Ah minions! This was Booker’s favorite time of the year. The schools were starting to slow down, summer was coming, and that mean a bevvy of wide-eyed and bushy-tailed young ones could be descending upon the library in search of an interning job. While most librarians didn’t care for having to deal with an inexperienced young-in horning in on their work, for Booker he was more than happy to volunteer and take those calls. He wanted his interns to come to him, to learn, to have respect for the place that they would be working. For the majority of them it was just a stop along the way to bigger, better things, but to those select few who could find their path here, Booker wanted to be the person to guide them right.

The New York Public Library was currently having a lull. It wasn’t as far into the month as he would have liked for things to pick up and be interesting. Instead the library was as silent as a tomb. That was how it should be, of course, as this was an institution of learning and knowledge, but Booker still wouldn’t mind a lively conversation or two to break out about the latest novel releases or even the inaccuracies between popular television shows and the books they were “inspired” by.

With a dull hum from his lips, Booker sat behind the reference in the building, looking over his computer screen as he casually checked the upcoming schedule. He didn’t have much on his calendar just yet and that was slightly obnoxious. Most of the meetings he was supposed to attend weren’t until next week, including the one with that cute book vendor shamelessly flirted with him. What was his name? Jake, wasn’t it? Hmm, highlighted that specific day on his computer’s calendar to make sure he was dressed appropriately for the encounter.

Booker looked rather intriguing for a librarian. His sandy, light-colored hair was cut short and combed back, and his grass-green eyes flashed with a combination of discipline and impishness. The scruffy hair that covered his chin and cheeks cast his face in a manly shadow, but his attire seemed at war with the man’s-man image that he presented. He was dressed in charcoal gray slacks, a matching vest, and a lilac-colored, button-up shirt. And, to top of it all off, was the bowtie that sat tied around his neck. It was black and red, with little circles all around it that featured the iconic symbol of the well-known comic character Deathpool! To some it may seem unprofessional but for Booker, he thought it was merely whimsical.

But enough of him! The man had a job to do and his jade eyes were busy sweeping over the screen in front of him, setting up schedules and getting things situated for the next day. He would get up to do a walk-through in the next few minutes, just to ensure that no books were out of place and, those that were, would be collected and ready for sorting. So, with another tuneless hum on his lips, Booker glanced up to ensure no one was waiting for assistance in front of his desk, before he ducked his head back down. He was a master of this domain. No one was sneaking up on him while he was on the job.

Wide-eyed and bushy-tailed, Bailey arrived at the library. School was winding down, which meant that he had to find some sort of summer employment, even if he wasn't planning on going to any sort of post-secondary institution. A teen needed money, after all, and he couldn't work at an ice cream shop forever.

The library, though, was not exactly what he originally had in mind. It was big and full of, like, books, and stuff. Bailey wasn't huge into reading. The whole thing felt a little foreign to him, and he wasn't even sure what he was supposed to be doing at his internship there, anyway. Moving books around, maybe? To, like, different spots in the library? But that didn't make all that much sense. Why would they have to move books around like that? Couldn't they just stay in one spot forever, collecting dust? How many spots were there, anyway? 

It seemed like there were many. So many. As he walked (and spun around) in the library, his eyes were opened. He had never seen so many books in his life. In fact, he couldn't even remember the last time he'd finished a book. He certainly hadn't finished any of the ones that he was supposed to for class, or anything. That required effort that he didn't feel like putting in. 

Eventually, he made his way to one of the offices on the upper level that he had been directed to by one of the nice ladies up front. That was who he was supposed to be interviewing him... or maybe telling him what he was supposed to do? The email had confused him a little bit, so he wasn't sure whether or not he d the job yet. Or if he was walking into the wrong office. The name was B. Bookman, though, so even if it was the wrong office, he was willing to walk in just for the puns. So many puns. It was a killer name to have when working in a library. 

Rather than knocking, Bailey waltzed straight into the office of one mister B. Bookman and made his presence known. "Hiya! I'm Bailey. Bishop, that is. Bailey Bishop. I dunno if that means anything to you. It might, or it might not. I dunno if they told you my name. Guess it depends on how good the communication is here. Anyway, I'm here for the intern position. Or maybe to interview for it? I dunno."

The teen shrugged and then slumped into the chair across from the man's desk. He really wasn't what he had expected a librarian to look like. Certainly not one with his name, anyway. 

For one thing, the man was ripped. Like, Hugh Jackman ripped. He could see it through his charcoal vest and lavender shirt.

Oh, and the best part?

"A Deathpool bowtie? That's sick!"

