My feelings on Monday were very mixed.
While I wanted Hayasaka san to see the novel I had chosen as soon as possible, I was equally anxious about whether it was really the right choice. However, I was less anxious this time than I was about clothes. Maybe it's because it's my specialty.
At lunchtime, I grabbed my bag and snuck out of the classroom alone.
The usual place to go.
I ate lunch with Hayasaka san, who arrived shortly after. During that time, a series of casual conversations took place. To be honest, I don't remember much about it. At that time, my head was full of thoughts about the novel I was about to hand out.
After the meal was over, I finally took out the book from my bag.
"this..."
With that said, the paperback book I had, I handed it to Hayasaka san . She didn't know where she would read it, but she thought she might want to hide the cover if she did read it outside.
"thank you"
Hayasaka san recieved the book and checked it's contents.
"What's this?"
"Simply put, it's a story about a high school boy living with his cousin's older sister. He also has a younger brother, so it's not exactly just the two of them."
"Hmm. It's quite thin."
As Hayasaka san says, this book has relatively few pages. Most novels these days are 300 pages long, but this book has only 200 pages in total. In that sense, it is recommended for beginners.
"Thank you. I don't want to get it dirty, so I'll read it carefully when I get home."
"Um, let me know what you think."
As someone who recommends a book, I am very concerned about what impressions the other person will have after reading the book I have recommended. Moreover, when the other person is Hayasaka-san, the feelings became even more intense.
"Yeah, but I don't know when that will be. I plan on reading it as soon as possible."
"Don't worry about that. There are larger sizes as well."
"Does that mean you have two copies of the same book?"
Hayasaka san exclaimed in surprise at my words.EncounteraGeru.
"Yeah. If it's big, it's hard to carry."
That's not the only reason, but that's the only reason I can think of that I can explain to the general public and get them to understand.
"Huh. That's what it is..."
"No, not everyone."
If it seems like all the readers are doing this, it will cause trouble for other people.
"How many novels do you buy a month, Minase-san?"
Hayasaka-san asks me this while putting the book away in her bag.
"It varies depending on the month... but I think it's about four books."
"Is it possible to read that many things in a month?"
``Some books end up in the pile without being read, but I read an average of ten books a month.''
"Ten books!"
It's a normal thing for me, but for people who don't read books, it's surprising.
"Does that mean you read the same book over and over again?"
"Well, yeah. I guess so."
If you buy four books and read ten, no matter how you think about it, the numbers don't add up. You could also borrow it from a library, but I haven't been doing that lately. Buy the books you want to read. Before I knew it, doing that became second nature to me.
"You really like reading books, don't you?"
"Because I don't have any other hobbies."
I'm not really interested in fashion or sweets, and I'm not really interested in SNS. Idols, comedy, dramas, I'm only interested in them to some extent. That's why, for me, novels are the only precious thing I can call a hobby.
"It's enviable "
"Haaa?"
enviable? Hayasaka san is envies me?
"Because I don't have anything like that."
Isn't there something like that?
"But Hayasaka-san also reads fashion magazines and manga."
Isn't that a hobby?
"I just read casually, so I can't really call it a hobby."
"That's right..."
I think if you read something because you like it, it's not a hobby, but Hayasaka san seems to have a clear line between the two. Is it a matter of heat or something like that?
"I want to be like you."
"What?"
What did she saif? Is Hayasaka-san like me? That's why...
"I've always thought so."
"Hmm?"
As I asked, confused, Hayasaka san said, she had a faint smile on her face.
I belong to the library committee.
I didn't join because I wanted to. Everyone other than student council officers is obligated to belong to some committee, and I just chose that one over other committees by process of elimination.
A librarian's job can be broadly divided into three. The planning department is in charge of library decorations and exhibitions, the public relations department is in charge of announcements and POP, and the general affairs department is in charge of work related to counters and book collections. I was last assigned to the general affairs department, and today was my first day on the job.
I grabbed my bag and quickly left the classroom.
I'm supposed to start work ten minutes after school, but since it's my first job, I'd better get there as early as possible.
The library is located in a different school building from the one where our classrooms are located. Therefore, students have to move through the school building through a connecting corridor.
Moving through the school building through the second floor breezeway, I passed the staff room and headed inside.
The library was next to the staff room.
