HJkTi.OWEEW STORIES 7
How Not to Pick Up a Date in a Supermarket
By: Sara Messina
“Hey, are you going to clean a skyscrap
er with all that?” It was a bad line, but it was
all Bryan could think to say to the girl walking
next to him out of BJ’s. He didn’t know why
he felt the urge to talk to her. There wasn’t
anything particularly attractive about her, but
perhaps she reminded him a little too much of a
girl he knew in college.
She stopped, “No, I just like to stock
up.” she said, flicking her hair behind her ear
as she bent over her purse to look for car keys.
She found the keys after a few seconds, but
dropped them almost immediately. Bryan bent
down to pick them up and read the wooden
block letter name tag on the set.
“Melissa-I’m Bryan.” He looked down
again at the three flats of window cleaner she
had in her cart. “I could help you with those.”
She paused to think for a minute, and
seemed ready to say no. “No thanks. If I’m
going to lug these up a flight of stairs I might
as well get warmed up.” She smiled widely,
perhaps hoping Bryan would laugh at the joke.
“I could help with that too. I don’t mind
leaving my car here for a little while”.
“I don’t know...” Bryan realized his
proposal probably sounded ten times worse than
his pick up. “You could always leave me in the
middle of downtown if I make a lousy muscle
man.”
She laughed. “No kidding she laughed,”
he thought, “I’m no more of a muscle man than
I am a miracle worker.”
“Okay.” She relaxed and started walk
ing, “My car is three rows down.”
In thirty minutes they had made it to her
house, it had taken them ten just to rearrange
the garbage in her trunk. There were old pieces
of plastic, boxes, fabric, and, of course, empty
window cleaner bottles.
Her house was in the middle of a neigh
borhood, but still seemed isolated on a plot
three times the size of the others. A two story
house stood in the middle of a 3-acre square.
Bryan huffed as he climbed the steps
to the front door, laden with all three of the
flats (he had insisted on being a gentleman).
She opened the door and let him in first. All
he could see in the dark were spots of white.
That’s pretty much all he saw with the lights
on too. The whole downstairs was covered in
white sheets, save only the ply wood that should
have been covered by carpet.
“Looks creepy, huh?” She had caught
his eyes wandering, he nodded in response,
“I’m getting paint and carpet jobs done next
week, I live pretty much upstairs except for the
kitchen. You’ll have to climb more stairs to get
where that goes I’m afraid.”
“Lead on” Bryan replied, as he tried his best to
tense his muscles to not look tired. Of course,
he wasn’t tired, he was aching
She took the lead up the stairs (which were
rather steep and went on till they almost seemed
vertical) and seemed to dart into a room off the
upstairs hallway.
She came out with a dolly and he put
down the flats, he couldn’t even pretend any
more. “Now if you don’t mind taking off your
shoes, I did just finish the floor in there ” Bryan
thought this encounter might be heading in a
new direction, and did as he was told before
walking into the room. From the outside, the
room hadn’t seemed any different than any
other, but inside it was blazingly bright.
Bryan had to squint and refocus his eyes before
he had begun to notice, she really did need all
that window cleaner. Save for the few open
ings in the ceiling for lights, the whole room
was covered in glass mirror panels. He looked
down the floor was mirrors.
“Why—“he started. He felt an object
come at him from behind.
Melissa had slid the flats off the dolly
and hit him on the head with it. “So 1 can see
everything. Every angle, every reflection ” He
fell .' She dragged him out to the middle of the
room, and grasping at flat panels and choking at
the now obvious smell of window cleaner.
It was late on Thursday night as Maggie
wheeled the book cart out of the elevator. She
gave it an extra push to force it over the grooves
at the door and winced at the banging noise the
grey metal cart amplified into the room.
Her sandals slapped the tile floor as she
pushed towards the periodicals. She did a head
count of people on the second floor, noting one
soul typing at the computer. His hat was pulled
low, his eyes just visible as they flicked between
the computer screen and the case study that lay
open beside the keyboard. The cart stopped sud
denly as the tile floor turned to carpet; Maggie
lifted the front end slighfly as she pulled it onto
the carpet wishing the cart could be as peaceful
as the library. Besides the cart and the keyboard
that kept an inconsistent rattling series of clicks
the library seemed quiet and empty.
