Clue was sat in a chair near the back of the store, thumbing through a book. The bookstore was never particularly busy, so Clue generally just helped with opening and closing, leaving Zachary to take care of the few customers the shop received.
It was quite startling when the bell announcing that the door had opened started ringing. Clue checked its watch. It was so close to closing time, why were there customers now? It carefully shut its book and wandered through the shop to find whoever had come in.
Clue quickly found a woman who appeared to be wandering through the shop. "Can I help you with anything?" It asked with a smile, picking up a cup of tea off of one of the bookshelves. It had forgotten about that tea. It was always leaving tea in the strangest places. It shook its head and turned its attention back to the woman.
"Oh, hi. I'm just looking for the fantasy section." Eliza said, turning to the person who had spoken. "And, hoping to maybe apply for a job here?" She added, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "If this is a bad time, I can come back tomorrow…"
The bell ringing sent a shiver down his spine. His shivers continued once a human walked in. Is the mysterious message true? Keeping his eyes towards the floor, he tapped his fingers against the counter while thinking. It's only just a woman, one person. Besides, spirits have been awfully playful despite everything else being strange as it is.
"Clue! Clue," He whispered, trying to beckon it to come over. Watching as it was talking to the customer, he shook his head. For a second he glanced over at the woman then outside. Pushing his glasses back, he took a step forward to the window.
Is it just him or is he seeing someone else in the direction of the bookstore? Zachary bit his bottom lip, not sure what to do aside from putting on a warm expression. Oh spirits, looks like they may not close the shop up soon. "What's Boss up to?" He mumbled to himself, "Why are there two humans showing up at my shop? I am done for."
River now stood in front of the shop, but glanced up, noting he was being stared at. He was used to spirits continually bothering him with their stares, but for some reason what looked to be the owner of the store was interested in him. He raised a brow slowly before heading to the door. He didn't go further than a few steps into the doorway.
"I'm sorry, are you about to close? I don't want to be of any bother if you are," the boy asked politely.
"Oh, don't worry about it!" Clue smiled. "We're always happy to have customers. Our fantasy books should be back there, the row with all the lights, and I think my uh, coworker is near the front if you'd like to apply!" It looked around somewhat nervously and sipped from its tea. "I'm not sure that we're looking to hire at the moment, but you're always welcome to ask. I'll go get our other worker while you sift through our collection!" It said brightly, quickly turning and heading towards where it hoped Zachary would be.
"Alright, thanks." Eliza gave a small wave, then headed to the fantasy section. She looked at the shelves, quickly spotting one of her favorite books and taking it down. She grabbed two other books and headed toward the front desk, stopping when she spotted the person she had spoken too before talking to someone else seated at the desk. Not wanting to interrupt their conversation, Eliza backed away and sat in a chair near the wall, opening one of the books and beginning to read.
"Hm?" Zachary looked up from the black book, meeting the young man's gaze. For a second he was frozen in place, his eyes slowly blinking. Noticing that the person was at the door, he waved his hand beckoning for him to come over. A bright smile swept across his face.
"Oh no worries, old sport," He reassured, "We will be closing soon, but if there's anything, I'll be happy to help. What are you looking for?"
River blinked at the strange endearment but walked over anyways. Upon reaching the counter, he found his hands going towards his camera. It felt a little better having something in his hands rather than seeming entirely awkward. "Ah, well… I didn't have anything in mind. A few friends told me I should take a chance and come inside," he replied, attempting to be vague. What else was he supposed to do? Tell the man some spirits forced him to come inside? Yeah, no.
"I'll try not to be long, I know it's a bit annoying having customers come in late when they aren't even going to buy anything," he assured, letting a smile across his features. To be fair, they probably had something one of his parents would like. He could make an excuse and say he found something after all and leave. Hopefully it was only the spirit realm nagging him that he didn't brush up on literature or something stupid like that. In and out. Make it easy and painless.
