Friday, 20 November 2009

Profile Feature Practice- Ten Minutes Stalking a Librarian

An arm swings at her side as she walks purposefully over to a colleague, throws her head back in whispered laughter, then listens with eyebrows raised and mouth slightly open, an attentive hand on his wrist.
The step back and firm nod indicates her distraction- she must get back to work.
Squinting hard, she picks up a book and chews on a hangnail painted black, like her uniform.
Looking up, she whispers:
“Can I help you?”
The sentence betrays a brusqueness not seen in her smiling face.
Her brow furrowed in concentration, she smoothes out the wrinkles in a laminated paperback, scans its spine and slots it firmly between two others. Dyed blonde hair falls forward and she tucks it back revealing hooped earrings, made up eyes moving quickly over the scattered books.
In the silence, she looks up and mimes something to a co-worker, her lips form words she doesn’t sound and make big shapes distorting her face.
He shrugs and shakes his head, undaunted. She waves it away; then rocks back on her heels, blowing air between her teeth in a syncopated rhythm. A pop tune? But her full attention remains on her work, her face calm and concentrated. A woman’s work is never done.

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