cursing as she found nothing. Once she stood up, she turned around, and froze as she was met with the sight of a window she somehow hadn't noticed before.
A window she'd just been completely naked in front of.
Bent over.
Ashley felt her face go a deep red as she quickly ducked out of view of the window, praying nobody had been watching. If somebody had been, well...they would've gotten quite an eyeful...
Ashley became aware of just how cold the room was. The tiles under her bare feet were chilly, and the cool air was making her nipples hard.
Ashley slapped her cheeks. She needed to focus! She kept getting distracted! Ashley decided to stop and simply scan the room. However, she needed to get up high to get a good vantage point. Ashley looked around, and spotted what seemed to be a decently balanced pile of books she could temporarily get on. Ashley nodded to herself as she made her way over.
She climbed onto the table, falling onto her butt after slipping a bit, and finding an odd pleasure at how the wood felt underneath her bare ass. Ashley didn't let it get to her too much before she carefully climbed the stack of books, and looked out over the room.
From here, she could see pretty far in every direction. She took stock of where she had and hadn't searched. She'd mostly stuck to the outside edges, but there were a lot of inner places it could be hiding. It would just take some time.
But time was not on Ashley's side.
Right then, Ashley saw the door open, and two people walked in. One was Margaret, and the other was...James. Ashley paled, then mentally slapped herself. James helped out at the library, and now he was here!! She was completely and utterly naked in the same room as her best friend!! Who was also a guy!!
As Ashley stood frozen, but not yet noticed by the two, they started speaking. "My my, I forgot how messy it was. Are you sure you're ready to tackle this mess?" Margaret asked.
"Always. There's no way I'd let you do this alone." James responded. "So, where should we start?"
"The tallest piles, since they should really be taken care of first. We shouldn't leave books stacked that high." Margaret said.
At that, Ashley finally snapped out of her shock and started making her way back down the pile before she was spotted.
However...as Ashley climbed down the stack of books, a weak spot in the pile caused it to quickly tip over and fall, taking Ashley down with it. Ashley suppressed a scream as she crashed to the floor, and got pelted by several books, one even smacking her in the cheek, making her wince. The sound immediately attracted the attention of Margaret and James.
"What was that?" James asked.
"Sounds like a stack fell over." Margaret answered, and soon after, Ashley heard footsteps rushing over to her. She quickly stood and booked it, rushing around a table and out of sight just as the two spotted the mess she had left behind.
"Yeah, looks like a tall stack fell over." Margaret said as she examined it. "But what caused it to fall?"
"Maybe it was already about to fall and we came in just as it gave way?" James offered. Margaret thought it over and sighed.
"I hope so. The alternative could be someone sneaking around in here, which could mean serious trouble." Margaret said. "Here, help me with this." As the two began to pick up the books, Ashley quietly crawled over to the other side of the room.