>> I am the meanest of customers, I only tip the four-and-a-half percent, as opposed to the normal five.”

Celeste made a quick, fake gasp, "I knew it!" She also had a huge grin on her face when she made the clearly exaggerated expression. "If I'm not your waitress, which would be doubtful, I will let them know what a monster you are," she laughed as quietly as she could. She knew Booker was nothing like that, but it's a bit fun to poke fun with him. 

After she noticed Booker's initial reaction, she had to stop what she was doing and watch his full expression and reaction of Ms. Johnson. She really didn't mean to talk bad about her, she was a good person. She just made some terrible life choices, especially regarding her addictions. And love life. And in general terms, her life. Celeste gave her credit where credit is due, though, she saved that diner from shutting down. It was her idea to set up the Saturday night events, and that's what rebounded the diner from destruction.

>> ”Uhhh, well, who am I to deny a hard earned establishment the money that they are owed? It’s what makes the world go ‘round, after all!”

She had a very hard time trying to control her her laughter, getting a little bit too loud. Once she regained her composure, she muttered, "Sorry..." She grinned, then said in a joking way, "Also, please don't let them kick me out of the library when they realize I'm way too loud. There'd be no home left for me!" After composing herself, she decided to defend Ms. Johnson - to an extent, "in her defense, she did save the diner with those Saturday nights. Although, I do wonder how she got the first couple groups to do it. From the stories she tells, it was nearly empty every day."

Celeste got quiet after that encounter. She felt pretty guilty. It made her visibly uncomfortable. She should have been more careful with her jokes, no one knows what someone might have went through at some point. Booker didn't deserve whatever happened to him in relations to his parents - he was clearly a great guy. And from what he mentions of his sister, his sister seems like an amazing woman. Booker's parents had two great kids, at least from what she knew about Booker and from what she heard about his sister through him. She hoped they didn't treat either one of them badly, but based off his reaction, that didn't look to be the case. Celeste didn't know the details, but it bugged her. Crappy stuff happens to everyone. How depressing.

>> ”We’re cool…”

She let out a deep breath of relief, a faint smile on her lips. She put few more books on her cart, moving up to the next shelf. The stress she had quickly penned up was let out with the breath. Her face returned to its normal color. Thank goodness they were okay; that would have been her luck - lose one of her only friends because of some stupid comment she made. Not to mention, she'd have to find a new library. Celeste paused her thoughts there, realizing they were kind of spiraling into doomsday situations. 

>> ”Hah! I can hardly ask that you, You said it yourself…you’ll be working.”

She grinned, giggling, "I have a 15 minute break I'll be able to take. I'll just have to be sure to line it up just right." She nodded, her facial expression clearly showing her designing the plot in her mind. It would have to be carefully thought out, planned between taking her break, ensuring the customers satisfaction, and when he performs. It would be rough, but she could totally try to make it happen.

>> ”Just like real life, eh? There’s rarely a positive without a negative. But that’s just the nature of things,Balance. That’s the key to everything. Sometimes you need a bit a negative to truly appreciate the positives.” 

She nodded, her face turning serious. "You're right, but I still don't like the endings for it. You're suppose to choose destroying the Reapers but it destroys EDI, which kills me. So you can choose synthesis but it merges the reapers with all biological beings, which is the joyful happy ending. But the whole point of the series is to destroy the reapers. I just don't like it," she grumbled. She had some pretty strong feelings about the Mass Effect 3 endings.  Hopefully he had already beaten the game or she totally just spoiled it for her.

That was actually a pretty deep comment, though. Those type of games usually get very deep though. That's what made her love them so much. The right and wrong, the possible mistakes. Ultimately, it's the humanity of the game. She sighed, "but on a serious note, yeah, balance is the key to all things." She sighed again, "You know, if I drew a timeline out of my life, I can see how everything that has happened has led up to where I am right now. It's weird, but in the real world, for me at least, it seems that each event has built me up to the next event, whether its good or bad. But especially the bad. It builds you up, makes you realize how great the positives are, keeps you strong as a person. Gives you hope, or whatever." She realized how mushy her words were getting, the last few words turned more into a whisper than her normal talking voice. She never would have came here if it wasn't for her mutant powers, or her parents emotional abandonment. She never would have met Booker, or Norma, or Ms. Johnson, or experienced all the awesome stuff that's happening in her life now. 

”You better! My infamy must continue to live on, after all!” He cackled, with a lowered voice, of course, but cackled nonetheless. Still, he didn’t wanted to make the young girl laugh too much so he merely went back to his work. Clearly he actually wasn’t that type of person, but it was fun to pretend every now and again and thankfully she was willing to play along.

But the diner really did sound like a good outing. Maybe Juliette or Nessa would want to go, catch a free show of him performing with his ukulele. As much as he was spurred on by the thought, the other part of this was that the both of them knew how Booker would act. He would try to get either one of them to perform with him, singing on stage or something else equally embarrassing. Not out of cruelty, mind you, but Booker loved to perform with other people. Still, they probably wouldn’t appreciate his efforts but maybe if he promised to keep them out of the limelight, they would come.

Either way, Booker was intent to do this now. It had to be thing and if anyone could make a thing be an actual thing, it was Booker B. Bookman.

>> "Sorry...Also, please don't let them kick me out of the library when they realize I'm way too loud. There'd be no home left for me! in her defense, she did save the diner with those Saturday nights. Although, I do wonder how she got the first couple groups to do it. From the stories she tells, it was nearly empty every day."

Her laughing fit was quite infectious but Booker made sure to use his indoor voice on the matter. Celeste was clearly having a hard time keeping herself under control and Booker didn’t help the matter because he knew that his own silent chuckling was probably only making it worse. However, finally she seemed to gain enough composure to quiet herself.

”Aw don’t worry. I’m sure I’ll remember, some days, to leave a box outside for you climb in.” He grinned. At the clarification of the owner of her diner, and the hard work that she went into making it work, Booker had to raise his brows in an impressed manner. ”Wow. Well, you know, when you have the drive and the passion to make something a success, then I guess anything is possible.”

Another chuckle passed through his lips at Celeste finding a work around for her job. Seeing as she had such a busy schedule, clearly she wouldn’t have the time for dancing – unless she made time for it. He had to laugh a bit at that and just shook his head. It wasn’t like he could stop her. When he played the ukulele, well, people couldn’t help but dance. Nessa would say “cringe” but deep down he knew that she liked his playing.

At the subject of decision based games, Booker was indeed in heaven, but he was such a goodie-two-shoes. He didn’t like bad evil or bad choices when playing games like that. He remembered when he played Fable and how difficult it was for him to try out the evil path when he had beat it so many times while playing the good guy. Video games were a world where moral decisions didn’t have a place. And yet he still found himself struggling to make the tough calls because of some deep-seated need to be the hero.

>>"You're right, but I still don't like the endings for it. You're supposed to choose destroying the Reapers but it destroys EDI, which kills me. So you can choose synthesis but it merges the reapers with all biological beings, which is the joyful happy ending. But the whole point of the series is to destroy the reapers. I just don't like it,"

He smirked and said nothing else. It was clear that Celeste had some rather firm thoughts on the matter and he wasn’t about to go and challenge her on them. As good as Booker could dish out the knowledge, the he didn’t want to get into a heated discussion with her about it. Booker could get passionate when it came to talking about video games and while he could debate her all day, it wasn’t the best place for that. They were still in a library, after all.

Still, something he had said seemed to have struck a chord with her…

>>"but on a serious note, yeah, balance is the key to all things…You know, if I drew a timeline out of my life, I can see how everything that has happened has led up to where I am right now. It's weird, but in the real world, for me at least, it seems that each event has built me up to the next event, whether it’s good or bad. But especially the bad. It builds you up, makes you realize how great the positives are, keeps you strong as a person. Gives you hope, or whatever."

Booker had stopped working just long enough to turn towards the younger woman as she spoke on about needing balance. Still kneeling down, he watched her closely, noting that there was probably something more philosophical or experience related that she had in mind. But, he didn’t want to interrupt her so he let her continue, even after her voice dipped down into until it was a barely audible whisper. She must have seen some stuff to be able to make the comments that she had. He sighed, deeply, a little troubled by that. For someone as young as her, that shouldn’t be an experience to have. Then again, his own sister had the tough experiences before she even turned eighteen. Sadly, it just happened.

With an understanding curl of his lips, Booker turned back to grabbing the rest of the books from the second-to-last shelf. He let the silence hang a bit between them, not wanting to interrupt the young woman’s thoughts. When enough time had passed, he sighed as he turned and landed the last of the books on his cart, filling it up. Idly he started to organize them into order, but at the same time, carefully delved into conversation again.

”You know…if you ever need to talk or just vent…” he started. ”I’m usually always here and happy to lend an ear.” He turned to her, a small smile before it widened into a playful grin. ”It’s not trouble. I have two of them after all.”

Celeste had a big grin on her face, listening to Booker pretend to be evil. She barely knew him and she could tell that he was in no way a bad person. He actually seemed more like the kind of person that would go out of his way to help anyone. Celeste hoped one day people would look up to her like that - someone they can confide in, help them grow. She glanced towards Booker, looking like a light bulb went off in her mind, "Maybe you can invite Ms. Bat's to the diner, that way you can see! I can give you some of our really good cheesecake. Everybody loves cheesecake, right? That might soften her up to me, a bit." Clearly a long shot, but Celeste had been scheming about how to make a good impression on Ms. Bats ever since Booker confirmed she was a Grouchy Gale. She was determined to be at least on civil terms with Ms. Bats. 

>> ”Aw don’t worry. I’m sure I’ll remember, some days, to leave a box outside for you climb in. Wow. Well, you know, when you have the drive and the passion to make something a success, then I guess anything is possible.” 

She made a fake, exaggerated motion with her hand against her eye, like she was wiping tears away. "At least every now and then I can sneak into my favorite place, then. Just don't let them deactive my library card, please."

She smiled and nodded, "Yup, you're right about that. Hopefully she wont have too much passion for you though," she teased. If his reaction is anything like it was just a few moments ago, she couldn't wait to see them interact with each other. She can already see how Ms. Johnson might interact with Booker, and how Booker would react to her advances. That by itself would probably be enough for Celeste to break down into laughter in the middle of her shift.  

Of course, Ms. Johnson already knew some basic information about Booker. Celeste had to request the mornings and early afternoon shifts off so she would have time to volunteer. When Ms. Johnson asked more questions on why Celeste was requesting off every morning and afternoon shift, and only taking the late shifts, there was some serious questions. Why would she want to work the late shift, first off? No one wanted to take the late shifts. The servers usually wouldn't get off until 2am, sometimes 3am in the morning. On Celeste's job application, she had put she was available at all times - which was technically true when she first applied. Celeste had to explain what she did, who she usually worked with, a pretty brief overview of the volunteer experience - come to think of it, Celeste realized, her boss was extremely nosy. 

Celeste stopped talking after her relatively deep comment as well, content that Booker had left the conversation for a moment. She stared at the top book on the pile she was moving over to her cart, "Unexplained: Mysteries of the Universe." Seriously? She rolled her eyes and ordered the books, placing them on the cart. She realized she was a bit behind Booker, but saw him start organizing his cart. She took a breath of relief - she had some more time, she had been organizing before putting them onto the cart & then readjusting with each new stack she brought over. She hadn't done it very efficiently but she was only a few minutes behind him. 

>> ”You know…if you ever need to talk or just vent… I’m usually always here and happy to lend an ear.It’s not trouble. I have two of them after all.” 

She froze, her cheeks getting a little red. She hated how easily her face betrayed her. She had told no one what had happened between her parents, and even her "friends" back in Regina didn't really know how bad it was. Talking about it made it real and that scared Celeste. Not to mention, she didn't want anyone to feel any type of sympathy for her. She was in some emotional turmoil for a moment, before sheepishly looking over to Booker, "Well, um.. I mean, everyone has a story. Most of everyone has dark spots in their stories," she shrugged, "Well, I just mean bad stuff happens to everyone. But good stuff happens, too... I may have to take you up on that offer with one of the two ears eventually." She twirled her hands together, unsure of what to really say or do next, "But, everything is fine, ultimately. Everything has worked out so far, like I mentioned before." She gave a weak smile, "Thanks for offering, though."

She winked, "The same goes for you, of course, I got two good ears that are good for listening, too." 

She didn't want him to worry or anything and she definitely did not want to risk her friendship with him by making him think she was emotional wreck or anything. Crappy stuff had happened to her but, it could have been worse, it wasn't like she hadn't accepted it, and had moved on to the best of her abilities. Plus, she simply couldn't say that her parents didn't even care enough to see if she made it to New York alive or that she stole 3000 dollars from them to run away from them.

Booker smirked at the idea of bringing Ms. Bat with him to the diner. Honestly he had only ever seen the woman eat one thing, mung beans, and she never deviated from it in the several years that he had known her. One day he had asked her why she was always snacking on it and she explained that she had read somewhere that they were the key to longevity. While that was all nice and good, the smell didn’t help and, therefore, brought him to the conclusion that they were actually just preserving her in its own fluids, rather than actually extending her life. He didn’t have the heart to tell her that, of course.

”You’d be surprise at the audacity of some people, Celeste,” he said with a mysterious chuckle. Of course he loved cheesecake, almost everyone he knew did; all except the very person whom they were discussing.

Celeste was quite the dramatic actress. When Booker had waved his hand and said that if she were kicked out that he would make sure to leave a box in the alley for her to crawl in. The library received many books and supplies throughout the year, more often than not, they were very large boxes. Surely Celeste would be able to squeeze herself into one and sleep soundly in the dark, dank alley from time to time.

But in all seriousness, he wouldn’t actually do that. Still, the image must have tickled the young blonde enough to dramatically thank him for his hospitality and a firm notice that he should make sure that her library card was never deactivate. He placed his fist over his heart and bowed his head to her in a chivalrous manner.

”By the sword of Grabnark, I swear.”

Getting back into work was easy enough as there was plenty for the two of them to do. The book shelf needed to be cleaned up, the books removed, and for the reorganization to begin. There would be a lot of back and forth, heavy lifting, dusting, etc. It was going to keep them busy for a while. To be honest it might not even be them that completes this project. Shifting an entire second of the library was months of work and many times, volunteers never saw it to the end. They went off to do other things, got full time jobs, went back to school, and so on. Therefore it wouldn’t have been a surprise to him if Celeste didn’t finish this out.

But, on that same token, he wouldn’t have been surprised if she had as well. The young woman had a zeal for the library that was matched only by his own; that, admittedly, was something rare for him to witness. He even wouldn’t have been surprised if she ended up still being here long after he retired. But, if that really were the case, he would probably just shake her for wasting her life as a volunteer when she could have probably been a full-blown librarian by that point. Oh but those were mental arguments for another day.

As he stacked another set of books, these one a series about the philosophical nature of string (seriously?), he found himself wondering about teenager next to him. Truth be told, he didn’t know a lot about her. However, he did find himself oddly interested. The way that she spoke, the manner in which she carried herself, it was strong, but it was the kind of strength that was only forged from the heat of turmoil. It hurt his heart to think that maybe she had suffered in any way other than a regular eighteen year old should suffer. But he wasn’t going to pursue the matter either, not if it wasn’t something she was comfortable with sharing.

Still, that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t at least offer his services to the teen. Many times he had been utilized in such a way. A lot of interns and volunteers just found him comforting to talk to. Maybe it was a sunny attitude, maybe it was his ability to make others laugh. Whatever the case, Booker just had a natural charisma with people and always wanted to help them through a tough spot. It was just his way and it was something he was willing to share with others.

>> "Well, um.. I mean, everyone has a story. Most of everyone has dark spots in their stories…Well, I just mean bad stuff happens to everyone. But good stuff happens, too... I may have to take you up on that offer with one of the two ears eventually.., everything is fine, ultimately. Everything has worked out so far, like I mentioned before…Thanks for offering, though."

Celeste blushed but Booker didn’t point it out. He was earnestly offering and he didn’t want her to feel like he would make fun of her for whatever her problems may be. Instead he just crossed his arms over his chest and watched the young woman as she idly rattled off vagueness about how life could be tough on everyone. He didn’t argue the point, as clearly it was true. At least she didn’t completely shun his offer but, rather, thanked him with a bright smile.

His own matched hers in luminosity as he nodded his head. ”Of course.” There was a pause, then a friendly smile upon his volunteer / friend’s face.

>>"The same goes for you, of course, I got two good ears that are good for listening, too."

He grinned a little. It really was a sweet gesture. In all honesty, Booker was an open book with most people, but even he had his secrets and his issues that he didn’t like to have come to light. Such secrets and thoughts can weigh any person down. But, thankfully, they weren’t world-crumbling ones that would have sent him into a gibbering mess. Still, he appreciated the gesture, none the less, and he nodded his head.

”I may take you up on that one day as well.” he smiled. He then nodded towards the books. ”Come on, let’s finish sorting these, dusty, and organizing. If you do good, I’ll order us a pizza for lunch.” He grinned. ”I may even toss you a chunk of the crust.”

>> ”You’d be surprise at the audacity of some people, Celeste,” 

Celeste couldn't believe it. Ms. Bats did not like cheesecake? Celeste eyes stared Booker down, "Are you sure? Because if not, then I really have no chance." She threw her hands up dramatically, rolling her eyes. "Oh well, everyone has to have a few enemies. At least this potential one everyone else doesn't like either." She really didn't like people not liking her though but she wasn't about to go out of her way to make someone like her, especially when they wouldn't even take the time out of their day to get to know her. 

Celeste was content that he promised not to have her library card deactivated. Worst comes to worst, she'll at least still be able to check out books. Of course, they were both joking but nothing like being a little playful dramatic. They both seemed to be pretty comedic, playful people, especially towards each other. It was fun. It definitely made the boring and routine of their current task go by a lot faster than it would otherwise. Not to mention, they were able to do both without getting behind schedule. That's always a plus.

She knew she could trust Booker, she knew they could be - if they weren't already, great friends. She didn't have anyone like that here and she didn't really have anyone like that back in Regina, either. She was a bit of the outcast until she hit high school, when she started going out of her shell. She had never connected to someone like she did with Booker, either though. Most of the other kids in school seemed to have one or two best friends that they spent literally all their time with. Of course, no one at her school really cared about reading as much as Celeste did. They also couldn't keep up with her conversation on some of the most serious topics. Celeste didn't have that - she meandered group from group, with a bunch of acquaintances that she'd chat with. It would feel great to have that friend she could call and complain about someone with - or the most likely type of call, talk about the new best book she ever had read before. 

Celeste looked over to Booker, seeing him with her arms crossed made her feel a twinge of guilt. Maybe if they knew more about each other, it would help their friendship - maybe they would even be best friends! Gasp! That was probably a bit of stretch, she thought, but they could at least become good friends. He was like a mentor, an older brother to her at this point. 

"Well... We could just each tell each other our darkest deepest secret at the same time and just see what happens." She laughed, semi-joking. If he agreed to do it, she would honor her portion of the agreement. If he didn't, then it was an easy, harmless joke to pass off. If he passed it off, she'd just keep working, already thinking of a new song she could start singing.

>> ”I may take you up on that one day as well. Come on, let’s finish sorting these, dusty, and organizing. If you do good, I’ll order us a pizza for lunch I may even toss you a chunk of the crust.”

Celeste nodded, and started working again, trying to be a little faster than before. She grinned, "Oh? We're getting pizza? Ooo! I'm excited! Can't wait!" She loved pizza. Well, she loved pretty much all food but pizza had to be at the top of the list. No one could ever go wrong with pizza. She paused, and gave him a playful glare over his comment about the crust, "Well... So long as it has some garlic sauce on it, I'm all for a piece of crust if that's all I can get." She had a huge grin on her face, "But, just so you know, I can be sneaky and I'll totally figure a way to get a slice or two." That was probably the most empty threat ever, she really wasn't even sure where the library break room was. Of course, that's even presuming that's where they would eat said pizza. She had never actually been into the employees section of the library. She had wondered what a librarians break room looked like. Would it be kinda cool looking, different, exciting? Or would it be a typical, bland, break room like retail stores have. 

The look of defeat in her eyes was actually pretty amusing to look at. Not that Booker was inherently cruel or anything, but he just didn’t want Celeste to get her hopes up, thinking that she could win the older woman over with cheesecake. Yes, cheesecake was amazing, but there was only so much that it could do. Unfortunately, winning over the affections of a woman like Ms. Bats just seemed to be a little beyond its paygrade. But at least Celeste seemed to be taking it well.

He snickered at that.

Shaking his head, he went back to work. However he did find himself a little curious about the young woman. She seemed to be a mystery of sorts, one that part of him wanted to help. There was just something interesting and familiar about the young teen, something that Booker couldn’t possibly have seen with his own sister. Maybe that was what drew the librarian to want to know more about the girl, his need to help poor souls like his sister. Not because he wanted to be the hero, but because he knew people in said situations needed someone to trust and talk to.

Observing her, his arms crossed over his chest, he offered her a chance to talk – or rather, an invitation. If she ever wanted to vent, or to just have someone she could trust to talk to, then he was definitely there to help. Booker was actually a very good listener. Add to that the amount of books he read and his ability to find the logic in every situation, it certainly made him a great person to talk to.

Only if Celeste wanted it, though.

She seemed a little nervous about it, as if she were wrestling with whether or not she wanted to trust him with whatever was on her mind. He said nothing, not wanting to influence her one way or the other, but when she finally did speak up, he was all ears.

>> "Well... We could just each tell each other our darkest deepest secret at the same time and just see what happens."

He smirked. As sweet as that was, he didn’t know for sure if she were just joking or if she were actually serious. As much as he wanted to trust his volunteer with his deepest, darkest secrets, it really wasn’t anything that he was sure she could handle. His secrets were pretty dark and the last thing he wanted was to change how he was viewed in her eyes. He would compromise, though, as he didn’t want to ruin this chance for them getting to know one another. So he paused, thought a second, and then gave her an encouraging smile.

”How about we start with just a regular secret?” he asked. ”And we do it at lunch? That way, no stray ears will hear?”

With a plan set in motion, Booker suggested that he would order them a pizza at lunch break. That should help the situation as it would give the young woman a chance to consider what secret she wanted to tell him and they could get their work done. She seemed spurred on by this as she immediately seemed to start working faster, trying to get at that free pizza. He couldn’t blame her, pizza was amazing.

>>Oh? We're getting pizza? Ooo! I'm excited! Can't wait!"

”O.M.G. me neither!” he grinned. So it was done. They would be having pizza and that just meant that they needed to survive this workload. Booker was sure that he could do it and, if she couldn’t, well, more pizza for himself. It just meant that she didn’t want it as much as himself. Of course he couldn’t help but joke that if she would only get crusts while he would get the rest. The look she gave him proved that she didn’t appreciate that division of the meal in the least.

>> "Well... So long as it has some garlic sauce on it, I'm all for a piece of crust if that's all I can get…But, just so you know, I can be sneaky and I'll totally figure a way to get a slice or two."

He shrugged his shoulders. ”I guess you’re just going to have to wait and see how generous I am.” Another chuckle and he sighed. ”Don’’t worry. Just you know, I’m terrible at starving my minions. You’ll be fed, and fed well.”

And like that, they buried themselves in work, collecting books, organizing, dusting, and preparing to get things ready for phase two of the shifting plan. But, thankfully, before they knew it, the dusty, dirty work had finally reached a point where they could stop. Like that, at least an hour, hour-and-a-half was gone; that meant only one thing – it was time for lunch.

She mumbled some more words under her breath, a little annoyed at Ms. Bats. She really wanted to be her friend for reason. Probably just the challenge of it, at this point. Celeste put Ms. Bats to the back of her mind. It was like she had just said - it's fine to have a few enemies, plus, maybe she'll get lucky and Ms. Bats will somehow at least tolerate her. 

Or maybe she'll get really lucky and never even meet her. This is a pretty big library, after all with probably hundreds of employees. Maybe. She finally pushed the thoughts out of her mind and moved on. No use to dwelling on it anymore.

Celeste wanted to open up to Booker, mainly because she did need someone she could talk too. She needed to have a friend, especially in this new world she had entered.

After she made her little comment about sharing secrets, her mind began to race. She wanted to find someone else opinion if stealing the money was completely wrong or justifiable. Should she somehow save up the 3000 and send it back to her parents, despite everything? But wouldn't it be better to just completely silence them from her life at this point? She knew they weren't interested or else they would have called, so why did she feel so darn guilty about it? Or maybe, what about her previous hatred for her little sister, Isabel? Her parents literally used her middle name as the name for their second child. She had gotten over it as she had gotten older. It became clear what her parents were doing, even if it took Celeste a couple of years to figure it out. But Celeste could not fault Isabel for their parents actions.

Where would she even start if he took her up on that offer? Celeste made a mental note to never put herself in a situation like this again. She was way overthinking the situation.

Celeste was going through memory lane, trying to decide what to do, what to say, how he would react, and tried to imagine those reactions and how she would reply. She remembered the light bulb moment that she realized Isabel was practically meant to replace her. She was 14, Isabel was 3. She had asked her mom to help her with her homework, practically begged her for help. Her mother would say nothing to her - practically ignoring her presence. That was usual but sometimes if Celeste pestered her enough, she would give some type of acknowledgement.

Instead, her mom went over to her sister, sitting down, and began helping her learn colors and read a story to her. Celeste stared at her mom for a minute, tears flooding her eyes. There was no remorse, no acknowledgement from her mom. She tried to tell her dad when he got home that night, but he did the exact same thing - he went straight in, kissed his wife, kissed his second child on the head, then settled in for a beer. Not a word or even a look was given towards Celeste. Sheesh, Celeste thought, putting all that into actual words would be quite a story. 

From there on, Celeste knew she was on her own. It took her a couple years for her to finally get the bad feelings she had for her sister out of her system, it wasn't her fault after all. 

If she did tell Booker that, would he think of her as some type of thief? A hoodlum runaway from some crazy parents? Or maybe he would think the parents had it right. That she was the crazy one, just wanting attention. She let out a quiet sigh, her mind returning to how she would reply if he reacted in a not so favorable way. 

If she told him any of that, she would have to disclose she was a mutant. That might freak him out a bit but he didn't seem to the kind of guy who was against mutants. But the word 'radiation' tended to freak some of the most rationale people out. 

>> ”How about we start with just a regular secret? And we do it at lunch? That way, no stray ears will hear?”

She nodded, her facial expression serious and lost in thought. Hopefully the sudden change didn't give away that she had planned that dare.

A regular secret. That was fair enough. Nothing too major, nothing too sad. A baby secret, if you will. All that extra thinking was completely unnecessary. She furrowed her brow, clearly deep in thought, now, about a regular secret she should tell him. "Oh yes, we should definitely do it at lunch." She was so lost in the rest of the stuff going on, she hadn't even though about actually keeping it a secret from nosy people. "Knowing my luck, Ms. Bats will show up right when I spill my beans," she joked quietly. 

>> ”I guess you’re just going to have to wait and see how generous I am. Don’’t worry. Just you know, I’m terrible at starving my minions. You’ll be fed, and fed well.”

She giggled, a smile on her face. "Good too hear, it's nice to know I won't waste away in the dust of these ole' books." 

Celeste had gotten so into the work that she didn't even realize it was lunch time, however, she did catch herself thinking of that pizza more and more frequently. She rubbed her hands together, trying to get the dust off of them and then wiping off her dress. Sheesh, so. much. dust. "Pizza time!!!" she exclaimed in a quick whisper to Booker - wow, she had really gotten hungry. 

The work was hard but, finally, the duo seemed to have been able to make headway. Though they engaged in some light conversation while working, it wasn’t on the same, deep level as it had been when they first started. Still, that was probably for the best as there were copious amounts of work that needed to be done. A joke here, a comment there, more dust, more heavy lifting, and before they knew it, they had finally managed to clear out all the books from the massive shelf. Though it seemed like a minor task that shouldn’t take as much time as it did, it had.

Placing the last of the books on the cart with a satisfied sigh, Booker straightened up and stretched his back until he felt the satisfying crack of his vertebra. Stretching a bit further out, he sighed as he turned back to Celeste who had just finished her own task. After she wiped dust off on her dress she turned to him excitedly.

>> "Pizza time!!!"

He laughed. ”That it is,” he grinned. ”Come on. Let’s push these carts out of the way and head to the employee lounge.”

The carts soundlessly glided across the smooth tile as Booker pushed one against the far wall, then again, and aided Celeste in pushing her own. When the last of the carts were off to the side, he turned back around and faced the large, empty shelf. They could begin to place them back, but leaving space on each shelf so that the collection could grow and then move the rest of them onto an adjoining shelf and prepare others to be shipped off to the archive.

As he dusted his hands off, he gave Celeste and encouraging grin and waved for her to follow. She had seen the staff lounge often enough that she knew where it was but, still, being the librarian in charge, he felt a need to guide. A small whistle on his lips, Booker pulled his phone out from his pocket, opened up the Pizza the Hutt app and started to piece together a couple of pizzas for delivery. Just as they made it to the staff door, Booker pushed it open and stepped aside so that Celeste could walk in first.

”Ladies first,” he beamed. Once she was in, he followed and let the door close behind him.

The staff lounge was fairly simple when compared to the architectural beauty of the rest of the building. It looked like any lounge, with a smooth flows, cabinets in off-white and a large, black refrigerator in the corner. The sink was empty sans a single coffee mug that had been rinsed out but forgotten in the basin. Booker through the kitchen, heading towards the back wall where there was a vending machine that doled out various cans of soda.

Phone still in hand, Booker raised his eyes to Celeste. ”Any specific toppings? I assume marshmallows and lobster is fine with you too?”

Celeste was happily working along. She enjoyed the less intense conversation her and Booker had - it was light, some silliness, and some semi-serious. It was pretty enjoyable overall. Celeste hummed a few songs during the breaks in their conversation, enjoying the peace and quiet of the library. Her mind drifted to what her secret confession would be once the time came. Celeste hadn't even kept up with time well. 

She was proud of the time her and Booker made on clearing and cleaning the bookshelf. Occasionally, she'd take a step back and just observe how different the bookshelf looked. It didn't look like a major hazard anymore, which was awesome. Probably made it a lot less scary for the patrons to come over and view the books, once they get them back on there. It was also awesome now that if anyone did touch a book, they wouldn't immediately get a huge whiff of the dust. Hopefully it wouldn't damage her and Booker's lungs too much.

>> ”Come on. Let’s push these carts out of the way and head to the employee lounge.”

Celeste nodded and started pushing the cart over to the far wall. It was actually a bit heavier than she expected. There was tons of books on the cart, but it didn't seem like it would be that hard of a push. She grinned once Booker helped her move it, grateful for the help. It moved it along a lot faster. "Thank you," she really needed to work on her strength, she thought. 

Celeste followed Booker to the staff room - it felt wrong for her to go by herself. It just didn't seem right. It was like someone with authority needed to go with her into a staff room like that. 

>> ”Ladies first.” 

Celeste grinned, always a bit excited to be in the staff lounge. She walked into the room, saying "Thank you, good sir" before she passed out of his earshot. She always took in the site of the lounge - it was so basic compared to the rest of the building. It made sense, it covered all the essentials a staff lounge would need. But still, the rest of the building was so beautiful. They could have at least added some better decorations or something. She followed Booker towards the back wall. Once they got there, she took a look at the options, debating on which soda she wanted to get.

>>”Any specific toppings? I assume marshmallows and lobster is fine with you too?”

Hmm. Good question, she hadn't thought about toppings. She grinned and laughed, still quietly even though she really didn't have. "I wouldn't ask for any other type of toppings. Lobster is pretty expensive though... So... How about ham and pineapple?" 

Celeste still wasn't sure what secret she wanted to give away when the time came. Maybe he would forget about their little dare. She had thought about it over their time of quiet work, but she wasn't entirely sure what she was comfortable sharing. She had preliminary decided on telling him about her mutation but was worried that might change his opinion of her. He didn't seem like the type to get upset over that kinda stuff, though, but you never really know until you know. Otherwise, she could fess up about her parents. Eh, probably the mutant part. The parents would definitely make his opinion of her change. 

Booker sighed happily, pleased with the progress that they were making out in the shelves. With Celeste at his side, they were actually making pretty good headway on the work that needed to be done. She was a dedicated worker and it truly showed with the quality of help that she brought to the library. Maybe Ms. Bats actually would like her without the need of being bribed with cheesecake? Ah well, even if she didn’t, Celeste would always have a fan with Booker himself.

Once inside the lounge, Booker himself pulled out his phone and began the process of getting the promised pizza together. The app was one of his favorite apps because of the animations alone. Watching as toppings rained down upon the pizza was enough to make the man chuckle every time he looked at it. Now was no different, of course. But they also needed to answer the very, very important question of why kind of pizza to get.

A glance to Celeste as she made her way to the vending machine and he inquired as to what toppings she would like. Of course he tossed a ridiculous idea at her as Booker had never been one to not want to make another laugh. Celeste, off guard by his comment, indeed laughed as she shook her head and shot him back a response.

>>"I wouldn't ask for any other type of toppings. Lobster is pretty expensive though... So... How about ham and pineapple?"

He placed his hand over his heart and gave her the sweetest smile. ”Aww, look at you! Looking after a poor librarian’s bank account.” He then sighed with utmost satisfaction at her toppings of choice.

To be fair, there were a lot of people in the world who loved ham and pineapple on a pizza. Sadly, there was an equal number of misguided souls who truly didn’t understand the importance of the citrus-y sweet yellow chunks and the elevation of flavor that they brought to the amazing dish. That being said, coming across another like minded individual, someone who could truly appreciate it, Booker was all-together encouraged by it.

A wide smile on his face he just grinned as he watched her. ”I so wish I could adopt you right here as my second sister.” He chuckled and then turned back to his phone, typing in order and sending it off. Once he got the ding that it was ready and paid for, he sighed as he placed his phone back into his pocket and joined his new friend at the vending machine. ”Okay, sailor,” he said in a gruff, bartender’s voice and nodded to the machine. ”Pick your poison. On the house, ‘course.”

Celeste clearly was relaxing after their dust filled bookshelf cleaning adventure. She didn't really realize how tiring it was until they were inside the small lounge room, with kinda comfy looking chairs. She wondered if they'd run into Ms. Bats in here - that would be great. Talk about ruining the relaxing mood. Maybe she could offer a slice of pineapple and ham pizza? Knowing her luck, she'd be one of the anti pineapples on pizzas.

>> ”Aww, look at you! Looking after a poor librarian’s bank account.”

She grinned, "I mean, that's what I do. Help librarian's all over the world not use all their money on pizza. It's a talent, truly." Whew, she was glad he had no complaints to pineapple and ham. She only realized how risky it was to say those toppings - considering the recent internet controversy of pineapples on pizza. Personally, it was one of her favorite toppings on pizza and couldn't believe more people didn't enjoy it. On the same note, she wasn't about to fight with someone over it like some people seemed to be. A pizza is a pizza, after all, and you can't wrong with pizza. 

>>  ”I so wish I could adopt you right here as my second sister.”

She laughed, "I would be fine with that, long lost brother. Nothing like pineapple on a pizza to bring two people into siblinghood." She grinned, "Is it just you and your sister or are there more Bookman's running the world?" Hopefully, that didn't seem too pryful, she was genuinely curious about his life. Not a lot of people turn out as good as Booker seemed to have. She wanted to get to know him better - she felt like they could become really good friends outside of the library. And if there was one thing lacking in Celeste's life right now, was friends outside of the library or diner. Not to mention, if his other sister was any as awesome as he was, she bet her and his sister would be good friends too! Her grumbling stomach put an end to her thoughts, though. She couldn't wait for that pizza to get here.She watched as Booker sent the pizza off and got excited, "I didn't realize how hungry I was until now."

>> ”Pick your poison. On the house, ‘course.”


Hm, which soda did she want? Dr. Pepper or Coke? Maybe Mt. Dew? Today, seemed like a coke day, "I'll take a Coca-Cola." She smiled at his joking, "It's okay though, I can pay for mine and give you some money for my half of the pizza. I don't want you to have to actually foot the entire bill!" 

>> "I would be fine with that, long lost brother. Nothing like pineapple on a pizza to bring two people into siblinghood…Is it just you and your sister or are there more Bookman's running the world?"

Booker chuckled at the idea of adopting the young blonde. Part of him wondered exactly how Nessa would take something like that. Would she still understand that she was his number one sister? Besides, the only reason he would be adopting Celeste as his sister is because she didn’t tout the evils of putting citrus fruit on pizza. That was an argument that tended to get heated and something for which was avoided at all costs. Still, despite the hot button issue it could be, he didn’t let that stop him from ordering it whenever the two decided to treat themselves to the hearty entree.

At the idea of other Bookmans in the work, Booker snorted. ”Oh I doubt the world would be able to handle any more of us,” he said with a cheeky smirk. ”So as far as me and my sister know? No, just the two of us…” he then smirked as he nudged her with her arm. ”...and maybe an honorary one...one day.”

He did like Celeste. She was a breath of fresh air when considering the other interns that he had under his stead. To have someone who actually had a passion for books, who took their job seriously (even if she wasn’t paid) it was just something that the librarian appreciated.

With the food ordered, he rejoined Celeste at her side, looking over the soda options that she was considering.

>>"I didn't realize how hungry I was until now."

He nodded. ”Book slingin’ is hard work and definitely works up an appetite.” He agreed. ”We don’t all just sit around all day, dusty, and shushing people.” A pause. ”I mean, I do most of the time but that’s only during personal time.” A good hearted grin, he then gestured towards the sodas, asking which of them she would like.


>> "I'll take a Coca-Cola…It's okay though, I can pay for mine and give you some money for my half of the pizza. I don't want you to have to actually foot the entire bill!"
Another grin. ”Oh don’t worry about the pizza. I said I would treat you and I am,” he said this in a tone that hinted that there would be no argument on the matter. Booker was the generous type and while he understood that a lot of people didn’t like to have things bought for them, because it made them feel as if they couldn’t afford themselves, for Booker he was just being nice. ”But if you’re deadset on buying your own soda, I can’t stop you.” With a grin he stepped away and handed her a dollar so that she could purchase him one. ”And get me a Orange Soda, please?”

With that he stepped away, allowing the young woman to get the drinks as he pulled out a few chairs from one of the tables to claim them, then mosied over to the sink area to grab a few paper plates and napkins. He may as well get everything ready for when their pizza arrives which will probably be sooner than expected as the pizza joint he ordered from was just around the corner from the building. Setting the napkins and plates on the table, he groaned as he sat in one of the seats, reached out with his arms and stretched out his back until he felt that satisfying pop of his vertebrae.

Once achieved, he relaxed back in his chair, hands behind his head. ”We did good work today. Keep this up and the shifting will be finished in no time.”

Celeste couldn't help but feel happy at the crazy idea of being adopted - ultimately, her family decided she was worth nothing to them once they had found out about her mutation. There wasn't much she could do about that but at least she had some good friendships forming since she got to New York. Booker was really the closest person to her at this point, in a way becoming her family. Of course, they still didn't really know each other - they really had only just met in the overall grand scheme of things. Neither of them knew the dirtier secrets about each other and both only know the surface of each other. But still, Celeste and Booker seemed to have a connection that might stand the barriers of time and dirty secrets. 

>> ”Oh I doubt the world would be able to handle any more of us. So as far as me and my sister know? No, just the two of us… and maybe an honorary one...one day.”

She couldn't but laugh a little bit as he nudged her. She was happy he liked her enough to even joke about being his adopted sister - she had friends, for sure, but she never had someone that she felt like could actually become her family. "Well, I'll probably have to meet your biological sibling at some point to see if she'd agree to have an honorary sister... One day."

>>  ”...We don’t all just sit around all day, dusty, and shushing people. I mean, I do most of the time but that’s only during personal time.”

She grinned, "Well, that's a little debatable. Some people put more work in than others. Wait, personal time? Since when does anyone have that anymore?" She stuck her tongue out playfully, before returning to the type of soda she wanted.

>>  ”Oh don’t worry about the pizza. I said I would treat you and I am. But if you’re deadset on buying your own soda, I can’t stop you. And get me a Orange Soda, please?

She smiled sincerely and nodded, "Well, thanks, I appreciate it." She really preferred water with some type of flavor in it but her second favorite had to be some type of soda - but which one, mainly depended on the day. She'd switch between Coca-Cola to Mountain Dew back to Dr. Pepper. It was all over the place. She was pretty sure she was going to go with Coca-Cola though. She took his dollar and nodded, "One orange soda, coming up." She went over and got his drink out of the vending machine. After she got his, she dug in her purse for a dollar. Hopefully she had one actually. A few minutes later, she found enough quarters to add up to a dollar and got herself a Coca-Cola. She walked back over as Booker was sitting down in the chair, their plastic plate lunch all set up. "One deliciously cold orange soda, here." She placed it on the table in front of him.

”We did good work today. Keep this up and the shifting will be finished in no time.”

She sat down on the chair, and leaned back closing her eyes for a minute. Her fatigue hit a little bit then, now that her body was relaxing. She yawned quietly, covering her mouth with her hand. "Yeah, we really did. Hopefully sooner than later... We just gotta wait and see how our lungs react to dust inhalation over the next few weeks." She gave him a playful grin. She stretched in her chair and checked the time, anxious for the pizza to finally arrive. She was surprisingly hungry. Probably more to do with the breakfast she skipped. 

>> "One orange soda, coming up…”

He gave her a grin and a thumbs up as he sat back in his chair and sighed, stretching out his body. Even though he worked out regularly and kept in fairly good shape, his body could still succumb to being tired. He worked fairly hard for the shifting, everyone did, and now that they were taking a break, the could feel the tiredness in his bones. He stretched and twisted until he heard every satisfying crack and only looked up when Celeste made her way back towards their table.

>>”One deliciously cold orange soda, here."

”Ahhh, so perfect!” he grinned as he took the drink in hand. Feeling the chill on his hands, he sighed in satisfaction before he stood up and made his way towards the kitchen sink where he could gather a few plates and utensils before their pizza arrived. A glance at his phone showed that their pizza was now baking! Woot, woot!

Returning to the table, Booker once again reclaimed his seat as he turned his attention to Celeste. He commented, pleased with how much work that they had actually managed to accomplish. Shelving projects took months and months to complete but with as much focused work as they were able to achieve, it could potentially cut the total project time. Not by a lot, mind you, but by enough. That is unless he, or one of the other librarians, get a real dud for an employee or intern. Then all their hard would could easily account for nothing.

Ah well, that was the gamble you played in the library game.

>>"Yeah, we really did. Hopefully sooner than later... We just gotta wait and see how our lungs react to dust inhalation over the next few weeks."

He shrugged his shoulders, grinning. ”Eh, breathing is overrated, I hear.” He chuckled a bit as he lounged back in his seat. Massive arms crossing his chest, he tilted his head as he smirked at her. ”Alrighty...so did you give it any thought? A secret that you’d be willing to share?” He wasn’t normally one to pry, but that was the arrangement and he didn’t want her to think that he was avoiding telling her anything.

Once she got comfy on the seat, she let out a long stretch and a yawn. Hopefully this pizza wouldn't make her even more tired. Either way, it was going to be delicious and she couldn't wait to get it into her mouth. It had been a while since she last had pizza - actually, the last time was in Regina. She screwed the cap off her Coca-Cola and took a big gulp of it. Ahh. Cold and fresh. She didn't realize how thirsty she was until now.

Celeste enjoyed the moment. She looked over the break room again. She kinda felt like she belonged here. She was just a volunteer that the library would eventually replace though. She nodded at his comment, "Yeah, we make a pretty good team honestly. I think we did a pretty great job, good time." It wasn't the first time she had helped re-shelve books but it never changed - tedious, hard work. 

>> ”Eh, breathing is overrated, I hear.” 

She laughed, then nodded. "You're right. It is overrated." She shrugged playfully, leaned back in her chair, and took another sip of her Coca-Cola. She was definitely bringing surgical masks next time though. She was not about to be as unprepared as she was today for this. This library is huge and has a lot of dust. At least they hadn't ran into any critters, like spiders. She shivered a little at the thought of taking a book off the shelve and have a big spider jump on her. Yikes.

>>  ”Alrighty...so did you give it any thought? A secret that you’d be willing to share?”

She paused. Well, he remembered there little dare. She guessed it was time to spill a bean, any bean she had. What secret would she share with him? She didn't want to say anything too personal because he might think differently of her, but on the same note, what fun is daring secrets if you don't say spill something interesting? She had racked up quite a few secrets over the past few months... Her mutation would be intense, yet not too intense. She didn't think Booker was a bigot or anything, after all. So... Here goes.

"Well... I'm a mutant. Radiation. I'm actually going to join the Xavier's school soon, for my last semester of high school." She paused, not wanting to go any further without being able to read his reaction. Technically, that was two secrets she spilled too. Oops. People either thought it was kinda cool, were terrified, or didn't really understand what she meant. Hopefully, he wouldn't care. Otherwise, she had just blown their entire friendship. She cleared her throat, "But what about yours?"