Kieran was having an oddly boring day in the library. Normally, he would have many customers filing in and out, hushed whispers filling the rooms, and the occasional flick of pages or a think of a fallen book. Today, though, there was an eerie silence that made a shiver go up the librarian's spine. Even the whining children would have relieved him of his worries. He glanced over at the window for what felt like the hundredth time— the library was open. Maybe he should go check, just in case..? No. He was just paranoid. But still, it wasn't often the library only had staff in the building.
Then it hit him. Boss would be visiting that day! No wonder no one was coming. Everyone feared Boss. He was completely unknown to everyone, and yet he still induced fear onto anyone who knew even one tiny lie about him. They would fear him the rest of their lives. Kieran understood it now, why it was so quiet you could hear the mice scurrying along in their tunnels. (No, there wasn't a big mouse problem, they were kept to clean up litter from food crumbs amd wrappers.) One problem, though- Kieran worked specifically for Boss. He needed to look his best.. oh, damn it, he needed to look his best! He quickly shot up, straightening out his tan suit and pulling on his black tie he had tied in a rush to get to work. He had woken up late today, so he was quite disheveled. Well, might as well go to the washrooms to clean himself up.
He sighed softly, and began to make himself to the restrooms before freezing midway through when he heard a bell ring softly— that was the bell to the entrance. Was Boss here already? Was there a tourist who was too stupid to see the sign of dates Boss came to the library? No. Tourists weren't that stupid.. perhaps it was Kairo, his son? Kairo was the only one he allowed to come into the library even if it were closed, or the Boss was coming if not already there. He slowly looked back towards the door, his shoulders tense before relaxing. There was.. no one? What bell had rung? Maybe it was just a tourist who was really quick on feet. This was really odd. Who could've entered? Was he just hearing things? A voice snapped him out of his daze.
"Hey, Kieran, you okay? Staring at the door won't make Boss come and later, you know.."
It was his coworker- Zendaya. Zendaya was a petite woman who had almost platinum blonde hair, beautiful dark skin with vitiligo in the most perfect places. She had very pretty blue eyes that clashed amazingly with everything else, and despite her being small, she could knock out a grown man twice her size. In Kieran's eyes, this made her the most perfect human being to ever live. And yes, he 100% had a crush on her. Everyone who knew him, including Zendaya, knew about his crush. They often teased him about it, but it only added fuel to the fire of love in his heart for Zendaya. Only problem was that he was Zendaya's boss, and she didn't like children. She barely tolerated the children at the library, and much less Kairo, Kieran's son. That didn't stop him from loving her, though.
"Ah, Zendaya! Sorry, I suppose I was just hearing things.. did anyone come through the door?"
"No? Did you go to sleep last night, or did your kid keep you up last night?
The disgust in her voice was clear, and she scoffed softly before returning back to her duty. She knew that Kieran wouldn't have the guts to fire her. It was his only way to stay close to her, since she threatened to move to Germany once she left or got fired. She wasn't in the financial position to do so, yet, though.
Kieran felt disheartened, and kind of annoyed. But he knew that he heard something. He huffed and began to make his way towards the door, walking down the aisles of books and souvenirs he didn't even know why they were in a library of all places. No one was there. Was he really just hearing things? No. That couldn't be it, there had to be someone who came! But yet the door never opened. No one else heard the bell. That was strange.