Just A Little Bit Higher... [Jeff]

[Rory Lennox]

The morning was Rory’s favorite time to come to the library. Apparently, there weren’t too many early risers at Hammel, so it was always pretty empty at this time. Sure, there were a few students in their own respective corners, but Rory had learned to ignore those stray thoughts that would creep in every now and then. She wasn’t sure if she was actually getting better at shielding them or if she’d just gotten used to hearing them all the time. Perhaps it was a combination of both.

But Rory needed to study and this was actually a very bearable time to be in the library. So she’d come in and spill all her stuff at one of the many empty tables. She’d really have loved it if she could cram both dance and studying into her mornings before class started, but she’d have to get up really early to do that. Usually morning practices were dedicated to the weekend.

Today she was studying for a history test she had at the end of the day. Luckily she’d gotten all of her homework done, and had been able to study a bit before she went to bed last night. So now she was just going to go over the notes that she made.

She sat down at her table, pulling her notebook and brightly colored flashcards onto the table. But as she dug through her bag, she realized she must have left her history text book in her room. Not that she technically needed it since all of the information was in her notebook or on the cards, but what if she did? What if there was some kind of fact that she had neglected to write down last night?

Luckily, the library always had copies of texts on the shelves…somewhere. And after a quick discussion with the librarian, Rory was pointed to the the aisle where she’d find it. After scanning the shelves for a few moments, she found exactly what she was looking for…all the way on the top shelf.

Rory frowned, reaching up as high as she could, her fingers barely skimming the bottom of it. You know, sometimes only being five feet tall was very inconvenient. Rory reached up again, standing on the tip tops of her toes, but still no luck. Letting out a loud huff, she jumped up, trying to get a good enough grasp to pull it off. Unfortunately, she was probably going to take the whole shelf down before she ever got ahold of the text book.

[Jeff McIntosh]

Jeff was not exactly a library person. In fact, he would undoubtedly never set foot in a library except for the fact that passing grades were a necessity for Hammel sports teams. Coach Pruitt wouldn't hesitate to bench him for the rest of eternity if he started failing classes. Or, at the very least, for the remainder of the school year, which amounted to the same thing. 

Much like Rory, he was an early riser, although less for the solitude and more because he enjoyed running around the outside of campus in the mornings. Particularly now that it was summer the weather in the middle of the day was too hot and humid for running, and of course he couldn't skip classes just to run. 

So he had gone running, taken a shower, and then headed to the library to return some books he'd borrowed for a recent Biology assignment. 

The dropbox had a piece of paper taped over it, announcing that it was broken and so to please return the books inside. It was with a heavy sigh that he entered the library proper, dumping the books onto the library desk. He gave the librarian a rushed good morning before hurrying away from the desk, fully prepared to flee the library when he saw someone in need. 

Her outfit reminded him a bit of how Jo dressed, although she was much tinier than his younger sister was. In fact, she was downright diminutive, and this seemed to be causing her some distress. 

He knew what was expected, and so after another sigh he marched over to her. 

"Hey, I can get that for you. Which book are you trying to reach?" 

[Rory Lennox]

Why did they even have book shelves this high? Wouldn’t it make sense to build a bookshelf that everyone was able to reach comfortably? However, many would argue that the shelf wasn’t actually that high. Most people of average height would be able to reach it with relative ease. So really the problem was more Rory’s height, as opposed to the shelf.

Bummer.

She was really regretting not bringing her own copy of the history text. Then she wouldn’t even be in this predicament. She contemplated going back to her room and getting it, but that would really take a chunk out of her studying time. No, she could definitely get it. She just needed to jump a little bit higher.

The dancer used one of the middle shelves as leverage, stretching her other arm up as high as she could. Unfortunately, despite twelve years of intense stretching, she still was unable to reach the book she needed. She thought about scaling the shelf for a moment. It would only take a second, but the mere possibility of knocking the entire shelf over was mortifying enough to toss the idea aside in an instant.

Rory was so caught up in trying to solve this problem that she almost didn’t notice someone walking down her aisle. She heard a quiet ghost of whisper - she wasn’t paying enough attention to make it out completely - when he was a few steps away, and she turned just before he started to speak.

It was a boy. A cute, older boy. And he wanted to help her. “Oh, hi.” She said, giving him a bright smile in appreciation. “The history book. The modern world one.” Rory pointed to the textbook, though it clearly said Modern World History on the spine.