Atsushi’s librarian phase

A bookmark almost the size of a human palm is delicately handed over to a child.It’s nothing special, simple and off-white in color, but that’s precisely why the child is so enthralled by it.   “Wow…” he says in awe.   The adult who gave it to him (the child doesn’t know his name) grunts, walking away. After all, no one in the orphanage wants to be in the child’s presence.   They giggle. The bookmark is hugged close to them, almost crinkling the thin plastic before the child stuffs it in his slipper. They should be storing it somewhere better, like a pocket or the book it’s meant to be used for, but the child at this point doesn’t care.   The bookmark is Q’s and he will use it however he wants.     Atsushi hates his life.   Sure, he’s a newly made adult fresh out of both high school and his orphanage, but. Well. Earning a living is pretty damn hard and he clearly wasn’t ready for it.   He sighs, slumped against a bookshelf of the library he’s working fulltime at currently. His break will end in a couple minutes he knows, but he doesn’t want to get up.   Should I quit? Atsushi wonders, staring with a moping gaze at the bookshelf across from him. There’s plenty of other ways to collect money…   N-not that he would ever do anything bad! Atsushi isn't that kind of person. No, he may have been a problem child back in the orphanage but even he wouldn’t stoop so low as to steel or something far worse! Not if he doesn’t need to, which he definitely doesn’t right now.   “Hey!”   Atsushi flinches, head snapping to his left at the sound of someone speaking. Standing merely a foot away is a scrawny kid smiling at him, looking altogether creepy in their weird clothes.   “H..hi…” he gulps, struggling to put on a smile. Atsushi quickly stands, hands fumbling over himself even though he knows he wouldn’t be carrying any dust just from sitting around.   The child keeps smiling, now looking up at him. They extend a hand, holding…a scrap of paper? Plastic? Atsushi isn’t really sure what it is, the thing so disfigured in the child’s tight hold.   “Do ya have any more of these, Mr?”   “Uh…” How does he kindly explain that he’s not even sure what ‘these’ would be?   Atsushi puts on a sheepish smile, scratching the back of his head. “Sorry, I’m…not really sure. Is there anything specific you’re looking for?” He pats himself on the back in his mind.   The kid blinks, mouth opening in awe. Their eyes, which already appear to have strange patterns in them, sparkle.   “There’s lots of kinds?!”   Atsushi still doesn’t know what's being talked about but decides he might as well go along with it until this child's guardian shows up. His break should be up now anyways.   “Uhuh! Um, so, anything you’d like? I can help you look around if you want.”   They think about it, rocking side to side. They hold up the crumpled ‘thing’ and give it a long look before nodding decidedly. “Yup!”   Atsushi breaths out.   “I want a pretty one! With a- a- oooh, a creepy monster!”   What?   “What?” Atsushi blinks. Monster? What scrap of paper would have anything monster related in a bookstore-? Oh!   He asks, “You mean a bookmark?”   The kid nods, fluffy hair swinging all around as they grin like crazy. “Yup! You got it!”   Well, that makes more sense. But looking at the wrinkled flap that was once a bookmark…Atsushi winces.   Still, this random child is a customer, and he’s in a library where most kids don’t veer toward often— he himself was the outlier in his orphanage for hiding within the old tales and dusty books.   “Well, let me see what we have,” he says calmly, smiling honestly for the first time since this whole conversation began.   He leads the strange kid to a separate desk near the front, no person managing it which probably explains the near empty space all around it. There are only a handful of childrens’ books and a small rack of cheap bookmarks.   “Here.” He points the the rack. “Take a look. See if you like any.”   He takes a step back, allowing the kid room and time to look over the bookmarks and give himself a chance to glance around and see if said kid’s guardians are around. A multitude of people are lingering around the library, as quaint as it is, though none seem in concern for a child that had wandered away. From what Atsushi can see the kid doesn’t look too young, maybe a preteen, but in his heart of hearts he’d still expect a minor to have some form of adult or older person close by.   He sees no one that looks concerned, which pings worry in the back of his mind. Could they be alone? That’s not safe…   “Mr!”   Atsushi flinches, looking to the kid. They now hold a single bookmark between careful fingers (unexpected) designed with crappy pictures of bats that look more like black squiggles.   Still, he puts on another smile. “Is this the one you want?”   The kid hums loudly, inspecting the bookmark with squinted eyes. They tilt their head. “It’s the creepiest one. There’s no monster-marks.”   Monster-marks? Awe, cute. He holds in a chuckle. “Ah, sorry then. I can see if we have any more…”   But this time, they just shake their head. Atsushi can’t tell if their disappointed, bored, or something else.   “No. I’ll just come back the next day.”   Atsushi feels bad now. He’s supposed to be a good employee and all this customer— a child— was asking for was a monster-themed bookmark. Yet he can't even do that much! Sure, the kid is super weird, wearing a school jacket with striped shorts, two-toned hair, eyes with shapes in them, how they word things…it’s all different. But Atsushi still has a duty to make them happy, and he didn’t. He wants to be swallowed by the floor.   