Midnight:23 In the Library

I’m working on a paper that isn’t due until the last day of classes.

I’ve just returned from the stacks with a reference book. As if it isn’t satisfying enough that the lengthy row of call numbers actually lead to the floor, to the hallway, to the aisle, to the shelf, to the spine of the exact book that I need, sometimes it seems like a lucky coincidence that the College happens to own a title that I have never seen on a bookstore shelf. Then I look up at the ornate chandeliers, the sweeping rafters with mermaids carved into the supporting angles, and I’m struck with the reminder I’m not just shopping at Barnes and Noble in the middle of the night.