fight to the beth

21 year old student physics nerd gamer librarian superhero (apparently)

[bethanyramirez]

“Was I- what was I doing?”

[aliadamsen-blog]

“I know right? I’m an expert coverer.” She laughed, her giggle growing as the girl went on. “Well if it’s any consolation I’m grateful for your incompetence?” 

She blinked, pausing in surprise and having to trot to catch back up to the other girl. “I’m sorry, again? Please say you’re joking… or at least tell me where so I can avoid the crotch level books there.” She added, torn between laughing and gagging. 

[bethanyramirez]

“Well, at least someone is. I’ll remember that, when I get fired.” Not that she ever would - nobody ever really checked on her work, but who could blame them? They probably needed sleep.

“I wish I was joking. It’s usually in sections they think no-one will use, which is fair enough, because the only way they tend to get caught is the security cameras or if things get noisy,” she stifled a laugh slightly, covering it with a cough as they passed someone studying, before adding an afterthought. “Unfortunately, ‘sections people don’t expect anyone to use’ has included the kids section more times than I like to think about. Everything gets cleaned up, though, don’t worry.”

[the-colossal-dork-blog]

Will opened his mouth to speak before he had time to think, “Yeah you do a good job-” he began before his brain properly processed the rest of her sentence, and his eyes widened and he screwed his face up to try and stop himself from blushing. Great. No he sounded like he’d been ogling her or something instead of just being glad here was someone there to help him out. “What I meant was… I think you’re very helpful?” He cringed, trying to dig his way out of the hole he’d fallen into. “Really? Are there usually more people here at this time of night?” He floundered, grasping a chance to change the topic where he could. “Really? Thanks, hopefully I won’t need them, but if I do I’ll check those one’s out.”

[bethanyramirez]

“D’you think so?” The smile on Beth’s face only kept growing at his embrassment, turning into a wicked grin. “Smooth, nicely covered,” she winked, before laughing slightly and accepting his change of topic willingly. “Round this time of year, yeah, I would have expected a few more. They normally look a lot more panicked than this lot. I had a few criers last week - med students, mostly. They’re stressed as hell.” Once she got going, Beth couldn’t half talk, especially when she’d been on her own for a few hours and was in need of a distraction. 

[heartsinsync]

[wowthings]

Skyreach

[glitteringspark]

[aliadamsen-blog]

“Of course not, you heard my sister… my twin sister… who goes here…. also…” She smothered a laugh and offered a playfully innocent smile to the other girl, who seemed more joking than serious about the rule. Hopefully joking enough that she wouldn’t turn Ali in at least. On the plus side, this would give her good leverage the next time she needed a favor from Hanna.

“That’d be great, thank you!” She said, waiting for the girl to come around the desk and falling into step next to her. “Sorry to pull you away from your work back there.” She offered.

[bethanyramirez]

“Smooth. Nicely covered,” Beth nodded, holding a deadpan expression for a moment before laughing herself. “I won’t turn you in to the-” she stopped for a moment, thinking “You know, I don’t actually know what the protocol would be in that situation. So you’ve been saved by my incompetence.” She made her way round from the back of the desk and started in the direction of the stacks, expecting the other girl to follow.

“Oh, it’s no problem. I wasn’t working, anyway, and I should probably do a round soon anyway, make sure no-one’s having sex in the stacks.” She said it as a light-hearted offhand comment, but as a memory came back to her from a few weeks previously she grimaced. “Again.”

[jazlynisms-blog]

“We don’t even usually get storm…” she muttered. This one was definitely weird. “I do hope some meteorologist will have an explanation when I’ll turn the TV on tomorrow.” Jazz hated not understanding things, and this was like a giant question mark in her mind, as an interrogation waiting for her to answer it. 

If she had decided not to be reasonable, her first decision would have, most likely, been ‘jump in my car and go check things myself’. Unfortunately, the next rumble of thunder made her plans crash at their earliest stages. She didn’t know exactly what were the conditions to get hit by a lightning bolt, but daring the odds wasn’t the best idea she had ever had. “Book recs?” she replied with a tiny smile. “I’m not in the mood to get any work done - and I could use something I haven’t read yet.”

[bethanyramirez]

“Yeah, I hope so. Could be climate change, I suppose, causing changes in weather patterns and freak weather and stuff. Still, something feels weird about this,” she mused, half talking to herself now in that way she did whenever she was trying to figure something out, “Maybe it’s just the electricity, static and that.”

“Erm, I can try, but I’m not a massive reader. I think there might be a recommended shelf over there somewhere-” she gestured towards a shelf across the seating area from her desk “- stuff the other librarians have enjoyed, that sort of thing. What sort of thing are you after?” For someone whose job gave them unlimited access to books, Beth’s knowledge of them was shockingly limited to two genres - fantasy novels and books on theoretical physics.