Technically speaking, the library preparation room is sandwiched between them, but since it's part of the library, it's okay.
Before entering the library, take a deep breath.
Okay.
Concentrating on myself, I took a step forward.
There were already several people in the room, two of whom were behind the counter wre librarian Katagiri san and and second year Kobayashi senpai.
Katagiri san is a mature and beautiful woman with long black hair, and her calm demeanor makes her feel like a librarian, which is a plus. She is tall and has big breasts. Because of this, she is popular mainly with male students.
Kobayashi-senpai, on the other hand, was tall like Katagiri-san, but with his short hair and moderately toned body, coupled with his posture and demeanor, he looked more suited to the athletic club. Like Katagiri san, he is also kind and had the atmosphere of a senior.
Noticing my presence, the two people who were chatting quietly turned their eyes towards me.
When I greeted them, they both responded with similar greetings.
"Since it's your first time, Minase-san, I'll give you a brief explanation of the work."
"yes"
From there, Katagiri san's lessons began.
We lend out books, store returned books, and guide you to where you can find the books you ask for. Generally speaking, these three are the duties of the General Affairs Department.
"You won't be able to remember the layout of the books right away, so I hope you learn it within this year."
The general affairs department works in pairs. At that time, the grades of the pair will not overlap. In other words, as a first year student, I will definitely be working with my seniors. However, that will not be the case from next year. Of course, I might team up with 1st years. That's probably what will happen this year.
"Then, both of you please come back later. I'll be back in 50 minutes, so please take care of it until then."
With a wave of her hand, Katagiri san disappears into the preparation room.
I just kept staring at the closed door.
"Why don't you sit down?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry..."
Kobayashi-senpai called out to me, and I finally came to my senses and sat down on a chair inside the counter.
"Basically, when you have free time, you really do have free time, so this is your job. You should relax your shoulders more."
However, since this is my first job and I am sitting next to a senior colleague with whom I have very little contact, it would be unreasonable to tell them not to be nervous.
"What kind of books do you read, Minase-san?"
I guess he's trying to relieve my tension. Kobayashi senpaigives me topics that are easy to talk about.
"A lot of things. I read light novels and novels. I also read something in between."
When I say middle-of-the-road, I mean works that don't have illustrations, but have illustrations on the cover that resemble those of a light novel, and the content is right between a light novel and a novel.
"You have a wide range of options. What's the best thing you've read recently?"
"recently..."
When Kobayashi-senpai told me this, I thought of the books I had read within the past three months. All of them are interesting and hard to rate...
"There's a new writer playing the role of a detective..."
"Oh, I read it too. It was certainly interesting."
"especially--"
The fact that Kobayashi-senpai had read the same book made me happy, and I happily shared my impressions of the novel. Kobayashi-senpai also expressed his thoughts and opinions, and listened to each other's stories. It was a very fun and meaningful time.
Thanks to that conversation at the beginning, I was able to ease my nerves and was able to carry out my job as a library committee member without any trouble. However, there is an annotation that Kobayashi-senpai was following up on him.
Exactly fifty minutes after he left, Katagiri san returned to the library.
"Good work. Minase-san, how was your first job?"
"Thanks to Kobayashi-senpai, I had fun doing it."
"I see. That's good. Well then, I look forward to working with you tomorrow."
"yes"
Katagiri san's words made me feel strong.
"Shall we go home?"
"Huh? Ah, yes."
To Kobayashi senpai's urge, I stood up and grabbed my bag.
We both said hello to Katagiri san and we left the library.
" Minase kun, where is your house?"
"Kirimineis"
"Huh. So, it's a train. I'm on a train too. Although the direction is different."
"That's right"
"I have club activities today, so I can't, but on days when I don't have club activities, let's go home together."
"Huh? Ah, yes.I'd love to"
At times like this, I'm generally shy and more than half the time I want to refuse, but since I had talked with Kobayashi-senpai about novels, the words that came out of my mouth were pure and true. This is unusual for me.
"Then I'm here."
As we passed in front of the staff room and came out into a large space, Kobayashi-senpai said that and looked in a direction different from the stairs.
"see you tomorrow"
"Yes. See you tomorrow."
I parted ways with Kobayashi-senpai and proceeded towards the stairs. My steps are better than usual, somehow it was light.