[ WP ] The new coffee shop you 've been frequenting has always seemed off to you . But you never would have guessed-

The bookcase at the back of the coffee shoppe had always been somewhat of a joke. Ragged romance novels and cheap paperback mystery novels were crammed haphazardly on the shelves. The books had always been for sale; they were a fixture in the Coffee Shoppe, much like the strange owner, who opened when he rolled out of bed, closed when he got tired, and would tell anyone who would listen how he thought that the universe was created specifically for jackrabbits, and were n't we all lucky we humans got to tag along for the ride. 
 
 
 The Coffee Shoppe had been there a week from yesterday, or forever, depending on who you asked. No matter how long the business had been there, the Coffee Shoppe was both old and new at the same time. No matter. The Reading Room of the Coffee Shoppe was the greatest room in the entire town, maybe even the entire state. Hundreds of people ( all saying that they had heard about the grand opening last week ) came to try out the wingback chairs that seemed to approach comfort from the other side- the longer one sat in the chair, the more comfortable they became. The owner was consistently kicking people out at closing, pushing them from `` The Comfy Chairs'' into the cold night. 
 
 
 But the bookcases, ah, the bookcases. These towering behemoths carried the real reason everyone came to the Coffee Shoppe. The books covered a wide range of genres, from the sci-fi section with it's original copies of the scripts from the likes of Star Wars and Star Trek: Next Generation, to the classics, such as William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens. The Coffee Shoppe books, however, were different. It seems that the owner's ancestors were avid illustrators of books, as each and every book was hand illuminated, and had the autograph of the author on the title page. 
 
 
 So it seemed to be the running joke: why the hell did Dickens and Shakespeare share the same room, or even the same building as a bunch immovable trashy romance novels and mystery paperbacks? 
 
 
 < hr > 
 
 
 It had been a rather lousy day. I had a horrible math class; the kind where the numbers just dance around inside your head and laugh at you, and some asshat had stolen my copy of *Great Expectations*. So, I was of course, sitting in one of the Coffee Shoppe's many comfortable chairs, sipping a rather amazing chai tea latte. The chai tea latte had a napkin-wrap around it, and a no-spill lid that I had made myself, to protect the glorious illustrations on *Great Expectations*. The book was quite excellent, the story and irony of Pip's rise seemed to be a metaphorical salve for my horrible day ( though, the chai and the chair might have helped a little ). No one else was in the Coffee Shoppe, save me and the owner, who was polishing what looked like a glass coffee maker that was made while on acid. Half an hour passed, and I went to get another chai, leaving Dickens on one of the many small tables scattered around the Reading Room. 
 
 When I got back, another book was on top of *Great Expectations*. I flipped it over, revealing *Love's Savage Secret*? 
 
 My mind raced. Everyone in town had been trying for almost a week to get the cheap romances off the back shelf, and here one had just fallen into my lap. I went back to the back bookshelf, and indeed, one book was missing. 
 
 I raced to the front of the shop, my eyes wide with excitement. 
 
 `` Doctor Parzival!'' 
 
 His head jerked up from under the counter, a tray of pastries in his hand, `` Yes, what do you want? I'm very busy, you know,'' he said impatiently, raising a tray of chocolate croissants. 
 
 I held up the book, `` I pulled one of the romances off the back shelf.'' 
 
 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - 
 
 Doctor Parzival did n't move his blue-grey eyes from the book I held in my hands. 
 
 `` Doctor Parzival?'' I asked timidly, worried that I had broken some sort of Coffee Shoppe Code, `` Is something wrong?'' 
 
 He seemed to snap out of it, shaking his head quickly, and moving towards the front windows. The blinds came down with a snap, and the plastic `` Closed'' sign was flipped. I suddenly became aware of just how alone the both of us were in the now dark coffee shop. Doctor Parzival managed to get a candle lit after a few tries, but the candle was a tallow candle, and did n't do much to chase away the shadows. It did, however, slightly illuminate the Doctor's face. 
 
 `` Come child, sit. Let me tell you about L-Space.'' 
 
 TBC ( Redditr is making the submit button disappear. ) 
 Edit: And the Horizontal Rules are n't working.