Booker was so enthralled in his work that he didn’t see anyone coming into his office. He knew he had to be at the reference desk soon so, he was trying to use the last few minutes he had to try and get a handle on some back up projects that he needed to complete. Now that his schedule was cleaned up for the day, he could get a start on those patron usage stats that he had been meaning to get to. Booker actually enjoyed working with numbers and it tended to be a breeze for him considering his eidetic memory, but it was also just a tad bit monotonous. Getting some of it squared away now would be less work number crunching later.

A glance to his door showed that he was still relatively alone so he we turned his attention back to the screen and back to the data that has inputting into a spreadsheet. He could already feel his mind beginning to drifting, thinking about what he was going to do when he got home. He needed to workout (leg day, after all), but the rest of his evening was relatively clear. Maybe he would call Nessa and see if she and her girl wanted to hang out for the evening. Even if she said “No! I’m busy,” which usually meant “wink-wink”, it would give the kind older brother the chance to obnoxiously send over a stack of ten pizzas to her apartment.

She was his little sister after all and he had to make sure that she ate a good meal. She couldn’t spend every night with a beautiful woman and survive by eating only --

>> "Hiya! I'm Bailey. Bishop, that is. Bailey Bishop. I dunno if that means anything to you. It might, or it might not. I dunno if they told you my name. Guess it depends on how good the communication is here. Anyway, I'm here for the intern position. Or maybe to interview for it? I dunno."

Booker jumped. But, like, jumped hard. Turning around in his swivel chair, he held his arms up in a mock kind of made-for-TV-only martial arts that was both humorous and a little sad to look at. When he finally realized what it was that made him jump, he tilted his head to look at the young ma—teenager. Why was there a teenager in his office? He tried to zero in on the fast talking boy’s words, only catching “my name”, “communication”, and “intern”. Wait…he was an intern?

”Umm,” he turned to eye his computer schedule to see that there was nothing on the calendar about an interview today. He turned back to impart this very important knowledge to the boy when he was interrupted by the most important of compliments – his tie.

>> "A Deathpool bow tie? That's sick!"

OH! How it made his heart sing. So few people actually appreciated bowties anymore. There was that small, mini craze where they were somewhat back in style again thanks to the exploits of Doctor Whom (a British, sci-fi television show) but it eventually faded when the Doctor impossibly regenerated into an old, Scottish woman. But, he wouldn’t get on that train of thought because it would take him to a place that he didn’t care to be right now. He was a work and nerding out was certain not appropriate – until the kid mentioned who his tie represented.

”Oh my god, totally, right?” Booker chuckled as he adjusted his tie so it looked a little straighter. ”I like the Incredible Deathpool run, but, really, The Magnaminous Deathpool is probably my favorite run of all time. I mean, finding out that his sister, Jenpool, is actually the reincarnated soul of his long dead dog, Dogepool! Like…wow…’ He breathed a sigh of relief, stopped and reigned himself in. He had a job to do, after all. ”So…from what I gathered…you are here…to sign up to be an intern, correct?” He crossed his brick like arms over his chest. ”Why?”

Honestly, he wouldn’t tell the kid, but that was his interview process. It all boiled down to “Why” and if it was a good answer, awesome, if not…then it was the chamber of death for him. Well, not really, he would just show him the door and say “I’ll keep in touch” and “lose” his application somewhere in the trashbin. Accidents happened, of course. But first…

He held up his hand before the kid could answer his question and posed another one to him. ”Where’s your application?”

Heh. He made the guy jump.

Bailey grinned to himself in the chair across from him, watching the guy try to piece together why he was there and why he was sitting in his office. He didn't seem to get it, but he did seem to understand the compliment about his tie. The dude was cool. Well, anyone who went off like that about a superhero was cool in Bailey's book.

"Yeah! Those were great ones. I really liked the Unstoppable Deathpool run where he turned into a giant zombie sloth and had to try to rescue Dogepool from those pie-rates. You know, the sentient swash-buckling pies? That was a good one," he sighed and sat back in his chair. He really needed to read those comics again. Nothing could beat Deathpool.

They were back to the job again. The reason that he'd actually come there. It was a fair thing to circle back to, but he really wished that they could keep talking about comics. Or video games. Or anything else, really. He'd even settle for talking about board games, or something boring like that. Literally anything other than his job application or the fact that he really wasn't suited for the position.

"Uh..." Bailey searched for something to say. Why did he want to be an intern? Well, because he needed something to do for the summer and the ice cream shop wasn't giving him enough hours? He didn't really have another reason. The library position had seemed like the best thing on the job site that he'd looked at.

