pte

ring why it was there. She thought of her grandfather and immediately wanted to reach for the phon

had one English muffin from a batch she made earlier in the week and the garden still had some healthy looking spinach p

omehow it made the house seem even emptier and colder. After eating and meticulously cleaning up from breakfast

o her reflection as she screwed the cap back on the mouthwash. True it was on the same street as her grandfather's shop and she

with her rationalization, Cassie grabbed her keys and pur

The phone she mostly used to call out. Only occasionally her parents called to let her know if their plans changed or her grandfather called. She knew Sarah and Carley had her number because

ense, her parents celebrated by buying her a sturdy and reliable hatchback and taking themselves on an extended trip to France. Once they knew she could reliably get herself from place to place, their num

ack a steady stream of books and art from around Italy. At the end of the summer they had been home for about a week before heading off to Buenos Aires. Since then they only took shorter weekend trips which led her to believe that a larger

iked to shop. While regular things like clothes and shoes she tended to order on line, and groceries she called

nter of the district, like rivers emptying into a lake. This was the plaza for which the shopping district was named. It had concrete benches that no one ever seemed to use and to Cassie looked cold and uncomfortable, a fountain that had since been filled in with dirt and used as a flower bed by one of the

and she could see him through the large storefront window talking to a customer. It looked like an average Saturday and

all the same. Although they were all of the same basic design, some of the streetlights had arms that held the glass light fixtures upright as though they w

rnated, screwing in half right side up and the other half upside down. "I'm not sure if they meant to try and make everyone happ

hen. She passed through the plaza. As usual the large sea of white concrete was bare and empty, people crossing the expanse without pause like explorers heading to a new world. At the edge of the plaza was a white concrete concession stand with a gray asphalt shed roof,

dding skateboarding in the area always tickled her. From overheard conversations and arguments she knew many of the merchants thought the skateboarders would tear up the area. Personal

e he sat reading. As usual his hair looked as though he woke up and rolled out of bed without bothering to do anything with it. It wasn't the stylish messy occasionally

here for years, she never learned the owner's name. The sign on the front of the building was merely 'Books' in bold black letters providing no further information and the only words he spoke to her, or any customer for that

reading lamps, just books. Metal shelves were bolted to the side walls, running from the floor to the top of the fourteen foot ceiling, the top row of books turned on their sides and stacked because there wasn't space to set them upright. Th

, although Cassie never saw more than two or three people in the space at a time. Given both the height of the shelves and the closeness of the rows, much of the

slinking between the shelves. Cassie assumed the cat belonged to the owner, but never asked the cat's name any more than she asked the owner's. The cat was slightly mo

s she read them to herself. They always sounded so dramatic and hinted at lives much more exciting than hers. Halfway down the aisle the cat appeared like a ghost in the poorly lit aisle,

, " the stranger continued. He was an average looking man in his early twenties. He had short brown hair and brown, almost chocolatey looking eyes. Those eyes seemed to focus

d, she agreed with the Siamese that something about hi

the other said 'thanks' and everyone involved continued on their way with no further interaction. It was one of the reasons she liked it here. No one expected nor wanted small talk. She could be around people for a bit withou

the shelves as he let his words taper off, apparently coming up wi

ould both get back to perusing the titles. She turned sideways towards the set of shelves to her left

ssie was standing on the edge of a river bank. The water was deep and slow moving and she could see it was choked with weeds. They dragged along under the surf

th before moving, dropping her politely pleasant mask in place. He was past her and she backed away from the shelf. Turning she found him studying her. She smiled politely and then turned to con

ned to face him. Instead of the flirtatious or even lecherous grin she expected, he wore a look of concentration. Cassi

she asked, he

district

aid, not really wantin

re Imports Unlim

ver heard the name of her grandfather's store in her

" he told her, still studying her

he shrugged, proud of her casual sounding response. "Even if he doesn't, I'm sure he'd know what

ing for the boxes, searching for her grandfather, se

d was relieved to be out of sight of the strange man. Surprisingly, this aisle also had an occupant. It was

the gir

e returned,

ooks simply titled, Salt, Rum, Vanilla, or Cheese could be found here. Some fell into the historical and cultural side of things rather than practical application, but Cassie found them quite fun to read. Most of the authors proclaimed that the

r birthdays when she was much younger. Showing up with the box of primary colored cupcakes always made her feel conspicuous and it was the one day out of the year where her classmates seemed to realize she existed, if only for a brief second. She c

depth of flavor she could get from her small layered cakes and wasn't inclined to switch, especially since the cakes didn't hold the same oddly squidgy mem

y icing seemed as good way as any to push the thought way, especially since she had nowhere else she needed to be any time soon. As she opened the book, Cassie saw the other girl move towards the end of the aisle as th

was a man in that aisle, " Cassie told her, keeping her voice low. "I think he's a li

ey came out of her mouth. The girl nodded and Cassie pressed into the books to let the girl pass behind her. Her elbow grazed her back and Cassie had a sha

s intense as the man in the other aisle, if not more so, had the contact been skin to skin. As it was, Cassie's eyes didn't flicker and her expression never changed as she looked at

