Monica strode through the hall towards the library. She'd just passed her bar exams and she was feeling on top of the world. Mr. Felix - the head of her new firm - had asked her to retrieve some archived journals from her old boarding school that he thought might contain evidence of deliberate corporate wrongdoing. After all the help he'd given her in passing her test it was truly the least she could do.
So after a letter from the Headmaster welcoming her back and the long walk from the train station, here she was striding to the library she'd done the best to avoid in her years at school. It was just past midnight, no students roamed the halls and the ghosts must've been elsewhere. Opening the large wooden doors, she let herself into high ceilinged room lined with rows and rows of bookshelves. The library was empty too. Monica was a little disappointed; she'd been hoping to see Ms. Johnson. She had enjoyed bothering Ms. Johnson more than she'd enjoyed nearly all of her classes, and had certainly showed more commitment to the task than to some of her finals.
Monica smiled as she strode over to the archives, remembering the time she'd set off a series of small noisemakers throughout the library, causing Ms. Johnson to run around frantically, shrieking, throwing her glasses to the ground in frustration. That was the closest Monica'd gotten to her unspoken goal, seeing what Ms. Johnson would look like with her hair out of the tight bun it was forever coiled at the back of her head.
The archives were not locked, they were not considered to be particularly valuable - she vaguely wondered how the journals had ended up here. She began searching the packed shelves, looking through the faded titles and worn spines. She found the book tucked into the corner of the shelf furthest from the door, the faded title along the spine detailing the date range she needed. "Gotcha," she whispered to herself.
As she stepped off the ladder, a voice behind Monica said harshly, "What are you doing here?" Monica smiled to herself and then quickly fixed her face into a somber expression as she turned to see the menacing figure of Ms. Johnson behind her looking severe in her black robe tightly knotted around her waist. The woman could sneak up more quietly than anyone she'd ever met.
"I'm here on urgent business," Monica said, producing the letter swiftly from inside her robes and presenting it to Ms. Johnson with a flourish, "The Headmaster's been informed."
Monica struggled to contain her grin as Ms. Johnson glanced furiously at her and then scowled over the letter; holding it up to the low lamp light that illuminated the room. After several moments' examination, Ms. Johnson handed the letter back to Monica, seemingly disappointed to not have detected a fraud.
"Actually," said Monica, hiding the book she'd pulled from the shelf behind her back, "I am glad you're here. I could use your help." She quickly explained the book she was looking for and hinted to the importance of finding it quickly, "Mr. Felix needs it," she finished, knowing Ms. Johnson would know the important lawyer.
Ms. Johnson seemed to puff up with the importance of the task. Her back straightened and as the gleam of the low light caught her hair Monica noticed that her black tresses were in their bun, perhaps looser than usual. 'Excellent," Monica thought.
Ms. Johnson turned with determination and strode to the corner Monica had recently vacated, "I believe it is somewhere over here..." lapsing into silence. With a nod, Monica slid the bookinto her pocket and began searching the shelves alongside Ms. Johnson. They searched in silence for several minutes, stretching into a quarter of an hour. Ms. Johnson thwarted all of Monica' attempts at chat and Monica resorted to small exclamations at various titles, hoping to catch Ms. Johnson's interest and, when Ms. Johnson climbed onto a ladder to search a higher shelf, long admiring looks at her strong calves.
Finally Monica thought the game was getting old. Slipping the book from her pocket she mimed pulling it from the shelves dramatically. "Found it!" she exclaimed. Ms. Johnson deflated slightly, seemingly disappointed to have not been more critical to the assignment. Monica quickly added, "I couldn't have found it without your guidance." Ms. Johnson's disappointment seemed to lift slightly.