My little buddy John Anthony showed up bright and early, all fired up to hear some stories. We signed him and the others in, giving them their hand stamps, and with the exception of a few new kids, everybody seemed to be in high spirits. I was feeling good about my chances of getting though the stories with no major crises.

We headed across the library to the story room, and things began to degenerate rapidly.

"Look! I can walk and spin!"

I could see that this was going to turn into a trend if not stopped immediately. "Yes, I see. Let's walk straight now, though, so we don't run into any tables."

He stopped spinning in front of the video displays. "Can we watch a movie today?"

"Not right now, but maybe you can check one out and take it home."

"Can we watch a movie tomorrow?"

If you check it out, you can watch it tomorrow. Sure!"

We made it to the story room, where some unknown coworker of mine had left the cabinet containing the library's laptop computers unlocked. One of the helping parents noticed John Anthony opening the cabinet before I did, and pointed it out to me. "We need to keep that closed right now!" I warned him.

"But I'm opening it!"

"But now I'm closing it."

"Ooooooh! Dangerous! Poison! Dangerous!" I didn't even bother to correct him; if believing that the cabinets hold dangerous things would keep him from playing in them, then I'd take what I was given.

"I have a dog! His name is Ralph!"

"Yes, but now we're going to hear about Harry, okay?"

"Okay."

"Harry was a white dog with black spots..."

"Ralph is brown and white!"

You know, you'd think the parents who signed up to help with storytime would actually do something other than hold their kids on their laps and sit there silently. I finally got far enough into the story to attract John Anthony's interest, and we were able to finish. The other stories were done in an equally halting fashion at the beginning, though for other reasons; one of the little girls had snuck a doll in, and he wanted to "borrow it." A fight very nearly ensued, and the parents still did nothing to help me out.

"Lets stand up and get in a circle! Okay...now, Walk around in the circle with me...no, John Anthony, we're walking now, you can't pull Steven down. Let me stand between you. ...And the song will tell you...John Anthony! Let's walk nicely! ...tell you how much fun it can be... John Anthony! Walk around...hold on, kids."

I knelt and took both his hands in mine, looking into his eyes. "You are going to listen now, all right? We're going to finish this song, and then we're going to have another story, and I need you to be helpful and quiet. Got it?" He seemed to get it, and we were able to complete the song with little disruption, though he caught my eye and made sure that I noticed that he was refusing to clap along with the others. I smiled to show that I understood, and he smiled back.

It was finally over, and I walked them back out to their parents. John Anthony's mother was waiting, and asked me if he had cooperated. I was honest and told her that while we had had some initial problems with attention, we had finally come to an understanding. Honestly, I do think that he will get better at this as he attends more sessions; he's just not used to being around so many other children. They waved and smiled as they walked out of the library.

Boss-Lady also wanted to know how things had gone, and when I told her the whole story, she said, "Well, you should have had one of the parents remove him." The notion had never even crossed my mind. Why, he'd just be back next week, without the benefit of having learned how to sit quietly through the stories. Without practice an experience, he's never going to gain the ability. Why would I just recreate this scene every week? No, I wouldn't have removed him. We're just going to have to work together to help him learn patience.

I was in another world. "What period did you need? Medieval?" Now it seems silly, but at the time, I was completely oblivious to what she meant.

"No. I mean the period." Her eyes were huge, but she didn't seem embarrassed in the least.

I found her some books on puberty and menstruation, which she and her oddly serious friends took to the far corner of the library to study for the next hour and a half. She thanked me before she left, and I felt strangely touched to have been a part of their "research"

I met her again a week ago, when she wanted help selecting a book. "I see you a lot, but I don't know your name," she said. We exchanged introductions; she's a charming little girl, if a bit of a chatterbox. I gave her a Ramona Quimby book, and she seemed eager to get home and start reading.

Yesterday, as she ran past, I tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, Gabby! How's the book?"

"Great! Hey, everybody!" she called to her friends. Everybody in the near vicinity stopped and turned around. "Everybody, this is Mrs. Richmond. She's really cool!"

I turned purple in embarrassment. I stammered something out along the lines of, "Well, I don't know how deserving I am of that." They all grinned and went back to their books. Boss-Lady, who happened to be sitting nearby, snickered at me. The room felt unbearably warm, and yet wonderful at the same time. She's really cool. I haven't been called cool in...well, ever. Did she mean cool as in, "cool for a grown-up?" Probably. I don't care.