Post by Phoebe Minola on Feb 18, 2014 6:59:06 GMT -5
Shakespeare and Co. is a bookstore in Mosaic City with a bit of a reputation. Urban legend has it that one can find any book they wish for here. And the story might as well be true. The building spans three floors and a basement level, has its own little cafe and the walls inside are lined almost entirely with bookshelves housing more books than might be possible by the laws of physics. Patrons are invited to browse even as they settle in a chair of the cafe for a coffee or one of the establishments famous pastries. The people who work here are friendly and seemingly selected for their quirkiness and their almost absurd knowledge and love of books.
All kinds of books can be found in Shakespeare and Co., from scientific discourse tomes to school textbooks, to novels of all kinds, classics, contemporary arrivals, poetry, how-to guides, tour books, atlases, comics-- you name it, Shakespeare and Co. probably already has it in stock.
Phoebe hummed to herself while replacing books on shelves. She liked this particular part of the job even if it was hard on the arms, pushing the book cart around the isles to replace books that patrons had pulled out to browse and then left lying around. She liked it because it let her see what sort of books people were looking at. She paused, looking over a certain book and blushed, putting it back in the cart hurriedly.
The photo-book on high-class erotic art wasn't something she could face right now. She was in the novel section! She brushed it off and replaced another Hemingway book on the shelf.
"Phoebe-chaaaaaan!" Mrs. Hisako chimed from the ground floor. "Fooooo-chan!"
I wish she'd stop calling me 'chan'. I'm clearly not small...Phoebe thought and sighed.
She went over to the railing around the catwalk of the second floor and looked down. She loved that structure of the building, a tall space with the second and third floors build around a large open space that let the light from the huge, sun-shaped skylight on the roof come in. She braced against the railing and looked down. The proprietor, Mrs. Hisako, was standing near the register in the middle of the ground floor with her hands on her considerable hips and her usual big grin.
"What is it Hisako-san?" Phoebe quipped.
"Are you done shelving books, sweetie? I need you at the ground floor. We're gonna hit peak hour soon and I want you out there serving coffees and doing your lovely Perfect Book Choices~" the Japanese lady purred.
Phoebe looked a bit distressed. "Ah but they aren't perfect. I just--"
"Of course they are, love!" Hisako chuckled. "People leave satisfied with books under their arms and come back for more! How's that not perfect choices?"
Phoebe surrendered; Hisako's business savvy was the law in Shakespeare and Co. "Alright, I'll be down in a bit Hisako-san. I'll get someone to keep shelving."
Phoebe weaved around a couple of early patrons as she made her way to the stairs to the ground floor and on her way, she asked another clerk to take over shelving. She squeezed past the sale tables and shimmied into the narrow space behind the coffee bar. Kyle, the barista, beamed at her and handed her one of the aprons. Phoebe sheepishly slipped on the black, full-length apron with the bookstore's logo and Shakespeare's noggin prominently featured on the front -- her ample bosom made it look a bit silly but everyone insisted that it was appealing.
Who was she to doubt crowd-pleasers?
She grabbed a tray and put on her 'Ask me about your Perfect Book!' badge. She'd argued against having that particular pin but Hisako had insisted that it was catchy and got people in the mood to buy books. She took a deep breath, straightened her glasses and walked out into the bookstore's cafe porch, ready to squeeze her heft around tables with all the grace of a manatee in water.
Just another day at Shakespeare and Co.
All kinds of books can be found in Shakespeare and Co., from scientific discourse tomes to school textbooks, to novels of all kinds, classics, contemporary arrivals, poetry, how-to guides, tour books, atlases, comics-- you name it, Shakespeare and Co. probably already has it in stock.
Phoebe hummed to herself while replacing books on shelves. She liked this particular part of the job even if it was hard on the arms, pushing the book cart around the isles to replace books that patrons had pulled out to browse and then left lying around. She liked it because it let her see what sort of books people were looking at. She paused, looking over a certain book and blushed, putting it back in the cart hurriedly.
The photo-book on high-class erotic art wasn't something she could face right now. She was in the novel section! She brushed it off and replaced another Hemingway book on the shelf.
"Phoebe-chaaaaaan!" Mrs. Hisako chimed from the ground floor. "Fooooo-chan!"
I wish she'd stop calling me 'chan'. I'm clearly not small...Phoebe thought and sighed.
She went over to the railing around the catwalk of the second floor and looked down. She loved that structure of the building, a tall space with the second and third floors build around a large open space that let the light from the huge, sun-shaped skylight on the roof come in. She braced against the railing and looked down. The proprietor, Mrs. Hisako, was standing near the register in the middle of the ground floor with her hands on her considerable hips and her usual big grin.
"What is it Hisako-san?" Phoebe quipped.
"Are you done shelving books, sweetie? I need you at the ground floor. We're gonna hit peak hour soon and I want you out there serving coffees and doing your lovely Perfect Book Choices~" the Japanese lady purred.
Phoebe looked a bit distressed. "Ah but they aren't perfect. I just--"
"Of course they are, love!" Hisako chuckled. "People leave satisfied with books under their arms and come back for more! How's that not perfect choices?"
Phoebe surrendered; Hisako's business savvy was the law in Shakespeare and Co. "Alright, I'll be down in a bit Hisako-san. I'll get someone to keep shelving."
Phoebe weaved around a couple of early patrons as she made her way to the stairs to the ground floor and on her way, she asked another clerk to take over shelving. She squeezed past the sale tables and shimmied into the narrow space behind the coffee bar. Kyle, the barista, beamed at her and handed her one of the aprons. Phoebe sheepishly slipped on the black, full-length apron with the bookstore's logo and Shakespeare's noggin prominently featured on the front -- her ample bosom made it look a bit silly but everyone insisted that it was appealing.
Who was she to doubt crowd-pleasers?
She grabbed a tray and put on her 'Ask me about your Perfect Book!' badge. She'd argued against having that particular pin but Hisako had insisted that it was catchy and got people in the mood to buy books. She took a deep breath, straightened her glasses and walked out into the bookstore's cafe porch, ready to squeeze her heft around tables with all the grace of a manatee in water.
Just another day at Shakespeare and Co.