Bookweird Read Online Free PDF Page A

been promoted. Behind the desk in Mrs. Balani’s place was a tall teenager dressed completely in black. When he turned around, Norman could not help staring at his lip piercing and the circular earrings that made a huge hole in his earlobes.
    â€œI can stick a pencil through them,” the librarian said nonchalantly.
    â€œPardon?” Norman managed. When he was intimidated he tended to be very polite.
    â€œSee,” the teenager said, threading a pencil through the hole in one ear. “Fits right through.”
    Why anyone would want to do this, Norman could not guess. Maybe puberty did make you crazy, like his friend Jean said.
    â€œI’m looking for The Brothers of Lochwarren, the new book in the Undergrowth series.”
    â€œIt’s out,” the teenager replied without glancing at his computer. He flipped a long bang of dyed black hair out of his face and continued to stare at Norman.
    â€œThe, um, computer says it’s returned,” Norman stuttered.
    The librarian in black curled his pierced lip and turned to his terminal. His typing was so quick that Norman almost believed that he was just pretending.
    â€œIt’s reserved. The person’s already been called,” he replied after only a few seconds. “That’s a good book. It’s almost as good as The Wastrel and Thorsten’s Brood. You should read it.”
    â€œI am reading it,” Norman replied, a little annoyed.
    â€œThen why do you want to sign it out?” the young librarian asked suspiciously.
    â€œI don’t want to sign it out. I just want to see it,” Norman insisted.
    â€œTo see it?” The librarian made a face as if Norman was the crazy one.
    â€œI just want to read one page.”
    â€œOne page?” the new librarian asked. “Is that a special reading program you’re on for school?”
    Norman bit his lip in frustration. Did the whole world want to wreck his weekend? “It’s just that my sister scribbled on a page in my copy,” he lied. “I just wanted to read that one page here.”
    â€œYou want to check something? Why don’t you ask me? I read it last week.”
    â€œI’d rather read it myself.”
    The strange librarian typed again on the keyboard. It sounded like he was just hitting keys blindly, the way Dora did when she was pretending to be writing on the computer.
    â€œIt’s damaged,” the librarian said. “It’s out for repairs.”
    â€œYou just said it was reserved and that you’d called the person who reserved it.”
    â€œUnlucky for him, I guess.”
    Norman stared at the black-clad librarian in disbelief. He probably thought this was funny.
    â€œYou sure you don’t want me to tell you what happened?” the librarian asked, faking sympathy.
    Norman shook his head, unwilling yet to walk away.
    The pierced librarian changed his tone and ran a pencil through his ear hole again. “What if,” he asked, as if offering a special bargain, “I could arrange for your copy to be fixed.”
    Norman knew he was joking now. “Sure, go right ahead.”
    â€œAll right, but you know you have to give something up, right? I’ll replace the page you lost, but you have to give me another page.”
    â€œSure,” said Norman sarcastically. “I’ll bring it right over.” Norman turned his back now and walked away, before he did something that would get his borrowing rights revoked.
    â€œNo need for that,” the librarian called after him. “I’ll look after it.”
    It was only when he had cycled halfway home that Norman wondered how the librarian in black knew the page was missing. He was sure he’d told him Dora had scribbled on it. Not that it mattered. Librarians shouldn’t make fun of the clients. Norman told himself that he’d report the new guy to Mrs. Balani. He’d never find the courage to do so, but for the duration