"Turning Around"
	March 15, 2008 1455 hrs, Kendra Books Enola opened the door with her key, and heard a bell. Looking up, she saw a gold colored bell. Some stores, she knew, didn't have it. She had spent most of the morning looking about Laurence Harbor, going into each little store. Each store, the people were friendly and considerate to her wanting to just look around. Not like all the pushy sales people she was used to. Enola walked into her bookstore. The outside sign, proudly displayed the name, Kendra Books in a white and pastel green mixture. The window displays were bare, along with the shelves. Enola's attention focused on the buzzing sound, echoing about the room. She quickly remembered about the alarm and rushed over to the keypad, punching in the code. Last thing she needed was for the police to visit. Turning around, Enola surveyed the place. The floor was all tile, not a very attractive tile, but one that had apparently withstood time, as it harbored a sixties type pattern. A few area rugs would smarten it up. The walls were a pale green, matching the outside sign. Enola assumed that this had been a new addition since the scent of fresh paint still lingered in the air. Walking to the back of the store, Enola shivered slightly, apparently, the heat was turned off. Her steps sounded loud in the empty store. Pulling the curtain back that served as a door, she stepped into the back room. She stared at the masses of boxes; surprised they were even there. There was a note taped to the nearest box that read, "Thought you could use a few books to get started. – G." Enola smiled, Gray had apparently been thinking right. The shelves were piled high with boxes. She wondered how she was ever going to get the place together. Perhaps she should meet with the staff that had been hired already. Enola remembered from the file that Gray had left for her, that there were four people hired at the moment. There had been brief bio's on each one. She was excited about meeting them. Perhaps she should give them a call and ask them to come down, not today though. It was too late, perhaps tomorrow or the next day. She left the boxes behind and headed back out into the store area. There were signs along the rows of bookshelves, indicating each section. The shelves where made of natural wood, and by the looks of it, they had a light varnish on them. Enola made her way around the counter, to the computer/till. This was something that she was going to have to learn how to use; she was definitely up for the challenge. Enola pulled out the manual and opened it up. She glanced briefly at the table of contents. "At least there is a scanner." Enola commented out loud. She would've hated keying all the numbers in by hand. About 2 hours later, Enola put the manual down, she had read just about all of it, but her brain was beginning to protest at the amount of information she had been giving it. She had spent the last couple of days reading business books. Some of the books had brought back memories of university, where she had been in the very competitive business faculty. However, she had never gotten the chance to complete her degree, Section had happened. Her thoughts turned toward Section, to Paige and the brief conversation she had with her the day before. She had been extremely surprised that Joshua had visited her. Paige had warned her that he may be coming to see her, but Enola never saw a hair of him. Although, for some part of the afternoon, Enola had felt uneasy, aware that someone was outside looking inside. She was quite sure it was Joshua, but she was at least thankful that he hadn't had the manners to come in to say hello. Back in the present, Enola zipped up her fleecy, turned the alarm back on and headed outside. It was beginning to get dark, so she hurried home, surprised at the bite the wind had. By they time she got home she was thoroughly chilled. Enola spent the evening once again reading. She learnt more about her employee's as she had telephone them, asking if they would be able to come to the store for a brief meeting the next day. One of them, Dawn, would be unavailable until the 17th because she was just finishing up her last round of midterms; she went to the local university. So Enola agreed to have the meeting on the 17th instead. March 17th 1020 hrs Enola fingered the fleece sweater she was wearing. She had become obsessed with fleece; she had fleece pants, shirts, blankets, and even pillows. It was just so soft and warm. Enola stood alone in her store, waiting for her four employees. She didn't want to call them employees, it seemed so impersonal, but what could she call them? She was at odds with that. The first to arrive was a rosy older woman, who came bearing a gift of scones. "Hi my dear, you must be Jordan. I'm Marie. I'll just set these down on the counter. Oh…what a lovely store. I've walked past it and peeked in the windows, but I couldn't see much with the lights off." Enola smiled. "Morning Marie, thank you for the scones, they smell delicious." "No trouble at all hun…ahh…here's Dawn, you know I used to baby-sit her. Dawn, come have a scone." Enola watched as Dawn opened the door, toting a book bag. She looked