The Stacks

[Administrator]

Here you can find all of the lovely books that have been collected

[Cheater Hollander]

[new day]

It was a horrible way to spend her money, especially considering the lack of space in her current living quarters and the fact that she simply didn't have the time to be sitting and reading books. There was still the matter of paying rent, of buying food, of buying new clothes (if she ever found she needed them)...

Valid points, all of them. Cheater, however, chose to ignore them and wander among the stacks. Every once in a while she would reach for a book, pausing to open it to a random page, read for a bit, and place it back on the shelf. Sometimes, once she was sure nobody was around to see her do it, she would open a book simply to inhale. She loved the smell of books; they were comforting and while many were similar in their aroma, none of them were ever the same.

A particular volume caught her eye and she stood on tip-toe to reach it, fingers barely brushing the spine. An expression of concentration slipped onto her face, as if she were hoping that by just hoping for it, she would grow a few more inches to be able to reach the book.

[Sweetheart Snow]

Sweetheart walked into the bookstore and smiled. She loved books. She was always able to escape her problems when she opened a book. She spotted a girl who was reaching fr a book. She went over to the girl and smiled.

"Hi! Ypu know that there's a small step stool over there, right?" she asked, pointing to a step stool nearby.

[Cheater Hollander]

Cheater's concentration was broken when the girl addressed her. She turned slightly, still balanced precariously on one foot, arm outstretched, although now the book she was reaching for was nothing as interesting as the one she had had her eyes on to begin with. At the mention of a stool, she returned to a somewhat normal (and, most likely, safer) standing position. "Thanks! I didn't even notice... probably would've climbed the shelf if you hadn't told me."

She hurried over to the stool and nudged it back to where she had been standing moments before. When Cheater had decided it was in an appropriate position, she climbed up and tugged the book out of its spot with such gusto that she nearly toppled off the footstool.

The book itself was quite massive, and she examined the plain cover. There was not a legitimate title, nor was there an author. The only thing on the book were the words Medical Curiosities.

Setting her own curiosity aside for a moment, Cheater turned to the other girl. "Think this'll be too big to carry back to Manhattan?"

[Sweetheart Snow]

Sweetheart laughed. "That would be bad." she smiled. The girl was very pretty. Sweetheart always envied girls who were pretty. She consider herself pretty inthe slightest.

"That book is huge. I'm sure it can be carried. It would hurt your arms, but it's possible." she said smiling and then stuck her hand out. "Sweetheart Snow. what's your name?" she asked.

[Cheater Hollander]

Cheater hefted the book a bit, grinning as she stared at the cover. "It'll be worth it-- even if I can't understand what they're talking about... there're always pictures, I guess." Although the prospect of looking at people who have conditions odd enough to be considered 'medical curiosities' was a bit disgusting.

She set down the book and eyed Sweetheart's hand for a moment, unsure if she should follow her instincts and carry out a spit-shake or introduce herself in the "proper" way. After a moment of considering the drawbacks of both, she shook Sweetheart's hand without spitting. "Cheater Hollander," she replied then, after a pause: "Sweetheart's a kind of interesting name... it's not your real one, is it? Not... that there's anything wrong with that..."

[Sweetheart Snow]

Sweetheart smiled at what the girl said. "Yeah, I don't think anyone would want to read a book that big if there weren't any pictures." she said.

She noticed that the girl looked like she was trying not to spit in her hand. "It's really nice to meet you Cheater. And I'm alright with spit-shaking." then she shook her head. "No, Sweetheart is not my real name, but I hate my first name. My brother has a better first name but he goes by Shadow." she blushed at her rambling. "I don't mean to pry or anything but, why are you called Cheater?" she asked, her Midwestern accent making an appearance, much to Sweetheart's annoyance. She hated her accent.

[Cheater Hollander]

"I dunno," she said, staring contemplatively at the cover of the book before flipping through it again. "It's a medical dictionary, right? Gotta have some pictures, otherwise how're we supposed to know what they're talking about?" She was sure that even the most brilliant doctor couldn't just imagine some of the medical oddities discussed within the massive tome.

Cheater nodded in understanding. "I'm sure your real name isn't all that bad, but 'Sweetheart' is a pretty good choice, too." She paused to set the book down on the stepping stool before turning back to the other girl. "It's not anything exciting, if that's what you're thinking," she said. It was true, though. Cheater wasn't good at games of chance, and she certainly wasn't popular enough with the men to have the chance to have multiple relationships (not that she ever wanted them)... really, her nickname was nothing but a jab at her lack of abilities.

Realizing she hadn't actually answered Sweetheart's question, she cleared her throat and continued. "What I mean is... I'm competitive, right? I don't like to lose, and when things aren't looking so good for me, sometimes I like to change that.... except I'm not very good at it. I'm 'Cheater' because everyone knows I'm cheating."

[Sweetheart Snow]

Sweetheart smiled. "You never know." she said.

Sweetheart laughed. "Nice! At least the reason you got that name for being an innocent pushover." she said, scowling.