A sharp wave of blistering cold whips the ground picking up
millions of specs of brown earth and sharp pebbles, then, whipping them upward
in one great motion, snaps the debris forward, sideways, against exposed legs,
into eyes, book bags, and open door
ways. This was the scene I was met by upon journeying to my observation
location. Much dust, cold, and unpleasantness. To my relief the inside of the
lounge area is warm and inviting, serving in sheer contrast to the hellish
conditions outside. I note that there were a handful of people outside the
library walking. In fact I image those inside are more refugees than individuals
looking for a place to work. Right off I see Jack and Jill, whom had been
sitting at a table closest to the library entrance. As I watch they begin to
gather their belongings and stand. Jack stands close to the entrance to the
library while Jill enters the library. A few minutes pass and Jill returns to
the scene and the two exit out through the lounge together. Almost directly in
front of me, (but one chair to the right) sits a man of the same ethnicity as
cover. He wears a black hat, and has a red roller desk pulled to him to hold a
white apple laptop and water bottle. The man (Let’s call him Green) sits up
straight in his plush chair, feet planted firmly on the carpet below, a blue
backpack held in-between his legs. Green takes a swig of the water in the few
minutes I have been watching him. I note that he, unlike most I have seen in
the lounge on previous observations, is not touching his laptop, he merely
watches the screen, headphones bridging him to the material online. When Green
is not watching the screen of his laptop, I note that he looks at me oddly,
perhaps catching onto my observation. To the right of me sits Cap, shoulders buried
deep into her plush chair, legs crossed, and the higher up right leg supporting
her famous black laptop. She whispers softly into the screen of her device as
she rubs her neck and head with one hand. I am close enough to her to see that
she is video chatting a young man. Two tables in front of me sits a man in a
blue shirt, he sits alone, phone in hand, headphones attaching him to the
device, and demanding his attention. (Let’s call this man Plug,) Beside the man’s
chair is a black backpack, and another backpack is set on the pulled out seat
to his right. A single fast food soda drink resides on the table. The time is
now 3:14, a new woman enters the lounge scene, she takes a seat two display
cases and four seats to my right. After placing her belongings by the chair she
stands again and pulls a red roller desk in front of her so that it may hold her
laptop and drink. Upon sitting again, the woman (let’s call her Erika) pulls
out a cellphone and begins to fidget on it. At that moment, a woman in a red
hoodie comes in through the library and assumes her place in the pulled out
desk by Plug. (Let’s call this newcomer Heel.) As soon as she takes a seat, she
touches plugs wrist, gets out her phone, and shows him something on it. The two
talk in hushed excited voices above the tiny screen. A few minutes later Green
packs up his belongings and leaves the scene, as he exits out an assaulting blast
of cool air temporarily freezing the library scene, I shiver bitterly in my
seat, as I am the closest one to the exit. After, a young man in blue jeans
enters from the library, reading one of two jumbled packets as he makes his way
toward the lounge exit. A soon stops at the exit and flips through a few pages,
reading for about a minute, then exits. A young couple exits through the
lounge. Back at Plug and Heel’s desk, Plug seems to now be showing heel a video
on his own device, both are smiling. A young blonde girl now enters the lounge,
she approaches Heel, making the girl turn her attention away from Plug. The two
girls seem to greet each other, the blonde girl takes a seat, and the two talk.
The blonde girl soon greets plug and he excitedly shows the two girls a video.
Back at Caps video chatting area of the room, I observe that she still talks
quietly to the screen of her laptop, despite the screen now changed to a word
document. Her posture has not shifted greatly. Surveying the lounge, I also
notice that many leaves have found their way into the lounge floor. Likely all
of them hitched a ride on the bursts of air sent through the lounge by the open
door. A handful of leaves has even reached has far as the center of the room. The
new blonde girl by Plug and Heel now stands, the other two follow in her lead
and exit the lounge. After, a middle aged looking woman enter the lounge from
the library, and takes her time looking at a rotating display case full of articles,
she eventually heads back into the library. Meanwhile, in Erica’s side of the
room she types intently, her phone no longer compromising her attention. A
young woman dressed warmly, reading a cellphone enters the library. Following
are two men in a dark pink/purple, who exit through the lounge, the younger of
the two holding a latter, and the older holding a tool bag. Next, two young
women, followed by two middle aged women enter into the library. To end this
scene with only minutes of observation remaining, I would like to fill the
audience in on what scene I shall be leaving today. Cap is still taking softly,
but now instead of doing nothing but this, she instead types and scrolls on her
laptop, a word document open. Erica does the same on her laptop. The inside of
the library is full of low talking, and a comforting warmth. This in particular
depresses me as I look out the glass doors at the raging wind and brown skies. The
outside does not look fun.
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