Fan Fiction- Can't Get There From Here by Todd Strausser

The Other Side of the Library Glass

The girl looked cold and hungry and I couldn’t help but think about how I felt as a kid, tormented by this awful skin condition. I used to steal my Mom’s makeup before school to cover it up. That ended when Tommy Johnathan Mascillo , God knows I will never forget his name, wiped my face with his finger the first week of 6^th grade and announced to the entire class that I was wearing makeup. No one would let it go after that. None of them would look at me without mumbling something underneath their breaths. And girls, forget about it, they were too insecure to be seen around me, God forbid what someone would say.

So I stayed angry for a year until I got lost in the books. My mom got a side job as a librarian the summer I turned 12. She felt bad that I had no friends I suppose so she told me to tag along at the library. I’d take the subway there after school in the winter, and when it was nice I used to walk there in the spring afternoons. The library was a solace and I wound up applying for a job there in my junior year after school. I figured I’d be there anyway so I might as well get paid for it. Anyway, I hadn’t paid much mind to anyone else I worked with until I heard the story of Bobby tormenting that poor homeless girl.

I had never felt less than a man like that in my life until just then when I saw that girl outside the library window, my reflection in the glass eclipsed her spotted face. I wanted to run out and tell her that everything would be alright like my mother had told me, but I felt like that’d be making a promise that I couldn’t keep.

She didn’t talk much outside the library, but I got the vibe that she had a good heart and that’s important. A good heart is what keeps this world going, especially in this city. She certainly wasn’t like Bobby, though; Bobby has got one mean heart in that chest, it makes the bile and acid turn up in my stomach. They wanted to bathe for Christ sakes. Who wants to walk around in soiled clothes that haven’t been washed? Sure they dirtied up the place, but they’re just kids.

I begin to clench my fists every time I think of how he made those girls go outside still soaking wet. They could have caught pneumonia. I made sure to give the girl plenty of donuts when she came in. I can’t imagine walking around in the cold wondering when the next time I’m going eat will be. I stopped feeling sorry for myself I’m sure she has a mom and dad out there somewhere, but some of them have mean hearts which is why a few of these kids end up like this. The kid’s got no place to go. No home. It’s hard to get anywhere from the streets. At least that’s what they say.

I told the girl to come back anytime and I’d have her back. Bobby won’t be bothering her or her friends again as long as I still work here. I’m pissed that the library didn’t let him go after that stunt. I do hope the girl comes back. I brought a few old sweatshirts to my office and am keeping them for her. It’s been a brutal winter so far. It’s horrible out there on the streets. Kids dying all the time, no one even knowing their real names. As bad as I had it as a kid, I still had my mom and my books, and a home. It really makes you appreciate what you do have.

As for now, I’ll wait for her to come back. I want the girl to be able to get out of the cold even if just for an hour or so, make the library a solace for her as well. I have a feeling that she’ll come back, maybe not right away, but when she does I’ll have some donuts waiting for her.