Turn the Page

Madam Monstré was scolding Mark and Steve for being too loud. They were always causing trouble around me. I never seemed to be able to have a moment of peace. I was just newly in the life of a teenage boy, but in no way have my feelings toward that library changed. I go there still today. Madam Monstré is still the librarian there. It seems she always has been, but no one thinks anything of it. After all, a person can grow dedicated to something that they have done for so long. “Now, I do not want to hear another sound from you boys again!” she whispered in a quiet, but stern, way. She was very firm on her grammatical beliefs. Even though she had a light French accent, she made sure to pronounce every word correctly.

“Yes, Madam Monstré,” Mark and Steve said in unison. Once Madam Monstré had walked away back to her desk, they quietly snickered to themselves. I continued to read my book. I have never been one to engage myself in any conflict. Especially not in a library. Even more so in that library. I made sure to stay silent, and that is why Madam Monstré liked me best. Once I was through the library doors, only the soft sound of breathing could be heard from me.

Mark and Steve had started coming to the library a few months before. They only came to patronize me. I was the one that nobody noticed but everyone wanted to avoid. I often found friends in the books I read, for no real person wanted to be my friend. All except for Madam Monstré. She often helped me in the parts of my studies that made less sense than others. There is a back room in the library where she would help me, for I did not wish to disturb other readers and studiers. She is perhaps the smartest person I know. I suppose that it comes from being surrounded by books at all times. I wish I knew her background, but then again, no one does. She keeps her past to herself.

I lost my train of thought when I heard Mark and Steve whispering to themselves. It seemed obvious to me that they were coming up with a despicable plot to bother me. In my mind, they were like the villains in the books I read. I was not the hero, but simply a victim of the villains’ disastrous plans. I saw someone else as the hero of my story. “Is everything alright, Matthew?” Madam Monstré whispered to me. In my thoughts, I had not noticed her come up behind me. I nodded my head as I closed the book I had been reading. I had once again finished another one. I smiled at her as she walked away. She did not smile back, for she was very stern indeed.

I got up to get another book. There was a bookshelf right behind me, so I went there. I was looking for a book that would excite me with action, but intrigue me with story. I grabbed an average sized book that I had not read before. I turned around and walked back toward my seat.

“Three,” whispered Mark.

“Two,” whispered Steve after Mark.

“One,” Mark said after Steve.

As I looked up from my book, they both whispered very loudly, “Fire!” I felt two small, wet objects smack my forehead. Judging from their straws, I knew that the two objects were spitballs. Those two fools could not help themselves but to laugh loudly. Because my peace had been disturbed, my eyes filled with tears. Even though I dealt with it most days, I still did not like to be mocked and made fun of.

Madam Monstré had been watching the whole thing. How could she not? Even the slightest sound attracted her attention when she was in the library. As the boys continued laughing, Madam Monstré walked over to me with a wipe in her hand. She wipe off my forehead and then had me sit down. “I will take care of them,” she assured me in her soft, old voice. Knowing what she meant, I opened my book to the first page.

She walked over to Mark and Steve, who had tried to rearrange themselves so as to look innocent. Flip. It was of no use, for Madam Monstré had seen it all. She reached the table where the boys were both sitting. Flip. A dome of darkness started to form around us. Only the four of us were inside of it. Flip. The dome was completed. Mark and Steve were now frightened. They of course had never seen anything like this. Flip. Though the dome was made of darkness, there was light inside. Then Madam Monstré began to speak.

“I told you boys that I did not want to hear another sound from the two of you again,” Madam Monstré said in her quiet voice, but it was much more stern than it usually was. “Am I correct?”

Flip. Mark and Steve were cowering below her. Mark was too afraid to even think of speaking. Flip. Steve, with his pants wet, was the one who finally spoke up to Madam Monstré’s startling stare. 

“Y-yes you d-did, M-ma’am,” Steve stuttered. Flip. Steve was never even remotely respectful to anyone.

“Then why were the two of you making such a racket so soon after I told you to be silent?” Madam Monstré responded. Flip. Her voice was becoming dangerously sinister. Neither of the boys responded. They just sat there shaking and almost crying. Flip. It was at this point that I stopped paying attention to those three, for I knew what was coming. I knew that it came because of the screams. Flip.

From what I heard, Steve was screaming the loudest. He was calling for help as well, but no one on the outside could hear him. Flip. He cried as I heard his limbs being ripped from their sockets. It was a satisfactory sound, for he was finally experiencing pain. I then heard two thuds. The second was louder than the first. I assume that the first thud was Steve’s head, and the second was the rest of his bloodied body. Flip. I heard scraping across the ground as Mark started to scream. I assume he saw me, for he then cried, “Matt! Please help me! I’m sorry for being mean to you, but please help me! I don’t wanna die!” He was sobbing by the time he finished speaking.

I just yawned and turned the page. Flip. Mark screamed and cried as he was also torn apart. There were many more thuds this time. Flip. Then there was silence, but it did not last long. I heard the evidence being devoured by the creature who had killed the other two boys. Flip. Another page turned. And another after that. Many more pages were turned until, finally, the book was finished. 

Before I closed the book, I took out a knife from my pocket. I cut two tally marks on my right arm. They were among many others. Out of my bag came bandages. I bandaged my arm so as not to get blood on my clothes. I put the knife back into my pocket and the bandages back into my bag. I then closed the book and the dome was gone. Standing next to me was the hero of my story. Madam Monstré held out her hand as she said, “All finished?” in her quiet, old voice. I smiled as I handed her the book I had been reading. She took it and walked toward her desk, but she did not smile back at me. 

Two villains had been taken out of my story. As the years went on, more and more were defeated by the hero of my story. At one point, I ran out of room on my arm for tally marks. Soon enough, they were all over my body. Today, I still take my villains to that library. I turn the page in my book that is my life after each of my victories, and I keep turning them until the book ends. Flip.