The Statue

As the school bus came to a halt, Justin gathered up his jacket and book bag to exit. He looked forward to these days when he visited the library on the way home from school. Bounding up the steep marble staircase and entering those sacred halls always stirred up in him a sense of awe. Not that Justin was a voracious reader—quite the contrary. He was awed that anyone would naturally feel that way about books. Even so, he appreciated the library’s collection of comic books that spanned the years.

Justin settled in at a table with a stack of his favorite comics, primed for some entertaining reading. Every time he got into a story, someone or something interrupted him.

“Hey, Justin,” his science lab partner whispered. “Do you have notes from yesterday’s experiment?”

Shaking his head, Justin frowned and looked intently at his reading. He turned a couple of pages, then felt a tap. He tried to ignore it, but he couldn’t help glancing to identify its source. Audrey’s skirt rustled as she navigated the row of tables. She must have bumped him with an elbow. Sighing, he pulled out a piece of paper and wrote his frustration before attempting to focus again. Justin continued to alternate between reading and scribbling notes to vent his irritation until he had to scramble homeward.

As he left the library, Justin slipped the tightly folded piece of paper under the feet of the statue of Prometheus, a god of intellect, portrayed at the library’s entrance. He knew the act was meaningless, but the small ritual made him feel more at ease.

Justin dumped his homework on his bed to sort through the evening’s assignments, only to find a new book. He picked up the history of comic book art, marveling at its mysterious appearance.