The Study Room

“... It’s a closet.”   

The janitor scoffed at the student as he held the door open for her.   

“That’s the trouble with this generation – you don’t use your imagination anymore!”

The student glared at him as she shifted the large stack of books from one arm to the other. She tried to look past the several neon-yellow broom handles clustered together in the corner and sopping wet mop in the other, which she was pretty sure was only bright green because it had something growing on it. But try as she might, she just couldn’t do it.   

“There isn't’ even a desk,” she sighed. She turned her head to the side and shifted between her feet.   

There weren’t any more tables or singular desks available for her in the library, and going to any of the nearby cafes during the lunch hour was next to impossible. Plus, it was too cold outside to even attempt laying on the university lawn, especially with the threat of rain at any moment. She couldn’t even fathom the idea of studying in her dorm room, not with her roommate always playing loud music, dancing around like her head’s on fire, and having her friends over for constant “boy-talk” and mani-pedis.   

“I don’t see any lightbulbs, and it smells like something actually died in there! How am I even supposed to study in the dark without a desk?”  

“Shhhhh!” a sharp voice hissed behind them.  

They turned to find the university head librarian standing straight and tall with her fists on her hips. Her autumn-colored skirt and tie-dye shirt to match seemed to billow around her like some sort of shield maiden, complete with crisscrossed sandals wrapped around her ankles like vines and enough gold and silver jewelry dripping from her neck, ears, and wrists to make a Viking king jealous.   

“No yelling in the library!” she rose a silver vine ringed finger to her lips, brilliant bangles jingling in the swift movement. Garnets studding the thick gold band glistened in the low light, like little droplets of frozen blood on sunlit fields.   

“I wasn’t yelling.” The student lowered her head, grimacing.  

“You were whining.” The janitor nodded. His salt-and-pepper hair slicked back in a neat comb-over.   

“No whining either!”  

“But everywhere else is full! I can’t go to any of the local cafes – they’re a noise nightmare. And it’s gonna rain today, so I can’t study outside! Isn’t there any corner in the library that has enough room for me?”  

“There’s always the closet.” The librarian gestured to the yawning dark hole behind me. The Janitor nodded vigorously and gestured for me to enter the tiny room.  

“No. No way I’m gonna go in there!” The student shook her head.   

The librarian and janitor exchanged pointed glances.   

“Have you ever heard of the saying ‘things don’t always appear as they seem’?” The librarian cocked her head to the side.   

The student blinked several times, turned to look briefly at the janitor, the closet, and then back toward the librarian. Slowly, she nodded and stared at the obviously crazy lady and her accomplice.   

“Then perhaps you should start incorporating it into your life.”   

The student shifted her books again, straining against their seemingly growing weight and looked at the closet again, stifling a small whimper.   

“Your name’s Melissa, right?” The librarian asked.   

Melissa nodded, watching the janitor move some things around, pulling out the mop. Oh, it definitely had something green and slimy growing on the wet frayed fibers. Gross!  

“Here,” The librarian held out a small iron skeleton key no bigger than her pinky. “Use this once you’re in there. Don’t leave it behind, and please do not let anyone borrow it!”  

Tentatively, Melissa took the key and crept into the tiny room.  

“Good luck!” The janitor smiled and shut the door after her, enveloping her in almost complete darkness.   

Almost.   

A faint wisp of light leaked out from under the wall opposite the door. Scrunching her brows, Melissa held a shaking hand against the wall and pushed. With barely even the tiniest creak, the wall gave way to reveal a narrow hallway adorned with ruddy colored bricks and glowing polished marble. Ornate crystal sconces jutted out from the walls on each side, glowing brighter as she walked past them, then settling into their dim contentedness. The only noise accompanying her were the soft tpps her sneakers made against the dark blue slate floors.   

The sconces led her down a flight of stairs, curved right in a lazy wide arc, then a sharp left, almost smacking her into another door and losing her grip on her stack of books.   

