Friday, April 29, 2022

New release sample: THE UNWELCOME WAGON

 Mrs. Tinderbeck shook her head and sighed loudly when Saundra stepped into her office. She said nothing about Twila, and that was both irritating and comforting. Saundra itched to know what compelling reason kept Twila working and stopped the library from firing her. Maybe she was only this way toward people she didn't know? At the same time, Saundra didn't want to know. She sensed Mrs. Tinderbeck wasn't the kind of person to talk about others behind their backs. Even when they deserved it. While Saundra's mother had been oblivious about far too many things, she did have moments of deep wisdom. Long ago, after hearing Saundra and her playmates chatter about a school nemesis, she had pointed out that people who said nasty things to Saundra about other people most likely said equally nasty things about her to those same people.

After that, Saundra's first day of work sped by with fewer new-kid-on-the-team awkward moments and mistakes than she had anticipated. She was ready and eager to get to work when the daycare story group trooped through the doors at 10am. The school year started on Wednesday, and once everyone had settled in, Saundra would be handling story times and book discussions throughout the day for each grade in the elementary and middle school. The high school had access to the library during the day, but the students had to have passes to come over during study hall. All three school buildings sat on the far side of the municipal parking lot that separated the Cadburn Schools property from the library. Someone, years ago, had decided it was more efficient to have the children trot the hundred yards to the library, rather than maintain libraries in all three buildings. 

Everything about Cadburn pleased Saundra. The layout of the town was logical. She supposed when she got more acclimated to her new surroundings, she would find inconvenient things that irritated her. Right now, she felt as if someone had sat down decades ago and designed everything for maximum efficiency. She looked forward to being able to walk everywhere, until the weather turned nasty. Then she would drive from her apartment and park in the municipal lot, with access to all the shops and businesses of downtown Cadburn. 

No comments: