The public library (12/11, 3:21 pm)

[Hollis Brown]

The librarian and Ellie Swan are talking quietly from behind the counter. The librarian is wearing a red turtleneck sweater and olive green pants. Ellie is wearing a dark blue, long-sleeved shirt and white pants. They appear to be in good spirits, upon first inspection.

Danielle Douglas is sitting at a table across from singer/songwriter who plays at Julee's Bar, the man with his brown hair in a ponytail. Danielle is wearing a black sweatshirt over a black shirt. The jacket is long and stretches down over a portion of her black jeans. The pants have a flare style, so they open up at toward her dark red shoes. Danielle is wearing contact lenses that make her irises look bright red, and she is also wearing purple lipstick. From each ear, she wears an earring that looks like a small rusty pipe. In between the two is a large card, folded hamburger style and propped up, that says in big handwriting "LOOKING FOR BAND MEMBERS." Danielle and the singer/songwriter are sitting at a table behind a bookshelf, out of the librarian and Ellie's view. The two speak quietly with one another, occasionally looking around for anyone who might walk by.

[Cameron Johnson]

Cameron walks in and goes toward the counter. Noticing Ellie, Cameron smiles at her.  He says to her, "I brought those books back, I know you probably thought I was gone forever but Im not. I had to go back to Texas for a funeral. Several of my family members were killed because of the actions of a drunk driver. Took an extended leave to spend time with family. I realized that family is all we truly have in life and we need to treasure the time we have with them. Ya know?"

[Hollis Brown]

Ellie turns to look at Cameron, and she returns his smile. She nods at Cameron's last few words and responds, "I'm sorry to hear about your grandmother. But I'm glad to see you around. Honestly, with everything that's been going on, I figured you had just left while the going was good. I don't think anyone would have blamed you."

Ellie sighs and turns toward the librarian. "Kathy, this is Cameron. I'm not sure you two have officially met yet." The librarian turns toward Cameron and gives him a quick smile and wave before returning to her business. She was typing something up on the computer behind the counter, and it was clearly occupying her full attention. Ellie turns back to Cameron. "Well," she says, with a huff, "That's Kathy, anyway."

[Cameron Johnson]

"Glad to see that at least someone has a personal touch around here." Cameron winks at Ellie and smiles playfully at her. "I think it was good for me to talk off for a while. I was really cynical and not in a very good place. As horrible as it sounds, this accident was a wake up call for me. It helps me to realize what I need to change about myself before I become something even I cannot contain." Cameron raps his knuckles on the counter and says, "See ya later Ellie." He walks out of the library slower than he did before. He looks up at the sky and smiles as his eye lets a single tear escape from his tear duct. "What a damn good day to be alive."

[Hollis Brown]

Ellie's eyes follow Cameron as he leaves and continue looking on a short while after he is gone.

Kathy chuckles into her hand, which causes Ellie to turn around. "I think someone likes you," Kathy chimes.

Ellie shakes her head, but the left corner of her mouth is leaning toward a smile. "What are you, twelve?" She swallows and looks back toward the door Cameron had passed through. "Besides... Just because someone likes me, doesn't mean I like them back. He seems like a nice enough guy, but that doesn't say much. Most guys are nice guys."

Kathy turns back to the computer, but she hesitates for a moment instead of returning straight to her typing. "You know, I have once heard someone say to me that the average guy knows somewhere deep down in his heart that he is found sexually unattractive by about 90% of the world. If you think about it, it makes sense. Let's say half the world is female, right? So 50% percent could potentially find an average male attractive, and we'll add another 10% for males who might find that male attractive. That's 60%, right? Well, we know that not every single person attracted to males will be attracted to the same male, especially if it's just an average joe. So if we say that, maybe, one out of every six of those women or men who find males attractive would find that average male attractive... That's 10% of the whole world. I'm not good at math, but that makes sense even to me."

Ellie continues to look toward the door. "Your point...?"

"It isn't about physical attractiveness," Kathy says, "Despite what they try to tell you in magazines and on TV. It's about personality, chemistry. That boy likes you. You should give him a chance. Only 10% of the world probably thinks he looks hunky, while 90% simply doesn't think about him. You've got to go beyond the exterior."

"I think that would make him highly uncomfortable," Ellie says.

Seeming to ignore Ellie's remark, Kathy continues, "That being said, women have it different. I would say that a good 75% of men find the average woman attractive. So all that talk about women having to conform to higher standards of beauty really comes from other women, not from men. I believe most men, when they say they don't care if women wear makeup or dress up. I think they're honest and not the least bit picky. In a weird way, women have a higher expectation of men's beauty than men have an expectation of women's beauty."

Kathy is typing again by the time Ellie walks away, to go sort books or something.

THE LIBRARY IS NOW CLOSED

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