He stopped for a minute, his mouth agape, displaying his confusion. Finally, he said something. Well, he said a lot of things, actually. Very, very quickly.

"I, uh, wanna be an intern here? I guess cause it seems chill and I don't have to be responsible for kids or pets or things that I can kill. I'm not all that great at being responsible for living things. You can't kill books, though. Can you? I don't really know. I don't read much. I don't think I even finished To Kill a Mockingbird for English class. Or went to English class all that much, actually... it was kinda boring."

It took him a little bit of spiralling until he realised how off track he had gotten. Very, very off track. "So, uh, what actually goes on here? All I know is that it's an intern position."

His resume. The guy was asking for his resume. Was he supposed to bring in another copy? "Oh. I handed it in online. Gotta save paper and all that, right?"

Bailey cringed as soon as the words came out of his mouth. That really wasn't the thing to say to a librarian. Who worked in a building full of paper. He really knew how to impress people.

Okay, so the kid definitely had some comic knowledge. Booker laughed along with him as he was going on about his own favorite run of Deathpool and Booker had to agree that it was indeed a good run. One of his favorites, mind you, just underneath the one he had already mentioned. But they weren’t here to talk about comics. They were here to talk about something far more important – this job.

Booker stood, looming over the young man and awaiting the answer to his very serious, very adult question. He wanted to know why the kid wanted to work here. The truth of the matter was that it only took that one question to know whether or not someone will be a good fit. Based on their answers, he could decipher if they were earnest about being here, if they were going to care for the books in this place, or if they were just going to goof around with three different ladies out in the book stacks throughout their shift (true story). That last one was definitely not allowed, by the way. Mentally he eyed the kind, as if trying to force the thought into his mind.

But, as the kid opened his mouth to speak, Booker’s gaze softened considerable as he awaited the kid to wax poetic about his love of this institution and how he only wanted the glory of the experience of working here so that he could be closer to bo—

>> "I, uh, wanna be an intern here? I guess cause it seems chill and I don't have to be responsible for kids or pets or things that I can kill. I'm not all that great at being responsible for living things. You can't kill books, though. Can you? I don't really know. I don't read much. I don't think I even finished To Kill a Mockingbird for English class. Or went to English class all that much, actually... it was kinda boring."

He blinked. Huh. Well, that was refreshingly honest. Processing everything the kid said, or trying to, Booker reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose. Great, he was another one of these, the ones trying to get a summer job but with no idea what they were doing. The library staff loved to hire them because when things go wrong, they make great scapegoats, but for Booker, he took this place seriously. He wanted people here who wanted to be here, not just wanted a check.

>> "So, uh, what actually goes on here? All I know is that it's an intern position."

”Oh sweet Thanksgiving…” he muttered to himself as he raised his hands up and buried his face in them.

Not only was the kid unsure of wanting to work here but he also seemed unsure of what he would even be doing. Booker wanted to just let the kid go right then and there but as he was informed that his application was turned in digitally. The crack would have normally gone unnoticed but Booker felt somewhat obligated now to school the kid in the fact that digital documents could never replace the material experience! The feel of paper between your fingers! The smell of old, yellowed books! It was magical!

However, before Booker broke into song (and yes, he does have one) he sighed. Maybe he shouldn’t go so hard on the kid. After all, in this day and age, most wouldn’t even have attempted to set foot in the library, let alone consider getting a job in one. So long as he was here and a blank slate, Booker could attempt to educate him. Seemed fair, right? That was it…he was going to be his project.

Staring at him long and hard, Booker just smirked. ”You’re hired.” With that he turned around, locked his computer and moved around his desk to hold out his hand to shake his. ”Come on. I’ll show you ‘what goes on here’. If you feel like you can handle it, job is yours. If not…” he shrugged his shoulders. ”Then I have to kill you for knowing to much.” he smiled. He didn’t say he was just kidding. He just…smiled. ”Is good?”

Bailey’s heart sank. Yeah, there was no way that he was getting that job, and judging from the way that the man put his head in his hands, he was about to be thrown out of his office.

Great. That was just great. He was going to have to search for a whole new job that was as chill as that one, write a new cover letter, and go through the application process all over again. He hated applying for things. It was so much effort. He would have slumped down in his chair and groaned loudly if he hadn’t been in public.

However, instead of tossing him out, the man said something else.

>> ”You’re hired.”

”Wait, what?!” Bailey immediately sat up in his chair, looking at the man with a new sense of wonderment. What was he doing? Even Bailey knew that he was probably the worst candidate for the job, and yet he was hiring him after, like, two questions? What was the point of that?

Maybe the man wasn’t really a librarian. Maybe he was just someone who snuck in there and was pretending to be the one interviewing Bailey… for kicks, or something…

Or maybe he was a spy! Or a murderer! Or a supervillain! Or he was running a practical joke! Or he was Donald Trump!

No, he didn’t look like Donald Trump. Scratch that last one.

Whatever his intentions were, he seemed to be serious. With a confused look, Bailey stood up and shook his hand. He… had a job that he was completely wrong for, hired by a really cool dude. Maybe he was dreaming?

”Sounds, uh, good? I think?” Bailey nodded. It didn’t sound bad… yet…

He chuckled awkwardly at the mention of him being killed for knowing too much. He wouldn’t put it past the guy. Bailey really had to reel in the wackadoodle, just in case he annoyed him too much. He didn’t want to leave the library in a body bag.

>> ”Wait, what?!”

He gave the kid a beaming smile. He could only imagine that Bailey was thinking nothing but excited thoughts in his head about actually getting the job. He liked to keep people on the tips of their toes and while the kid would have clearly lost the job if anyone else in the building had interviewed him, Booker watched to keep things interesting. Truth was that the kid seemed capable and smart, as well as seeming moldable. Booker decided to take the kid on as an experiment, of sorts, just to see what he could help the kid turn into. Really he could be wasting his time but why not have a go at it? That was Booker’s opinion anyways. And, besides, he could always just fire him if things didn’t work out.

With a smirk on his lips he walked passed the kid and out into the hall, but not before he stopped and explained to him that he was going to show the kid around to see how he felt about working here. Sure there was a not-so-thinly veiled threat about killing him should he decide to not take the job.

>> ”Sounds, uh, good? I think?”

He grinned. ”Perfect!”

Turning on his heel, he stepped out into the hallway and waited for young Mr. Bailey to join him. When he did, Booker reached over and pulled the door closed. It closed and locked with an audible snap. With his door closed and locked, Booker took a deep breath and turned around, eyeing the kid closely, almost as if he were going to be revealing to him the greatest secrets of the universe, but instead just smirked and gestured for him to follow.

As they moved down the stairs, back onto the first floor where the reference desk was, Booker decided that then would be the best time to begin to explain some of the job to the kid.

”Alright! So, I’m going to give you a quick rundown of what will be expected to of you.” Once they got to the first floor, Booker’s long legs carried him swiftly across the floor until they reached the a staffing area available for workers. ”Alright…so here’s the basics – you are essentially going to be hired for a variety of tasks. Cleaning, dusting, arranging book displays, etc.,” Booker said. ”But, the real reason that we have been aggressive about hiring interns for this summer is for the Big Shift.” He waited, a dramatic pause in the air. When Bailey said nothing, he continued. ”Well…we just finished a huge weeding project so that we can make room for new books. Shifting, you’ll come to learn, it when we start moving the books around to make the new space available and keep everything else organized.” He grinned and nodded his head. ”Yup…we’re moving the ENTIRE library.” A shrug. ”Or, actually, you will be.” he smiled and gave him a thumbs up. ”Welcome aboard, slugger!”

Still wearing a confused expression, Bailey followed the man out of his office. It was all a bit of a whirlwind. It didn't feel entirely real, in all honestly. Anyone sane would have sent him packing within a few words. So, either the guy was crazy, or he was up to something. Bailey wasn't sure which one he was hoping for.

He took a step back as Booker turned on his heel, having been following slightly too close. He was expecting the man to say something very important from the way he sucked in air, but instead, he just kept going and gestured for Bailey to follow. Yep, definitely crazy.

Well, at the very least, Bailey had the chance of a peaceful death in the basement of that old library, and he probably wasn't going to be featured on some television show. It had been a good life. All in all, it wouldn't be the worst way to go. So long as it was quick.

They walked through the library, back to the reception desk where Bailey had initially checked in. For a minute, things made sense again. The guy was going to send him packing quietly, outside of his office where he wouldn't have to deal with him. It made sense, actually. Bailey almost considered taking note of that idea and putting it to use if he ever had to fire someone. That would be a long way off, though. He still had to get a job first. 

However, he wasn't being shoved out the door. Quite the opposite, in fact. Booker had started to list all the duties that he would be responsible for during his time at the job that he had just acquired. Bailey had to seriously rethink his stance on the fact that it wasn't a practical joke. 

Oh... it was definitely a practical joke. "Move the entire library?" Bailey repeated. Yep, a joke. It was all a joke. That, or a really long dream. "You're kidding, right? This is when you have a bunch of people jump out and yell about some t.v. show? No one, actually moves a library, do they?"

So…Booker’s approach was a tad different than most other librarians. For the most part the man didn’t sugar coat things. The others liked to slowly ease new employees into projects like this. They liked to tout about the good things with working in the library, including someplace cool during the summer time, not an insane amount of work, and a really flexible schedule. Over-all, they painted a picture that, in all honesty, was just too good to be true – and it was. It was dusty, days could be exhausting, patrons even more exhausting, and the first victims for massive projects like this were always the interns. That was why they hired them.

Booker liked honesty. He didn’t want to sell the kid on working here, he wanted to be upfront and to honestly tell him what kind of world it would be. He tossed out a few duties here and there but his main point was going to center on the shifting of the entire collection because that was simply what this was going to be about. There was no reason to lie to the kid at this point, especially since, if he decided he didn’t want to be here after all, it would give Booker plenty of time to find another.

Plus, and this was just the slight sadist in Booker talking, he kind of enjoyed the panicked and shocked look on the boy’s face when his task sunk in. Hah, sometimes he really did wish that he had a camera.

>> "Move the entire library? You're kidding, right? This is when you have a bunch of people jump out and yell about some t.v. show? No one, actually moves a library, do they?"

At first he didn’t say anything. Booker just stood there and listened to the young man as he struggled to find the words and grasp the concept of moving an entire library. For those in the field, it wasn’t that strange of a concept. The library was constantly changing, evolving into shapes and forms that were required of it. This mean that it wasn’t some rigid place there the books never moved, it had to be an living organism, a place would evolve with the times and that included making room for the every expanding collection of material that made their way into the front doors.

Booker waited until the young man was done. As much as he wanted to keep listening to him fumble over the idea, they needed to press on. Still, he would answer the younger man’s questions. His arms crossed over his chest, a sly smile on his lips.

”Would it make you feel better if I told you that behind that door behind me are all your friends and family watching your reaction live on a monitor for our new web series ‘Gotcha!’?” He shrugged his shoulders. ”That’s not happening.” Another grin. ”Seriously, kid, that’s the library life. The collection is always being processed, put up, weeded, and shifted.” He smirked. ”It’s the circle of life. But, fear not, it’s not like you’ll be expected to do it all in one go. This is a process that takes months. Honestly you probably won’t stick around long enough to see if through to completion. Few do.”

For a minute, Bailey thought that all of his thoughts were validated. He really was on a television show, and it was just some trick. He wouldn't have to move the entire library. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

The teen's shoulders slumped and he took another good look at the gigantic library. There were so many books, and he would have to move them all. Lame.

”Okay…” Bailey said with a bit of a sigh. He had thought that his internship would be more like working at the front desk or helping people sign out books. That was a very different reality. It was kind of disheartening, really. He had to do all that work, and he probably wouldn’t even see it finished.

He started to walk through the library in the direction of the thousands of shelves that lined the walls and listened as Booker explained the rest of what was going to happen.

Booker did his best to give the kid an encouraging smile but he looked just so damn defeated. He had seen the look in others before. Most assumed that working in the library was a cake walk: a bit of dusting, some light organizing, maybe even chatting up a cute patron or two in an attempt to “build community awareness” (insert eyeroll). But the truth of the matter was that a library could be just like any other job; it was hard and grueling work. Not a lot were ready to hear something like that but there it was, nonetheless.

His arms crossed over his chest as he waited for the boy to absorb all this, Booker finally sighed, stepped in, and clapped his firm hand on the boy’s shoulder. He started to steer him away from the back area and back out towards the massive amount of shelves. Of course he wasn’t expecting the boy to do all of this right now. The fact was that shifting projects took months and months to complete. Honestly Bailey probably would see the smallest fraction of it before he either quit or died under a collapsed wall of books – doesn’t happen all that often but…you know…

Ahem.

Steering the boy away, Booker sighed as they took another detour, this time into a staff lounge area, one of two or three in the building. This room liked like an staff room luncheon room: large beige tables, metal chairs, a lumpy sofa in the corner, and a fridge that had probably seen action during the second world war. But, the interesting draw of this room were the two vending machines in the far wall; one containing all sorts of salty, healthy, and sugary treats, and the other an honest to goodness ice cream machine.

 Booker smirked a he steered Bailey towards it. ”Come on,” he said with a light punch on the arm. ”My treat. This place isn’t ALL that bad. Get some good vittles.” He walked up to one of the machines and added in some money to get himself an ice cream sandwich. ”We’ll take a break and then head out. I’m sure you’ll do just fine.”