mallory (mcunningham) wrote in horror_story, @ 2013-06-08 16:08:00 |
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Entry tags: | cycle003, delaney, incomplete, mallory |
WHO: Mallory Cunningham & Delaney Raines
WHEN: June 1, 9:30pm
WHERE: The library
WHAT: Mallory can't resist the siren song of a library.
WARNING: Mal's book obsession? Nothing.
The ocean wasn't exactly Mallory's friend. Until yesterday, he wouldn't have believed that he was prone to seasickness, but his encounters with the toilet bowl in the last twenty-four hours said otherwise. His stubbornness wasn't doing him any favors either: it was a simple matter of swallowing a single motion-sickness pill with a glass of water. Mal was no stranger to pills, having been tethered to a dizzying array of medications for most of his life, so swallowing a single, average-sized pill was no great hardship. But it was the principle of the thing. He didn't want to take any frivolous medications, didn't want to put even more chemicals into his abused immune system, and convinced himself that he just needed time to adjust to his new surroundings.
Originally the plan had been to curl up in bed and go to sleep early, hoping that he would wake feeling refreshed with the ability to keep food down. Unfortunately, sleep wasn't in the cards for him. After tossing and turning, Mal came to the conclusion that trying to sleep before 10:00 wouldn't accomplish anything. Distraction was the next best option. It didn't take him long to come up with a plan of action: books were the only things that could hold his attention thoroughly enough to forget his plight.
An economical packer, he had brought his e-reader plus a small number of scholarly journals. Mal really didn't have to try very hard to convince himself that neither would do: the only option was a visit to the ship's library. Libraries were his favorite places, his preferred hideaways and safe havens. Anywhere that held copious quantities of books promised hours of entertainment.
With a purpose in mind, his nausea subsided to a slight annoyance. It took only a few moments for Mal to change into his wrinkled pair of jeans he'd haphazardly thrown atop his suitcase and a few more moments to decide that his pajama shirt (a well-worn, almost threadbare t-shirt from his high school years that read "The National History Club") would be acceptable. It wasn't as if he were making a social call. Slipping his key card into his back pocket, he did a mental check, reassuring himself that he had the necessities for his outing, particularly his reading glasses.
Mallory opened the door and, sticking his hands in his front pockets, made the trek to the nearest elevator, where he gently nudged the up button with his elbow. It didn't take long for him to make it to deck ten; after the doors slid open with a ding, he exited and strolled in the direction of the library, quietly observing his surroundings. Not yet familiar with the ship's layout, he was just starting to make an effort to memorize it. He enjoyed the process, examining new places, ideas, or events and mapping them out in his mind. Afterwards, it was unlikely that he'd forget anything he bothered to stamp into his mind. As he rounded the corner, his destination came into sight. His imagination made it feel as if the room was exuding warmth and welcoming him.
The doors swung in when he gave them a firm push and a smile immediately stretched across his face. Nothing said home like the smell of shelves and shelves of books. The ship's library had, of course, fewer books to offer than that of a university, but he hadn't been expecting anything different. He ran his fingers across the spines of the books in the rows he drifted through, eyes glancing at the titles only for a few seconds, registering a handful of words here and there. After some aimless meandering, Mal unfolded his glasses, slipped them on, and settled into the mystery section in the hopes of finding a good detective novel. Not an easy feat, considering his picky nature, so he began flipping through a number of volumes, lost in his thoughts.