She left the cart at the entrance to the
Periodical comer and picked up the maga
zines from the cart that needed to be reshelved.
Unfamiliar with this task because she had
started working at the DeTamble Library about
a month ago she took some time to alphabetize
the magazines she was holding. As she started
a slow walk of the shelves she found the homes
for the magazines and glanced at the others
to try to remember what went where. As she
reached the windows and turned to go to the
last section of shelves across the sitting area
she heard a door open. Looking up she saw the
baseball cap boy disappear as she held one last
magazine.
Library Work
By: Kime Neal
Maggie looked at her wrist, and real
ized that she must have forgotten her watch
back in Wilmington, the three story freshmen
girl dorm. She knew it must be late, and bed
was sounding better every minute. Her Quest I
homework would have to wait until the morn
ing. She placed ^e last periodical on the shelf
then turned to organize what books were left on
the cart.
Maggie began to make her way to the
elevator when she heard a faint rustling behind
her. She turned and noticed that the periodicals
she had just put away were lying on the floor.
As she bent down to pick up the magazines she
noticed a small hand sticking our from under
the couch. She reached under and pulled out
a porcelain doll that had long brown hair and
bright green eyes. She was dressed in a simple
green gown with tan lace around the hem, cuffs,
and neckline. Maggie shrugged her shoulders
and placed the doll on the cart to take down to
the lost and found box. She replaced the peri
odicals that had fallen, then turned and pushed
the cart towards the elevator Once on the third
floor Maggie began to shelve what books were
left slowly making her way around the square.
The library was completely silent now,
all that could be heard was the squeaking of
the book cart and the bell from the Bell Tower
signaling that it was now ten o ‘ clock. Only
thirty more minutes then I’ll be able to go back
to my room and sleep. Maggie turned the comer
and noticed that there was someone standing at
the end of the row looking at books on dolls.
It was a girl around Maggie’s height with her
blond hair pulled up into a bun at the base of
her neck. “Oh sorry 1 didn’t know that anyone
was still here.” The girl turned and it was then
that Maggie noticed that what she had first
mistaken as a long skirt and shirt was in fact a
dress made ffbm blue satin with an embroidered
flower design in white across the bodice. She
began to walk towards Maggie slowly her eyes
fixed on the doll that sat on the book cart Mag
gie backed into the hallway and noticed that
as the girl passed under the overhead light she
could see the books on the opposite shelf right
through her “You found my dolly,” said the girl
in a small childlike voice. Maggie screamed
and ran towards the stairwell but when she tried
tumed the knob the door wouldn’t budge. She
ran around the square to the elevator and began
to frantically push the buttons.
She didn’t see the girl anywhere but at
this point all she could think about was getting
downstairs and out of the building. When the
doors finally opened she mshed in pushing the
buttons for the lower floors not even noticing
the small porcelain doll that was laying in the
back corner or the elevator As the doors closed
there was a scream that was said to have been
heard from the security station across the lake
but when the guards were able to pry the doors
of the elevator open all that was there was two
small porcelain dolls lying on the floor One in a
green lace dress and the other in an orange and
yellow spotted tunic with blue jeans.
Editor’s Note:
The opinions expressed in the editorials
and stories do not reflect those of TTie Lance or
St. Andrews Presbyterian College.
I would like to thank everyone who
wrote for this issue of The Lance, you all have
been a big help. I would not have been able to
get this issue on time if it was not for all of you.
Thanks again,
Alicia Toke
The Lance 2007-2008 Staff
Ed itor-in-Chief
Alicia Toke
Health and Wellness Editor
Melody Kirkpatrick
Lance News Editor
Greg Gray
Staff Writers
Aileen Boe Matthew Hensley
Sara Messina Matthew Peak
Melissa Whittaker Tonja Suttles
Patrick Sheegog Andrew Maginn