“Ring!” the school bell rang, making me jump. I hurriedly put on my work uniform and prepared myself for the horde of students that would soon rush through the doors. The cool breeze in the library provided the sweaty children with some respite from the heat. As the students entered, I started organising the books in the children’s books corner.
“K section…” I mumbled to myself, trailing along the shelves, ensuring that the books were in order. For the first ten minutes, everything seemed fine.
Suddenly, I heard the faint sound of music coming from the computers available for research work. I tiptoed to the section and realised that a little boy was abusing the use of the computers. He looked about eleven. He was listening to music, blaring them loudly on the speakers, while munching on a cheeseburger and nachos with cheese dip and sipping on a soft drink. I noticed that the cheese sauce had adhered to the cushion. There were also crumbs of chips strewn across the floor.
Enraged, I tapped him on the shoulder. “Excuse me, there are rules in the library and one of them including not eating in the library. And you are being extremely inconsiderate blaring that loud music from the research computer. It is to be used for research only!” I hissed.
Instead of listening to me, he did quite the contrary, wantonly turning the music volume up with a smirk on his smug face. I had no choice but to ask him to leave the library as he was being very inconsiderate. He finally left when I threatened to give him five demerit points for his unruly behaviour. I grabbed a dust pan and cleaned up the mess.
After I was done cleaning, I was about to give myself a pat on the back when a demure student came up to me. “Miss, there are a couple of girls being very loud. I can’t read in peace!” I sighed, shaking my head. When can I ever have a day of peace?
I followed behind the girl and heard a cacophony of loud chatter up ahead. The other students around were covering their ears, and glaring at them in disapproval. I walked over to the girls and said sternly, “Girls, you are making far too much noise! Don’t you think of others? How inconsiderate!” Unlike the boy earlier, the girls sincerely apologised and assured me that they would lower their volume. The other students around me smiled at me gratefully.
It was all in day’s work of being a school librarian. I was shocked that some people could be so inconsiderate and rude in a shared space. I hoped the girls and boy learnt their lesson, and would be more considerate to others. Furious and frustrated, I truly hoped that I would no longer see these students breaking the rules in the library.
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