Page 27 of Drawn Together
“Hm?” She is still locked in on the dilapidated book on our dining table.
“Did you and Fletcher…I mean were you…? It doesn’t matter at all, since Fletcher is really not my type and we aren’t even friends, and honestly, I don’t even have a type. Well, except for that guy working the hotdog vendor on 11th, because well, he is everyone's type. I think Noah is, too; every girl loves a firefighter. But anyway, I am not in any way interested, so it really does not matter, but did you two date at one point?”
Lennon’s face is the definition of disgust, and before she opens her mouth I have my answer.
“No. Never ever never.”
“Okay, just making sure me being”—I start to say friends but that feels like a wrong label right now— “in a book club with him, is fine?”
“You can be in a book club with anyone, Flora, even Stephan.”
“Does Stephan read?”
“Just to-go menus.”
That makes me laugh, and a corner of her lips curves up.
“Well, I’m glad. About you working with me.”
“Yeah.” She lifts her eyes to mine. “Me too.”
Eleven
Wordoftheday:windownest
Definition:that feeling of being indoors — reading, writing, or watching rain — while the world bustles beyond a city window
I took the liberty of bypassing the middleman, Tom, and going straight to the source of my problems. Ethically, this might be a problem, but I have decided to just kick that can down the road.
After finishingCoralinelast week and being mid-way through my read ofFrankenstein, I feel like I am slowly getting to understand what Cedric ‘Moody’ Brooks was getting at. If these are the kind of books he uses for inspiration, then I was way off the mark in my first and second round. In my mind, the story about Evie being so young had me thinking we could give it a youthful feel, but I should’ve known better. No seventy-something-year-old man wants a ‘youthful’ look to what is possibly his next big hit.
So, I keep my same style—soft lines and wide eyes—but spice it up with harsher elements like her wallpaper having fadedimages of stars, but one corner shows a few of them rearranged into the shape of scissors. I, begrudgingly, take out some of the woodland creatures and teddy bears, and add in this little mystery of making the seamstress’s eyes spaced out enough to give you goosebumps.
By the time Halloween rolls around, I won’t even need a costume. I’ll be spooky enough as is.
With final approval from Sloane—‘it looks like a fever dream’—I type up a quick email to Cedric Brooks and happily press send.
From: [email protected]
Good morning Mr. Brooks!!
I know we have not spoken directly before, but I felt as though it would be best for me to reach out and let you know I totally understand the changes you want, and I have done a complete flip on my style for you. I have really darkened the theme to an aesthetic I think you’ll be more than pleased with!
Feel free to let me know if you have any suggestions for color drafts next. Thanks!
— Honey Bell Studios
It’s not until I am at the bookstore that afternoon when I finally get my response.
Lennon has been my shadow for most of my shift, thankfully giving me time with her so I can try to get to know her better.
First, we worked on setting up the new releases table, which includes writing all the workers’ reviews on little orange and yellow sticky tabs and placing them on the display, along with laminated cutouts of fallen leaves, pumpkin-flavored coffees, and red apples to staple onto a muted orange background.
Despite Lennon’s consistent silence, she is a very enthusiastic worker. I’m not sure why I expected anything different—she loads the dishwasher in the most efficient way I have ever seen—but it does make me wonder what she did for work before she got fired.
When I ask her to open a box of new releases to help me shelve them, she’s already half done before I can finish cutting open the one I’m working on. When Edith asks her to straighten the beanbags in the kids’ area before story time, she has the entire corner spotless, not a single stray cheerio or gummy wrapper to be found.
