All in a Day's Work

I popped upstairs with some overdue books just as the adult librarian told a patron that her computer time was up.

"No."

Clari raised an eyebrow and walked toward the girl.

"Don't touch me!"

Clari stopped. "I'm not going to touch you, but if you don't sign out now, I'm going to have to revoke your privileges."

"I'm not getting up."

Her mom came in at this point, threatening to call the girl's father.

"No," the girl repeated. "I'm not getting up."

"The librarian'll call the police," her mother warned. "I'll call the police myself if you don't get out of the hmmm chair."

"She's staring at me," interrupted the girl. "The librarian's staring at me."

By this time, Clari had walked back to her desk, ignoring the impossible scene. But this girl obviously wasn't all there. After ten minutes of hissed--and then shouted--argument, the mother finally dragged her wayward teenager out the door.

Ah, librarianship.