Haleigh Williams

The Hercule-ean Discovery

Kristin drummed her fingers on the choppy wood of the old desk. Dum dum dum. Dum dum dum. Only three hours left of her shift. She pushed back in the leather-bound chair, stretching her arms and arching her back to loosen the tension that came with sitting at the reception desk of the Purdue County Library for six hours a day. She sighed at the empty foyer. The storm outside had kept people away for most of the day - not that she ever saw many people anyway. Being a big, rural place only few of the folks that called Purdue County home had much need for libraries. Purdue was a farming community and Kristin's family was one of the few non-farming families that called it home. Many of the other local teens used the summer months to help their families on the farm while school was out of session. Kristin spun around in her chair and stared at the fluorescent lights beaming along the ceiling. Her mom had been adamant that she picked up a job to keep busy like the rest of her friends, so she put together a quick cover letter and resume (one that consisted of mostly volunteer work) and send it in to three different employers. She had heard back from the library and the ice cream shop. She wondered vaguely if the ice cream shop would have been more her speed but shook off the feeling. Mr. VanderFrost had been so persuasive about the library, offering to pay her double whatever the ice cream shop would have offered. He was a bit of an outsider, choosing to keep to his office all hours of the day, and only offering a polite hello and goodbye to Kristin as walked in and out of the doors. To most, his offer for double profits seemed strange, but Kristin didn’t mind. She needed the money to buy the new iPhone that had been announced this weekend. She stretched at the desk one more time before the crack of thunder outside reminded her that she wasn’t seeing many visitors for the day. Standing up and pushing her chair back, she wandered the stacks slowly, seeking something to read. She browsed the section on 1960s hairstyles, slowed down to read the spines of historical mysteries, but eventually found herself in the detective fiction aisle. Kristin pulled down an Agatha Christie novel, her favorite, and headed back to the front reception desk. She placed the book in front of her on the wood and pulled her chair back before the loud bang of a door and the frightful sound of two men with raised voices berated the quiet peace of the library.