[the-colossal-dork-blog]

The big guy bit back a chuckle as he wtched her eyes grow wide as she looked up, and kept going util she reached his face. He was used to it. He got asked if he played football or basketball at least twice a week. Smiling down at the woman behind the desk, Will nodded, a wave of gratitude washing over him as she scribbled down the password for him. “Thanks, so much,” he breathed in relief, rubbing his head with one hand. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s just my laptop though, this thing’s about ready to go to the great electronics scrap-heap in the sky,” he added, tapping in the wifi password carefully. “Well it says it’s connected, but whether that means it’s working is a whole different story,” he added, nodding to her. “And just in case, do you know if any of the computer areas are free? Around the library?”

[bethanyramirez]

“No problem, that’s what I’m here for. Well, that and looking pretty, but you’re lucky I can do both,” she grinned, enjoying the chance to have a conversation with an actual person in front of her instead of just online. “Most of them, probably, there don’t seem to be too many people in tonight - probably the weather.” Beth was oblivious to the number of students who’d come in over the course of the night, sopping wet, to avoid the torrential conditions outside, having been completely devoted to her screen for the past hour or so. “The ones in the far left corner on the second floor are generally best. I think, anyway. They tend to get the least complaints, but that could just be because coming all the way down here to make a complaint takes a lot of effort.”

[nadiarainier-blog]

“Yeah, sure thing.” Nadia always had her I.D. with her, one of the more habitual things that came of her major. In order to get into her building, her locker, the practice rooms, the studio rooms… Anything, really, in the music building, you had to have your I.D. on you. It was one of the things that drove her insane when she first started, if only for her tendency to forget her wallet back in her first semester, but now, bringing it along with her was practically thoughtless.

The job at the library sounded like one that would fit right into her schedule, Nadia decided. As long as she applied for it in time and didn’t pick up a job in the campus studio, that was. The night shift sounded like it was right up her alley, too, and Nadia couldn’t help but chuckle softly at her suggestion that sleep and a social life were lost out on when working the late shift. It wasn’t as though she had much of one now anyway, the eternal curse of a music major in the midst of performance season.

“Do other college students really get those things? Sleep and social lives, I mean? I think I’ve gotten more sleep taking cat naps in practice rooms or on the bean bags in here than anywhere else this year,” she joked back as she slid her I.D. across the counter. “Which reminds me, I might have a small fine on my account, my last book for my project was overdue by a couple days. I have the money on me to pay it back now, if there’s a charge there.”

[bethanyramirez]

Beth scanned the card and the books with practiced ease, only stopping to read the information that flashed up in the corner of the screen with the other girl's name - Nadia - and department - Music. It was this which usually gave her a welcome insight into the lives of the people she spent a lot of time watching, but to be fair, the books Nadia was checking out sort of gave it away.

"I think it's generally a one or the other situation. I've met people who claim to have both, but I'm pretty sure they must be lying," she grinned as she started to hand the books across the desk only to remember she needed to stamp the slips with the return dates. She didn't usually forget that sort of thing, but she attributed it to the dual distraction of the storm and the conversation. "Are those bean bags as comfy as they look? I usually get tempted to have a nap around two, but so far I've resisted."

When she mentioned late fees, Beth leaned over, checking the relevant section on the monitor and nodding. "If you want to know a trade secret, they don't actually start charging you until two days after the return date. It's rare that people get them in exactly on time so the system accommodates it. But you didn't hear that from me."

[piercesutton-blog]

“Oh, uh, yeah. I always forget that you need it to check stuff out.” Pierce replied, laughing breathlessly as cursing his forgetful mind as he pulled it out from his wallet. A curious look crossed his features at what he assumed had been pity for him, a tiny grin appearing as if to prove he wasn’t completely helpless all the time.

Surprise soon decorated his grin as she recognized him, it wasn’t often that someone did. He, of course, knew her, he knew most of his classmates, just didn’t have the courage or time to speak to them. “Yeah, actually! And you sometimes nudge me awake when I fall asleep in the kids section.” He offered up, trying not to laugh. “It’s Pierce, by the way. And you’re Beth, right?”

[bethanyramirez]

“No problem,” she said, taking the card and scanning it in the machine, using the opportunity to find out his name while she did. She scanned the book and handed it back to him, giving the mandatory spiel about due dates and fines as she did. “You’ve got a week to return that, but you can renew it online or in here whenever you like before then. Late fees increase exponentially the longer you keep the book, but if you want to know a secret, they don’t actually start charging anything until two days after the return date.” Okay, so maybe the last part wasn’t mandatory, and was technically a trade secret she shouldn’t share with students, but she always felt bad when people rushed to return books on the day when they didn’t technically need to.

Beth noticed his surprise and was relieved to see it was the pleasant kind of surprise, and not the ‘you’re a creepy stalker how do you know my classes’ kind people sometimes got when she tried to make conversation like this. “I have to admit, that’s mostly to do with jealousy. It always looks so comfy in there, I usually get tempted to have a nap,” she confessed, grinning ruefully. “Yep, that’s me. Nice to properly meet you.”

[aliadamsen-blog]

“That’d be awesome.” She said with a relieved sigh that would have been more apropos for someone having saved her life. 

She bobbed her head to the lingering lines of the music she’d been listening to before Hanna had demanded Ali do some research for her, until the girl behind the counter spoke and Ali laughed, shaking her head. “Oh, no, no no no. Not me, my sister. She runs her own non-profit and she’s always trying to keep up on research and stuff and since I’m here, she figured she could use me as her gopher.” 

She made a ‘I have no idea’ face. “Uhm…. is that the one on the far side over there?” She asked, pointing in the direction of the stack she’d been looking in. “I may have just wandered along the aisles looking at the book numbers.”

[bethanyramirez]

“No problem,” she smiled, amused by how grateful the girl seemed for Beth doing her job. Times like that made her wonder if the day shift workers were really terrible people who never did anything, but Beth was generally oblivious to how much people appreciated a bit of a chat and a smile when they asked for something.

“Well, she’s smart to use you. Although technically I didn’t hear that, since the books in here are meant for students only.” It could have sounded like a reprimand, but the light hearted tone of Beth’s voice made it clear that it was anything but. She didn’t see the point in that rule - information should be freely available to anyone who wanted to learn.

“Yeah, far left, but someone might have moved things around and not updated the system” she laughed, checking the exact shelf reference and typing a quick afk to her friends before standing up. “I can check with you, if you like?”

[jazlynisms-blog]

“Thanks.” Jazz nervously tapped her fingers against the counter. The weather didn’t help with improving her mood. At all. Now the worst scenarios ever were running through her mind, and that was the last thing she needed at the moment. Instead, she gave the girl a smile she hoped looked a little less stressed than she actually was. “Must be. It’s never been that bad, though - as far as I can remember.” 

“Nah, it’s okay, I’m already using your line, I won’t annoy you more.” she chuckled, as she dialed her sister’s number. Voicemail. She mumbled a swear but forced her voice to remain steady as she left a message. “Hey, Carlie? It’s Jazz. Wanted to make sure you were okay. Go to the library if you can’t go home. We’ll figure it out.” She hung up, staring at the phone. “Thank you.” she told the librarian again, a small smile spreading across her features.

[bethanyramirez]

Beth was now wondering if her own phone was having reception problems, and had a fleeting moment of panic as she felt the pockets of her jeans for it, before remembering it was charging in the break room down the hall. “Yeah, this storm’s pretty odd, though. I don’t remember ever having one as bad as this before.”

She went back to her typing while the other girl made the call, trying her hardest to fight her natural curiosity and listen in, but it proved fruitless. She also couldn’t help but wonder who Carlie was, but she knew that actually prying into someone’s life would be a lot worse than listening to a phone conversation, so she bit her tongue and smiled back at the girl. “Not a problem. Is there anything else I can do?”

[the-colossal-dork-blog]

Will groaned loudly, rubbing his head furiously, and sending his hair all over the place, or even more-so. He hammered the refresh button a few more times on his laptop before groaning again. Slamming his headphones off onto the desk, the tall young man looked around, suddenly realising there were actually other people there, and he blinked, wincing apologetically. Levering himself out of the chair, he stood, balancing the laptop in one fore-arm as he looked around, still tapping refresh, but getting nowhere. Eventually he stepped over to the library desk, conceding defeat. Usually he’d have just let himself go home, but this deadline was just too close to risk it.

The young man towered over the help desk, but he hovered until the librarian looked up, smiling awkwardly.“Hi, um…” he spoke softly, voice low as ever as he glanced about, hoping he wasn’t disturbing anyone. “Do you know the wifi password, my computer’s playing up…”

[bethanyramirez]

Beth almost did a double take when she realised how tall he was, but she managed to hide her reaction pretty well (or so she thought). She’d seen him in here a few times before - guys that tall were fairly easy to remember - and smiled up at him, already reaching for a scrap of paper to write down the password.

“Yeah, sure,” she said, already writing it down from memory, having to give it out to a fair number of people over the past few months. “I think it might be this storm, it’s sending everything a bit crazy. If this doesn’t work, let me know and I can send a call down to the IT desk, see if they know what’s up.”

