Everyone is Too Busy for Books [Bean]

Of course he was reading in the library when the fighting started. That was where Malcolm seemed to be every day from the time the library opened to the time it closed. It was too cold to do anything else, and it gave him the excuse to sit inside every day. To say that Malcolm disliked the outdoors would be an understatement. He despised the outdoors and didn’t really understand why anyone would want to go outside. Sprawled out on a chair at the side of the library, Malcolm engrossed himself in his book on Russian politics. It wasn’t particularly interesting, but for some reason, Malcolm loved those kind of books. He liked politics and governments, even though he would never participate in one. Malcolm wished he could say he aspired to be in the government, but in reality, he didn’t really aspire to anything. Everything wasn’t good enough for Malcolm. Governments were too corrupt, regular people were too normal, half bloods were too dangerous. It seemed he could never find the perfect balance in life.

Malcolm was seated in the front room of the library, which was separate from all the other rooms. It was not as cold in here as the outside, but not as warm as the library itself. The good thing about this room was that Malcolm could read even when the library was closed. The good insulation meant that Malcolm barely heard the battle breaking out outside the thick walls. This was also partially due to Malcolm’s bad hearing and his engrossing book. Realizing he needed a stretch, Malcolm stood up and decided he should go check out his book so he could read it in his cabin later. That’s when he noticed that the library wasn’t actually open. The lights were off, but Malcolm rattled the door a couple of times in hopes that he would be able to get it open. That’s when he noticed a shadow moving around. Jiggling the door open, Malcolm quietly stepped into the dark room of books. He clenched his book in his hand tightly and wished he had brought a weapon. ”Who’s there?” He called uncertainly.