Secrets of the Spell Bound
Green Eyes and a Cheshire Grin
It was a boring Friday afternoon with nothing to do and nowhere to go. That’s the way it always seemed to be in this town. Nothing ever happened, it was always the same. The same people doing the same things in the same places. There was nothing interesting going on and that’s how I ended up in the old bookstore.
The place was thick with musty air, its walls covered in shelves upon shelves of books. Most of the volumes were old and leather bound, but the occasional recent release popped up at random. It was nice in an odd way, kind of like visiting a grandmother’s house.
Near the front of the store, an old man sat at a large oak desk that was a makeshift checkout counter. His hair line was receding and the sweater vest he wore screamed creepy, but his bright green eyes were warm and welcoming. On occasion, he would lean over the desk to see what Leah, Cam and I were doing, but for the most part he left us alone in the mess of bookshelves.
“Ooo, check it out a book of love spells,” Leah laughed, pulling at an old leather bound book she found humorous. “Maybe you should try one on Tyler, Cam.”
“Ha ha, you’re so funny, Leah,” she snapped. Her crush was a bit of a sore subject, but Leah teased her mercilessly.
“Leave her alone, Leah. Isn’t it bad enough that he just told her he wanted to ask Rebbecca out?” I asked as my fingers ran across a row of books, the soft leather warm against my skin.
“That’s what she gets for falling into the friend zone,” Leah replied, putting the book back on the shelf. “Besides, I wasn’t serious, that stuff doesn’t even work.”
“Well, it was mean none the less,” Cam stated, her blue eyes falling to the dark wood floor.
Leah simply rolled her eyes and went to check out the other side of the store. She had always been that way. Even before she dyed her hair the horrible white blond, but now it was like the bleach had seeped into her brain and made her a complete bitch. Though I couldn’t deny that it did go with the grey-blue of her eyes better, I still liked her more when she was a brunette.
Cam turned to me, her face sullen and lips pouted. Her chin length chocolate colored bob hit her pale skin just right to frame her face. For a moment I felt bad for her, but she didn’t stick up for herself. It wasn’t her fault that Tyler was into someone else.
Tugging on my red sweater, I turned to the shelves and started looking through titles again, but nothing caught my eye. It was like the day just wanted to be boring. My fingers danced across the spines of ancient titles bound with more wisdom than I would ever hold. A shy shiver creeped up my from my fingertips as my hand found worn leather binding that seemed to fall apart at my touch. The title was simple and in a single word I had to have it.
“Magique,” I whispered, pulling the old book off the shelf to look at its dusty cover. Fine lines decorated the face of it in a beautiful design. I wanted it. Even if it would only end up as shelf filler, at least it was beautiful.
Cam and Leah followed me to the large oak desk after deciding that they didn’t want anything. The old man smiled as I put the book down on the desk, his eyes wrinkling at the edges. Carefully he took the price of the book and handed it back to me.
“I see you found your book,” he said with his Cheshire grin.
“Yeah,” I replied, the sound being drawn out, his tone made me nervous. Something about the way he looked at me just didn’t feel right, like he had a secret and for the first time in a long time I wanted nothing to do with a secret.
Paying the man, we took our leave hurrying down the street to the next shop. It would be a nice way to forget about the creepy man and his prying green eyes.
The place was thick with musty air, its walls covered in shelves upon shelves of books. Most of the volumes were old and leather bound, but the occasional recent release popped up at random. It was nice in an odd way, kind of like visiting a grandmother’s house.
Near the front of the store, an old man sat at a large oak desk that was a makeshift checkout counter. His hair line was receding and the sweater vest he wore screamed creepy, but his bright green eyes were warm and welcoming. On occasion, he would lean over the desk to see what Leah, Cam and I were doing, but for the most part he left us alone in the mess of bookshelves.
“Ooo, check it out a book of love spells,” Leah laughed, pulling at an old leather bound book she found humorous. “Maybe you should try one on Tyler, Cam.”
“Ha ha, you’re so funny, Leah,” she snapped. Her crush was a bit of a sore subject, but Leah teased her mercilessly.
“Leave her alone, Leah. Isn’t it bad enough that he just told her he wanted to ask Rebbecca out?” I asked as my fingers ran across a row of books, the soft leather warm against my skin.
“That’s what she gets for falling into the friend zone,” Leah replied, putting the book back on the shelf. “Besides, I wasn’t serious, that stuff doesn’t even work.”
“Well, it was mean none the less,” Cam stated, her blue eyes falling to the dark wood floor.
Leah simply rolled her eyes and went to check out the other side of the store. She had always been that way. Even before she dyed her hair the horrible white blond, but now it was like the bleach had seeped into her brain and made her a complete bitch. Though I couldn’t deny that it did go with the grey-blue of her eyes better, I still liked her more when she was a brunette.
Cam turned to me, her face sullen and lips pouted. Her chin length chocolate colored bob hit her pale skin just right to frame her face. For a moment I felt bad for her, but she didn’t stick up for herself. It wasn’t her fault that Tyler was into someone else.
Tugging on my red sweater, I turned to the shelves and started looking through titles again, but nothing caught my eye. It was like the day just wanted to be boring. My fingers danced across the spines of ancient titles bound with more wisdom than I would ever hold. A shy shiver creeped up my from my fingertips as my hand found worn leather binding that seemed to fall apart at my touch. The title was simple and in a single word I had to have it.
“Magique,” I whispered, pulling the old book off the shelf to look at its dusty cover. Fine lines decorated the face of it in a beautiful design. I wanted it. Even if it would only end up as shelf filler, at least it was beautiful.
Cam and Leah followed me to the large oak desk after deciding that they didn’t want anything. The old man smiled as I put the book down on the desk, his eyes wrinkling at the edges. Carefully he took the price of the book and handed it back to me.
“I see you found your book,” he said with his Cheshire grin.
“Yeah,” I replied, the sound being drawn out, his tone made me nervous. Something about the way he looked at me just didn’t feel right, like he had a secret and for the first time in a long time I wanted nothing to do with a secret.
Paying the man, we took our leave hurrying down the street to the next shop. It would be a nice way to forget about the creepy man and his prying green eyes.