a little tired. Enola figured it was because her midterms had just ended. After Dawn had picked up a scone, Enola introduced herself and told the two to take a look around while they waited for Alyssa and Ryan to arrive. Enola watched the two looking around. From what she could tell so far was that they were great people, perfect to work in her store. Ryan arrive next, he was a quiet boy, preferring to listen, so Enola kept the conversation going, talking about her plans for the bookstore, asking for his input. He was worked in a few other bookstores, which Enola was glad for. "Hello everyone!! Isn't it gorgeous outside?" a young woman exclaimed as she entered. Enola assumed her to by Alyssa. Glancing outside, Enola begged to differ. It was snowy, windy and cold. Not the kind of weather she was exactly used to. However, the other 3 seemed to agree with Alyssa. After the formal introductions, Enola told everyone more about the store and also about the boxes of book in the back room. She told them that she would appreciate all the help she could get setting up the store. She was hoping to have it opened in about a week or so. However, if need be, the opening date could be postponed. After telling them this, Enola stopped for a moment, looking at them. All four looked excited, in fact, Alyssa was pink with excitement. Enola saw fire in her; she had a loud and happy personality. "Since I've been doing nothing but talking, do you have any questions for me?" Enola asked the group. There was silence for a while, and then Dawn spoke up. "When we were hired, we were told that you would be going away every so often, but we weren't told why. Would it be rude of me to ask why?" Enola smiled at her, almost thankful Dawn had asked the question. She had been wondering as to how she would go about telling them about her lack of presence at times. She knew full well that it was her neck if they thought any suspicious of her absences. "No worries Dawn. I will be doing a number of different things when I am away. Firstly, I will sometimes be going to business conventions, or traveling about on what I call a `book find'. I have a little obsession with certain books, some which are out of print, others, which are banned, and some ancient texts. So as you can see, to feed my obsession, I will sometimes be away on a trail of a book." Enola watched them, hoping they didn't think she was a nut case to be so obsessed with books. In reality she didn't have such a passion she was showing she did. Sure she might get exciting about reading a banned book, but other than that… "That's great! And I thought my collection of glass frogs was crazy…what a minute, it is crazy." Alyssa spoke, laughing. Her laughing was contagious, as the other soon joined in. Enola felt relieved, they thought her obsession to be only natural for a bookstore owner. They spent the rest of the morning going through the boxes, pushing them to their respective homes. They worked well into the afternoon, pausing to have lunch, which Ryan brought over from the deli across the street. After the boxes of books were sorted, Enola asked them their ideas for the window displays. She wanted them to be done well, so people would be attracted to coming in.Enola liked their ideas, voiced some of her own. They all agreed that area rugs were a must, and that they should get some couches of some sort and make a reading corner. Dawn voiced interest in having a kid's story time, to which Enola agreed to. It was a great idea. After the four had left, Enola stayed awhile longer, surveying her store. It wasn't so empty anymore. When she walked around, her steps no longer echoed. She liked what she saw, more and more, she liked the idea of owning a bookstore. Rebecca and Gray had been right in their choice for her. Enola couldn't imagine doing anything else but working in a bookstore. The more she thought about it the more she got excited. Enola rode from the stool she had been sitting one and grabbed her coat and hat. She pulled on her hat, and looked up the store for the night. It was time to go home. In fact, she was due at Paige's. That girl needed help with the cooking. Enola was more than happy to help her. After returning from Paige's Enola sat at her window seat once again, looking at the lights. There wasn't much of a view at night, too dark to really see anything. During the day though, she could see the ocean. She couldn't quite see the edge of the water though; she was too far away. But it was a short walk to the beach. Something that Enola had only ventured out to do once so far. Enola sat, thinking about how much contemplating she had been doing the past few days. She wasn't really going anywhere. She fully realized the she wasn't going to go anywhere until she excepted the fact that she was no longer Enola, but now Jordan Mitchell. She could no longer refer to herself as Enola, she needed to move on and begin this life she had been given. She knew she could never leave Enola behind completely, but better to be Jordan than Enola, least she make a mistake in her name. She smiled and clinked her wine glass against the window, "Goodbye Enola, here's to a new life that is only just beginning." Return