>>"I must agree entirely. This city is certainly very strange compared to my hometown. So much more... lively. But, I would not change that at all. It is fascinating that each city has its own personality...Though... I did fit in very well with the people from Wisconsin. No one would tell me why though."

Booker arched his eyebrow but still wore a smile upon his features. As he listened to Andrea talk, he found her rather enchanting. She was the very epitome of an outsider looking in and sure enough she did find that New York was both an enticing and a confusing place. Booker loved his city but there were sometimes a few too many strange things, even for his like. But it would never be enough to dissuade him from living here. He lived through what seemed like earth-shattering events and he always survived. That was the mentality he needed to carry with him.

He moved into the towering aisles, mumbling the literature call numbers under his breath as his expert eyes roamed over the tagged spines of the books in front of him. He was one the hunt for books and that always took the lion’s share of his attention. It was what made him a particularly good finder. That didn’t mean he wasn’t listening, though.

>>"I have heard good things about Jane Eyre, and I very much loved 'Villette'. The woman has such a way with words, and an interesting take on romance."

”Definitely,” Booker replied with a grin. ”And if you like tragedy and an ‘interesting take on romance’ then this is certainly an excellent novel to jump into.” His eyes scanned the shelves until he found the precise number he was looking for, made a sound of success and pulled it free from the shelf. The exact copy he was after. He handed it out to Andrea so she could look through it before moving on to the next.

>>"I have also been told to check out 'Pride and Prejudice', but I fear the co-worker who told me of it may have been confused about my interests. I am generally not a fan of zombie stories."

He screeched to a stop. Turning back around to face her, a look of surprise and confusion swept over his features? Zombies? Ugh! There has never been a bigger travesty. In some ways he understood the attempts at trying to get a younger generation interested in the classics but really! He shook his head as he moved down a different aisle, making a beeline for a section that it was clear that he was familiar with.

”Trust me, hun, you’ve been given the wrong information.” He explained as she sought a new call number. ”What was described to you was a poor attempt at trying to make a truly beautiful classic more ‘accessible’ to a ‘modern audience’.” Another shudder but he still shared a smile with her, a sweet and trusting one. ”If you want the real ‘Pride and Prejudice’, I’ll hook you up.”

His eyes shot back to the shelf dedicated to several copies of Austen’s works. He peered at each one until finally he found one. His fingers wrapped around a thick, heavy seeming book with a beautiful gilded edges along the page. it was an old copy, that was for sure, but it carried with it an inspiring appearance. Turning to Andrea he handed it out to her.

”If you want some truly interesting romance and beautiful words, then by all means take this one.” He grinned. ’And I promise…no zombies.”

He handed her the first book, which she accepted with glee. She ran her fingers over it for a moment, relishing in how it felt through her gloves, before pulling back the thick cover page and peeking inside. It was a little old and well used. Smelled like warm dust on a sunny afternoon. She closed it again with a smile and tucked it in the corner of her arm.

Her eyebrows rose and he captured her full attention when he started to explain that there may have been a misunderstanding over the other novel. "Truly? There is another?! Please do!" She kept her excitement hushed, but barely.

When he handed her the next book, she took it with all of the gentlenesses she could muster and an expression her face like it was the holy grail itself. Cherubs may as well have been singing in the background. It certainly was a beautiful old book. Well kept but showing its age on the corners. The pages inside were off-white, not yellow nor stained. The font was old and neat. Small letters ordered methodically on the pages.

She made a mental note to hunt one down for her personal library if she liked the story, as it would fit in well among her other classics. "Thank you. I daresay I was a bit disappointed when I thought there was only one version." She speared him with a look, small smile upturning the corners of her mouth with humor. "I hope it lacks the Ninjas too. I am afraid that fad never caught on with me and my old ways."

With a chuckle, she added the new book to her growing pile, tracing the gold lines with her fingers absently. "You must love your job very much. It shows in your eyes."

Booker still couldn’t forgive the literary world for allowing the atrocity that was “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” to come into being. Again, he understood the reasoning behind it but it wasn’t something he was willing to accept anymore. You didn’t need to pander to the audience to try to get them to understand it, instead maybe just start reteaching those healthy habits of reading and thinking instead of offering everything the fast and loose way. It just irritated the educated man so much to see how the world was just...giving up. But, this wasn’t the most opportune time to grumble about such things.

>>"Truly? There is another?! Please do!"

Booker proudly handed the book over to her. It was a true edition, one of his favorites too. No zombies, no ninjas, no flashy attempts at an emo-cover. It just a nice, thick book. The page ends were gilded and the thick cover had the title laid out in nice, bold letters with the illustration of a peacock feather embossed on the cover. It any book would represent the time and honor that this class should possess, it’s this one; and he was happy to hand it off to Andrea.

>>"Thank you. I daresay I was a bit disappointed when I thought there was only one version...I hope it lacks the Ninjas too. I am afraid that fad never caught on with me and my old ways."

He chuckled. ”It warms my heart to hear you say that,” he beamed proudly. ”Don’t get me wrong; I like a good ninja and a good zombie story, but smooshed together into a classic...I just...I can’t.” It was clear that he was a man who appreciated books and the classics as they were. It was also apparently that he had come across far too many people to enjoyed what is disliked far too many times.

>>"You must love your job very much. It shows in your eyes."

Booker smiled. He liked to hear that. Most thought he was pretentious and in love with a dying art form, but for him it was the essential product of civilization. One cannot exist without the written word and so he tended to have high standards for it. That was why, past all the muck and annoyances he was given, he was thankful that some people could see his real passion as a good thing.

”Thank you,” he admitted. ”I’m glad you can see that.” Another beaming smile and Booker began to lead her towards their next destination. ”And I do. It has kind of always been my dream and...it feels good to have accomplished it.” He glanced over his shoulder to her. ”You? Are you doing what you’ve dreamed?”

She tucked the book away in the crook of her arm, nestled safely away from being harmed outside forces as they move along. She chuckled at him for their shared love of classics and occupied herself with letting her eyes linger on titles of other books as they passed. She smile right back at him when it appeared that he appreciated her comment. In her field, there were many who love their jobs and often suffered for it... but there were also many do weren't so attached and others suffered for it instead. She had learned to appreciate people who love their work, no matter what field it happened to be in.

When he turned the question back around on her, she was a little slow on figuring out what to say. She loved what she did dearly, in both her paid job and her volunteering work... but was it her dream?

"I suppose I am, in a way." She started, reaching out to touch the spine of a book that caught her interest. "I had different dreams before coming here, but have since found a different calling in life. My dream now is to help people anyway that I can, and I have been lucky enough so far to be able to reach out and touch it."

It was difficult sometimes, especially with how she normally looked... but she managed. She was proud of how far she had come and what she could do. "I am a nurse registered with the state, and I work with quite a few volunteer agencies in the city to combat homelessness." She giggle lightly as she fished out her list of books again and wiggled it. "I am working toward aClinical nursing specialist degree, among other things."

Warmth filled her cheeks at the thought. SHe still had a handful of years to go before she could essentially work on her own, without needing a doctor to give the final orders... but she was still excited.

"With my mutation, I had never imagined that I would be where I am today, so I am quite proud of what I have achieved."

Her phone buzzed loudly again and her blush intensified. "I doubt I will never get used to people coming to me for answers, though."