It was a school holiday for Jonah and Micah. They were studying in the same
primary school. Their school had declared to day a holiday in celebration of the
pupils' achievements in the various CCA groups. Jonah and Micah wanted to go
to the library that was in their neighborhood. Being the older brother, Jonah
was left in charge of Micah. It took less than ten minutes to walk to the
library.
The library was very quiet. Most people were either at work or in school.
Jonah was glad that it was not crowded. Normally when they came, the children's
section would be packed with parents and their young children. The children
would be sitting on the floor, browsing books, while their parents were busy
selecting books to borrow. Sometimes, the children obstructed the way and made
it difficult for people to walk. Yet, the parents never bothered to correct the
children's behavior. This irritated Jonah.
Jonah was browsing in one section of the library while Micah was in another.
The two of them had different interests. Jonah usually read books on mysteries
while Micah borrowed non-fiction books on cars. As Jonah was flipping through a
book, there was a sudden loud crash. At first, he ignored it. Then, a familiar
voice called out, "Help ! Help ! I'm stuck !" He recognized the voice as
Micah's. He immediately put down his book and went in search of Micah. Instead,
he found a pile of books on the floor and an arm sticking out from underneath
it. Micah was under the pile of books. Jonah sighed and removed the books,
freeing Micah.
"What happened ?" Jonah asked Micah.
Micah explained that he had found an interesting book but it was on the
uppermost shelf. He tried to reach for it but could not. Thus, he attempted to
climb up to the highest shelf by stepping on the lower ones. In the process, he
ended up pulling down the books instead.
By this time, many eyes were on them, Jonah was red as a beetroot from
embarrassment. The two of them quickly returned the fallen books onto the
shelves and scrambled out of the library. |