He watches the kid set down the bookmark, walking out the library with a smile and a hum. Atsushi feels like he’s letting go of a child’s happiness.   When close time comes around he’s quick to seek out Tanizaki— another library employee, but who only works part time.   Tanizaki is grabbing his jacket, scarf already wrapped around his neck as he prepares to head out.   “Tanizaki-san!” he calls out, waving an arm. Tanizaki looks over, giving him a smile.   “Atsushi,” he greets back, pulling his arms through the jacket sleeves. “Did you have a good day?”   Atsushi sighs, slouching over himself. “Not really…”   He hesistates to grab his own jacket, debating if he actually wants to ask for help with such a small problem.   “Atsushi?”   A monster-mark huh? Well, an unhappy customer won’t return. And Atsushi isn’t one to to give up without trying.   He turns to the ginger, sheepish but determined. “Sorry, but can I ask for your help with something?”     Kyusaku skips down the street, swaying his head side to side as he lets his imagination wander. They’re once again off to the tiny bookshop as the day before, expecting new page-marks to look through.   They giggle. The ones from yesterday were so stupid. Not creepy at all. And not even big!   Kyusaku thinks he can throw a fit if he doesn't get a good page-mark this time.   They open the bookshop door, grinning at the little chime sound that rings from it. They walk over to the desk from before, feeling a tingle of anger form in the back of his head as they find the same cruddy page-markers. Hm. Disappointing. He wants to tear them all apart.   “You’re really back! That makes me glad, since I have something for you.”   Oh?   Kyusaku looks over his shoulder. It’s the same person from yesterday! White hair, green jacket-thingy, and same voice.   They grin. “Hi! These are all the same,” they say, pointing to the page-markers.   The adult nods, a weird smile on his face. “Yes, we don’t have any others in stock. But!” He sticks a hand into the jacket pocket, pulling out-   A page-marker! And it’s a big one!   Kyusaku gasps, hopping on their heels. “Wow! I wanna see it! Lemme see!”   The adult grins, handing him the large, white page-marker. It has a piece at the bottom that spirals outside of it, and- and stripes, oooh! It has a cat face!   “What is it Mr?!” They can’t help but ask, wanting to keep this flappy plastic already.   “A tiger- well, a white tiger.” A finger points to the swirl that sticks out from the page-marker. “This is the tail, and it can hang on to the top of book you’re reading, like a monkey. You can also use it right-side up if you like.”   “A tiger?! Tiger’s are scary cats!” Kyusaku chimes, grinning down at the paper tiger. It’s already soooo much better than the old one still in his shoe!   The adult nods. “Yeah, they are. I guess this tiger looks pretty cute but…if you like it you can have it.”   “Yes! I want it! So it’s mine now?”   “It’s yours now.”   As soon as it's confirmed, Kyusaku giggles, hugging the page-marker to their chest. They decide they’re gonna keep this one even longer than their first one.     Atsushi watches the kid smile and giggle in happiness, feeling that same joy bubble in his own chest.   He’s glad that he was actually able to make the kid’s day with the bookmark. It’s not a monster like they were wanting but they still seem ecstatic with it.   Later, during break, he makes sure to thoroughly thank Tanizaki for his help!   “It’s no problem,” Tanizaki says with a small smile. He waves Atsushi off. “I’m glad I could help.”   “No, really, I have so much to thank you for!” Atsushi says, adamant. If it weren’t for his coworker showing him how to make bookmarks last minute with only the library’s printer and supplies, he isn’t sure how he would have handled letting down the child for a second time.   It wasn’t easy that’s for sure. Making bookmarks by hand wasn’t the worst task Atsushi’s ever attempted but it certainly wasn’t the easiest either. On top of it, creating tiger bookmarks seemed to be his only talent, while making literally anything else always ended in wasted paper and plastic.   Still, Tanizaki continues to deny the credit.   “Hey, you did good,” he says. “All I did was show you the ropes and you got the hang of it.”   Atsushi gives him a mild glare. “I can only make tigers…”   His coworker hides a chuckle behind his sleeve. “And they’re good. Seriously, there’s nothing you owe me. I was glad to help. And it was fun anyways.”   He sighs (he’s been doing that a lot lately…), leaning back against the lounge chair. “But now what do I do? It’s a cool skill to have but I’ll definitely forget how to make them if I don’t do it regularly.”   Tanizaki shrugs. He takes a tucked away snack bar and begins eating it. “Sell them? I don’t know. The library could use some new ones and yours would be a favorite. In my opinion at least.”   Sell the bookmarks? Would people actually buy what he makes? Atsushi isn't that sure.   But…   He wasn’t sure about giving that kid one either and they loved it. There’s a risk to everything right?   This is how Atsushi Nakajima, age eighteen, finds himself printing white-tiger bookmarks regularly. As Tanizaki guessed, his bookmarks become a hit for their tiny library, and the owner agrees to let him hand them out and take forty-five percent of the profit. Kids, adults, elderly people— they all seem to enjoy his work.   It makes Atsushi proud of himself, knowing that he can contribute to other’s smiles and make their days of reading worth while with only a simple bookmark.   He doesn’t quit the library. No, Atsushi continues to work there, making and selling his bookmarks, knowing each tiger will hold their places as they should, making their readers happy whenever they open that page back up.