“This isn’t creepy at all,” she muttered to herself as she took in the knotted wood adorned with iron-wrought characters. Each piece of metal interacted with one another, transforming into scenes from various fairy tales. Fairies danced around toadstools, hands clasped together and holding each other tight. A hair dressed in a short coat drank tea in a small cup and held whispered conversations with her neighbors, the toad and the duck. A faun played silent songs on his flute, swaying in bliss.   

Tucked away to the far right under a mother siren singing a lullaby to her infant, a large rusted doorknob rested with a small keyhole, a perfect size to match the key the librarian had given her.   

Readjusting herself, she held out the small skeleton key and slid it into the lock. The key turned surprisingly easy and allowed the door to swing open, revealing a small landing with vine-like metal banisters twisting and twining together, leading to a winding staircase to the side. Melissa rubbed her eyes and gawked at the scene below her.   

The room exploded into a gargantuan cavern with stalactites stretching toward the leveled floor. Floating balls of light danced and twirled around each point effortlessly, never dimming their glow to the studiers below. Rich-colored area rugs stretched out beneath plush chairs, couches, and chaise. rows upon rows of umber-dipped shelves held gem-colored books, both big and small, as far as the eye could see.   

Melissa marveled at each creature perusing the books and buried deep within their studies as she descended the steps; two ogres muttered to one another, arguing over which differential equation was the more appropriate one to create a gear to improve a machine collecting energy flow. Nymphs gathering together around a circular table comparing bio chem notes, and one Faun hunched over his computer with intense ferocity. She almost ran into a centaur’s rump as he waited for his mocha latte to brew in the expensive, and state of the art, coffee machine in the kitchen to the far end of the cavern.  

“O-o-oh, excuse me sir!” she quickly curtsied, unsure of what else to do.   

“That’s quite alright,” the centaur smiled, also bowing slightly at the hip and bending one of his forelegs. “My backside always gets in the way. Are you new here?”  

Melissa nodded slowly and stared at all the other studiers, who barely even lifted their heads from their books and computers to even acknowledge her.   

“Do you need any help?”  

Melissa whirled around and blinked several times at the centaur. “Huh?”  

The centaur smiled wide and pointed toward her stack of books. “Your books. They look heavy. Do you want me to bring them to an open table for you?”  

“Uh... sure?”   

The Centaur took her books and led her to a small table with a tall floor lamp leaning its shade over the dark cherry stained wood. He set her books down with a soft thud and patted the top.  

“English Literature,” he read the top book’s title. “That’s a fun class. I took it last semester. Mr. Wilerman is quite the animated fellow, isn’t he?”  

Melissa giggled and nodded. “Yes, he is. Does... does he always wear that pineapple tie on Fridays?”  

The centaur nodded. “Ever since his daughter made it for him. Would you like something to drink? My name’s Connor, by the way.”   

“I’m Melissa,” she beamed as she shook Connor’s large hand. “I never knew this place existed!”   

“Most humans don’t.” Connor nodded and walked her back to the kitchen, pulling a light purple mug from the top cabinet shelf.  

“Why was I allowed to find out?”   

Connor shrugged as he put his latte to the side and put her cup under the spout. “Dunno. Miss Haverswill must have seen something in you. She’s very picky about who she lets down here. Even amongst us Mythers.”  

“Mythers?”  

“Yeah, we ‘mystical creatures’ as humans call us call ourselves Mythers. We’re mythical. Coffee?”  

“Cool!” Melissa smiled. “Um, do you have any tea?”  

“Yes, we do. Any in particular?”  

“Ooooh, there’s this kind of black tea I really like. It tastes smoky and has a hint of licorice in it.”  

“Sounds tasty! Coming right up!” Connor rubbed his hands together and pushed several buttons, finishing with pulling a lever.   

The machine whirred to life and began pouring a dark hot liquid into the cup. She immediately recognized the smell of spiced smoke.  

“That smells just like my favorite tea! How does it know?”  

“Magic.” Connor smiled. “You know, every Tuesday night, we all gather together and have Pop Quiz night.”  

“Really?”   

“Really! It’s a lot of fun. You should join us.”  

“You know, Connor?” Melissa tapped her chin.  

“What?”  

“I think I’m going to like it here.”