[ Spirals ]

Geoffrey looked once more behind him, it didn't seem like the students would be coming back.

Everyone simply shrugged off the event, going back to their studies and reading.

The library wasn't absolutely quiet, which brought a better feeling than complete silence. 

The sound of pages turning, people whispering, book carts being pushed around. Everything was soothing.

Ohx's smile grew larger, leaning on the counter once more.

"How does this place work?" asked Geoffrey.

Ohx waved his hand around.

"We have most books that have ever been. To rent a book you'll need a membership. Memberships are based on your current grade, with a monthly fee."

"What would it be for me?" he asked.

"About 20$ per month. You can rent 1 book at a time, and the late-fees are the highest. At the F grade, you'll get no help from any of us, which means you'll need to find your books on your own."

The size of the place was most likely the number one deterrent for anyone who wanted to read. Going through spirals of bookshelves to find the one book you'd want to read sounded like too much work.

Learning the classification and systems in place relating to every book displayed sounded like a hassle.

"Is there any documentation on how the classification is done?" he asked.

"None. Although, I don't think you'll need any help."

"What makes you think so?" asked Geoffrey.

"I've seen your entrance exam results. Figuring out how we arranged our bookshelves shouldn't be hard for someone like you. I'm guessing you won't get the membership?"

"The price is too high, and I do not need to take books out of here, so you would've guessed right."

"Would've?"

Geoffrey got his white card out, extending it toward Ohx.

Amazement could be read on his face as he hurriedly touched it with the tip of his finger, going through with the transaction.

"You're already a cog in the machine," said Ohx.

Geoffrey raised both hands, shrugging. 

A cog? Not an unfit comparison, as he did fit-in well inside the trials.

"Why are you here?" asked Ohx.

"Can I look at the lending history of certain books?"

Ohx frowned a moment.

"We only keep records of who is currently in possession of the books we have."

Geoffrey grabbed his chin, his gaze going toward the ground.

"There was a book..." started Geoffrey.

My memory's almost flawless, but I can't even remember a simple book's name? What was it?...

Ohx, seeing his struggled, gladly chimed in.

"What was it about?" 

Geoffrey looked at Ohx who genuinely seemed curious.

"Uh..." started Geoffrey.

"No need to go in specifics. Whatever comes to mind."

He closed his eyes a moment, concentrating.

"The cover had a knight on a horse, there were red and black colors..."

"Was the red bright like a magenta, or dark?"

"Darker red, I think."

"What was the knight's name?"

"I don't know."

"What kind of armor did he wear?"

"I don't know."

"Did he wear a sword?"

"I don't—" 

Geoffrey paused an instant.

"He was holding a banner up," confidently stated Geoffrey. "I can't remember what was on it."

"Was it 'The Red Herald'?" asked Ohx.

Geoffrey's face lit up, his eyebrows raising high. 

Through his mind, images flew by quickly. 

There she was, holding the book, ready to smack his head with it. The title was clear on its cover. Her face was still slightly blurry, and the people around her too, yet the feelings were carried through the memory.

"Yes," finally said Geoffrey. "That's the one."

Ohx smiled, happy that he was able to get it on the first guess.

"I can't help you find it, but we do have it. Here take this,"

Ohx handed Geoffrey a piece of paper with the name of the book and its author.

"Thanks."

"You won't find anything in it, however," said Ohx.

Geoffrey nodded.

He didn't expect much anyway, and it served little purpose. 

"I don't mind. Thank you," said Geoffrey.

"You're welcome."

Geoffrey walked away from the counter, toward the spirals that soared toward the high ceilings.

Every library had a system, randomly placing books made little sense, and that was especially true here.

Everything was neatly placed and organized to look perfect. Ohx wouldn't simply let the books randomly be assigned.

There wasn't many ways to do this, he simply headed toward the nearest spiral and grabbed the first book he could see, then the next.

He stopped on some of them, flipping through the pages while quickly reading their content.

He then headed toward the next spiral, repeating the process.

He sighed deeply, emptying his lungs of any air they could contain.

"I understand why having no help would deter anyone from searching a book..." he said to himself.

Spirals soared extremely high, with steps going all the way up. The books were in alphabetical order on the ground floor, yet that order repeated from all the way up. The A-Z order at floor-level was made of the most popular authors, and the less popular ones would be higher in the spirals.

Not only that, the spirals were divided in specific genre and themes. On top of that, the area of the library the individual spirals were in also seemed to have meaning. The closer to the back he got, the less satisfying the reading was.

In short, the less 'feel-good' a book was, and the most likely it would be located toward the back.

A truly insane way to categorize books, thought Geoffrey.

Using the piece of paper Ohx had given him, finding it didn't take extremely long, 'The Red Herald'.

It was exactly as he imagined it. It was light. Opening to the last page, he could tell it didn't exceed 200 pages.

He headed back toward the counter, where Ohx quickly joined him.

"I'd like to borrow this one," he said, sliding the book toward Ohx.

He simply smiled, sliding back toward him.

"It's all taken care of, from the moment you grabbed it on the shelf."

So I don't even need to interact with anyone, should I come back.

"Thanks," said Geoffrey again.

Ohx waved with his right hand while Geoffrey headed toward the exit.

He looked around, realizing there was barely anyone remaining.

Does the bell even ring in here?