she sat on the floor, books surrounding her in a near circle as she flipped the pages of the current book in her hands. with each turn, she handled the pages with extensive care - as if they were made out of the finest material that could turn to sand if handled incorrectly. lincoln watched her as he neared a bookshelf, picking up a biography off the shelf as is he was actually interested in the title. however, he barely glanced at the cover as his eyes found the girl once more. a few strands of hair hung in her face, but she slowly brushed a piece away, exposing the side of her face more. lincoln caught sight of a single bright blue streak of hair inner mixed with the brown pieces, but it was quickly lost as hair fell into her face once more.
“interesting choice,” a voice spoke from lincoln’s side, causing his eyes to instantly snap away from the girl. instead, they now fell on a man with salt and pepper hair and a mustache to match. he wore a black polo shirt with a name badge clearly over his front - clueing lincoln that the man was an employee.
“uh...” lincoln began, now glancing down at the blind selection he had made, his face growing warm. sure enough, a full portrait of adolph hilter stared up at him, causing him to instantly slip it back onto the shelf.
“don’t change your mind on my account,” the man laughed, shaking his head as he straightened up the shelf a little.
“i wasn’t... i mean, i wouldn’t...” lincoln scrambled for words. however, he wasn’t sure if it sounded worse to admit he only picked up the book as a cover to essentially stalk some girl or admit he actively chose to take interest in hitler himself.
“i’m only joking,” the man spoke once more, easing lincoln slightly. “i’ve worked here awhile, so trust me when i say i’ve seen worse.
a small laugh left lincoln as he nodded. he figured he could take the man’s word for it.
“just let me know if you need help finding something you’d genuinely be interested in,” the man told him before finally rounding the corner where lincoln could no longer see him.
finally, lincoln let out a slow breath as he faced the shelf again - his eyes meeting the spine of the book he had just been holding minutes prior. he scowled at it, but knew his reaction wasn’t entirely fair. however, his expression eventually ran smooth as he remembered the girl on the floor with her sea of books. he cleared his throat, this time not choosing to use a book as a defense before his eyes slid over once more. but when his eyes met the place where the girl was sitting, she was gone. not even her circle of books was left behind.
