Amanda slipped away from the table and Joe. She became very conscious of sound of her tennis shoes as she made each step on the hard, polished floor. She wanted to be as stealthy as possible, but she had not imagined she made so much noise. Her goal was to tease her friends at the help desk. That was three flight of stairs away.
She made her way through the stacks. She turned down an empty passage. A 60 year old woman stepped into the end of the stack, blocking Amanda's progress. Amanda turned around and edged out of the passage. She slipped a few more aisles down and went fairly easily to the stairs.
She stepped out of the stacks into the strong sunlight that lit the stair ways. She looked around and admired how everything was bright and glossy, yet her body was not. She didn't even cast a shadow. She thought the whole situation was surreal and almost wondered if it was really happening.
Amanda made it down the first set of stairs. As she turned to go down the next set, a horde of school kids were eagerly making their way up the stairs. The teacher wanted them to hold the railing, but a few did not. Amanda stood in the middle, hoping no one would find her. Several kids bumped into her, but they generally thought one of their classmates had hit them. She sighed loud enough to turn a male library patron toward her after the kids left. He saw nothing, but Amanda soon learned another lesson in her quest to reach the help desk.
Amanda easily descended the last two flights of stairs. She turned left and headed toward the familiar help desk. She carefully made her way through the door and darted around Eric and Christy. They worked with her on this shift.
Christy commented, "Amanda sure has been gone awhile. She went to help that guy find some book on rings. They must have found something else."
Eric added, "I'm glad it's been a slow day for us. When we're short a person, things can get pretty hectic here. She'd better get back her by 4."
Amanda listened to them. They didn't say anything contrary about her. She tried to check the time on her watch, but she couldn't see it. She remembered to look at the huge clock on the wall. It was 3:45. She realized she didn't have much time to 'reappear' at her desk or she may have to explain the last 2 hours. She sneaked out of the desk area.
Eric noticed the door swing open and gave a weird look. "Why did the gate just swing open?" he asked.
"You need rest, don't you?" Christy rebuffed him. Eric just chalked it up as his eyes playing tricks.
Amanda rushed up the stairs, dodging people and the school kids. She got up to the third floor and headed for the area Joe was earlier.