[piercesutton-blog]

Figuring there wasn’t too much to do aside from reading, Pierce had left his position by the window to browse through the science fiction section of the library. As his fingers grazed the spines of the old (but also rarely used) books, he chose to settle for a paperback copy of Childhood’s End. Albeit an embarrassing choice for someone so young, but he had never really cared about appearances.

Four chapters into the books and nearly completely buried in the beanbag chairs in the kids section, it suddenly occurred to him that he should borrow the book in case he wanted to finish it some other time. Plus, he had the bad tendency of constantly walking out of stores without paying for objects as he was always in his head.

With his telescope strung across his back by the small strap, he strode to the front, eyes downcast and avoiding conversation with others. When he approached the counter, a shy smile split his features as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Yeah, um, just wanted to check this book out, if you’re not busy or anything? I could wait, I mean?”

[bethanyramirez]

“No, that’s absolutely fine. Have you got your ID card?” Beth rattled off the default response, words she was well practiced at saying by now, but she did so with a smile. “It’s not a problem if not,” she added, picking up on the sheepish, apologetic nature of the boy and wanting to offer some comfort.

It took her a few seconds to place where she recognised him from - Beth found familiarity in a lot of faces around campus these days, and although she had a good memory for them, it was considerably more difficult to remember why they were familiar. “I think you’re in my Astronomy lecture, right? Professor Davies?”

[nadiarainier-blog]

The amount of time that Nadia spent in the library lately was a bit pitiful, really; between her overly noisy roommate and the several large projects her music history professor had assigned this past month and a half, she could swear she spent more time in the library than she did in her own bed. Not that that was a bad thing, of course. The library was quiet, and she could deal with quiet.

With her headphones down on her shoulder, she made her way up to the counter with a handful of books in her arm, setting them down on the counter with a small smile. “Evening,” she returned simply, nudging the books forward across the counter. “I just need to check a few things out.”

The girl here was familiar. Though Nadia didn’t know her name, she knew her from working the counter most of the time that she came in, and so she was comfortable enough to lean her elbows forward against the counter, eyeing the checkout system as the other girl worked on her things. It was simple looking enough, something Nadia could probably have learned; she’d have to see if there were library jobs next semester.

“You work the late shift a lot, don’t you?” she commented curiously. “I see you in here most of the time when I come to work on things, but I’m never in before dinner. Is it a better shift than the day shift?” Small talk; small talk was easy enough, and Nadia could keep that as long as the other girl was paying attention, at least.

[bethanyramirez]

“Brilliant. Have you got your student ID on you? It’s not a problem if not,” Beth smiled, reluctant to be drawn away from her research but appreciating that this was her job, so she could’t complain much.

The other girl seemed familiar to her - she might have seen a lot of different faces in the months she’d had the job, but Beth had a good memory for regulars. In moments of boredom she liked to guess their majors and other details of their lives, fabricating backstories and explanations for whatever mood they might be in. She rarely found out if she was right, except when she overheard snatches of hushed conversations or someone needed a book on a particular subject, but the fun was in the guessing and Beth was quite happy with her imagined realities.

“Yeah, normally a couple of days a week.” She thought about the next question for a moment, weighing up the pros and cons mentally before detailing them aloud. “Days are usually busier, so you can’t get as much work done, but there’s normally two people working the desk, so you get company. I take whatever I can get, but other people aren’t fans of the night shift - something about needing sleep and a social life, I think.” 

[aliadamsen-blog]

Ali bounded up to the desk, rolling her eyes as she left her phone behind on the table, hearing a few little buzzes in quick succession as she left it behind. Her sister could be such a demanding brat sometimes. Why couldn’t Hanna go to a library and do her own research? Didn’t she know Ali was extremely busy not studying for her Econ test tomorrow?

But, never one to turn down a sibling, she obediently went up to the desk after her computer search didn’t end in success and grinned an apologetic smile for disturbing the girl behind the counter. “Sorry sorry, I was looking for books on startups, and the computer says you have them, but they’re not in the stack it says they should be. Can you maybe point me in the direction of any small business books, or non-profit books if you happen to know that off the top of your head?”

[bethanyramirez]

“I can look it up for you, if you like?” Beth was already turning in her chair as she spoke, her fingers poised over the keys of the office computer - she could have used that while she was working, but she generally preferred to use her laptop, since it had all her stuff on it and was faster. 

“Let’s have a look...” as she typed, Beth made small talk, grateful for a little interaction with an actual person, especially given the unusual weather “You thinking about starting a non-profit?” Once the results had loaded, Beth nodded. “Okay, this says they should be in stack 47, but I’m guessing that’s where you checked?”