. "I think he's gone, " she told Cassie pulling her head back. She looked Cassie

esented. While there were occasions where she came across someone who made her see other places, she never encountered two at th

to her. She looked around but the girl was still in the other aisle. Curious, Cassie leaned towards that side of

told me, " she heard th

teste

d, sounding al

ct?" The gir

re. But she left pretty quickly, that has to mea

he thought you were a pred

reda

e girl clarified. "Sh

arned you about me?" he scoffed. "You

ted her and she didn't respond to me either. And she was reading a book abou

e had the feeling that would not be good. Inside she debated the merits of staying longer to learn more or le

zled. "That doesn't sound like any W

at lik

lkers. She has to be one of the deco

tfully. "Especially that one.

bbed her leg and got h

e of the decoys. Damn him. I was sure one of them would ha

ted. "Because everyone would think he'd have one of the Walkers.

er?" The girl demanded, st

bout her and she's old enough that if she were a Walker she

ey didn't trust him

ly has a decoy even if he i

asn't going to hear any more that would help her. The risk of staying and letting them reali

n't want to get caught listening to their private discussion, she had the feeling being the person they were looking for might actually be

he stood there, cupcake book in hand, staring at the shelf in front of her without actually seeing any

ys. Gates. Ca

ll him or stop by and it looked as though th

here would be a really bad idea since they don't seem to know who I am.' She thought, trying to talk herself out of running directly to him. From their

o explain, ' she a

e more grown-up part of

ans it would be neither safe nor secure.' She let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding and let the gro

loner's table at lunch instead of joining one of the other bands of misfits scattered around. From where she stood Cassie could see Sarah walk to the counter. She had an armload of books and placed them on the counter in front of the owner. He favo

is arms, piling them on the floor to be added to the inventory later. Like Cassie, Sarah often b

turning back to the owner. He paused behind Sarah's back and took a deep breath through his nose, leaning forward a little as though inhaling her scent. Whatever he smelled did not please him because he wrinkled his nose in distaste. A second later he was moving

said, spotting Cassie at the end

sie mentally heard the girl asking t

w nothing unusual in the owner. "I told you he was a perv." The girl looked at her as thou

spotting the two of t

willing to chat if it meant the other girl would leave without attempting to touch her again. The bells over the door jangled as the man left the book store. The owner was once again reading, looking

"Eric was looking for you last nigh

he replied somehow having a hard time picturi

iends with my

y Sarah was there. If Eric spotted her sitting with Sarah at lunch it also might explain why he expected her to be

e him your phone number. I tried

couple of buttons. "I accidentally turned the ringer off, " she told Sarah. She blinked at the m

sked. "Give him yo

onversation rolled her eyes and moved towards the front door, quickl

arah asked, seeing t

nation, she continued. "She was following me around the store, it w

ing backdrop. Sometime after winter break Kelly seemed to realize Cassie existed even though Sarah continued to remain mostly backdrop. As Kelly's attention escalated from the occasional shove in the hall t

out you. She was not p

red what caused Kelly to wake up one day and decide Cassie was an enemy whose threat could no longer be ignored. Cassie pulled a book on Moroccan cooking down from the shelf and figured that since she knew nothing of Morocco or its cuisine it would at least be an interes

ss shaped dish featured on the 'recommended equipment' page. She thought she

since most of them were unknown to her, not leaving and going directly home had some appeal. Somehow she wouldn't

a book on the cultural history of cheese off the shelf and scanned the back of the book. Thinking it might be interesting, Cassie added it to the cookbook she already carried. A third book simply entitled Spice joined them an

he only one who could see things. 'Others who would see Mr. Babbin's tusks and Mrs. Edwards' lizard tongue. There are others like me.' Cassie blinked as she thought about it. 'An entire group of people I don't have to hide from.' It sent her mind reeling an