Prompt 19/Prompt 43 part 7 [next is Prompt 21]

She looked up from her book.  9:12.  Twelve minutes past closing. Damn.  These really were comfy couches.  Gladys never could be bothered to check for stragglers before locking up the library.  It wouldn’t be the first night Genevieve spent amongst the books.  She decided to check the door just in case but it didn't budge.  Shit.  Oh well, back to the engulfing grip of the couch.  That’s when she heard the knock

"Is anyone in there?" it was the voice of a young girl

"Yes, I'm here" Genevieve croaked

"Who's that?"

"Genevieve"

There was a short silence

"I don't know why I asked that. I don't know any body here"

"That's okay. Would you like to try again?"

Alice tried again

"Can you let me in?" she asked

"Certainly" Genevieve responded. "But I'd need a key to do so"

"And you don't have a key?"

"Nope. No key."

"So you can't let me in?"

"No, I could. I just need a key"

Alice was getting used to this sort of thing

"This is a library, yes?" the young girl's voice asked

"Shhh - not so loud! We can't have people knowing that!" Genevieve sounded panicked

"You know it says 'Library' above the door, right?"

"No, no it doesn't, actually" Genevieve corrected her in a friendly and unannoying way.

Alice reread the sign

"You're right, Genevieve. It says Libarry"

"That's right. No illegal libraries here. We grow libarries. Fresh, juicy libarries. So no need to report us or tell the Queen or anything like that and you can be on your way"

"It's just that I fell from a very long fall just now and would love a short rest. I don't plan on telling the Queen that there's a... perfectly legal 'libarry' here"

"Oh!" Genevieve wasn't a very good judge of character. She knew that about herself. But this Alice sounded so friendly. She couldn't be working for the Queen

"Are you a cop?" Genevieve asked. "If you're a cop, you have to tell me. That's the law!"

"Is it?"

"Yup! So... are you a cop?"

Alice thought about it for a minute. She wondered what kind of laws would make an officer of the law reveal themselves when asked. She weighed the pros and cons of pretending to be a cop. Then she decided to be truthful with Genevieve

"I'm not a cop. And I mean that - because I would have to tell you if I was"

"That's right!" Genevieve's croak was very adamant

Genevieve felt oddly victorious in the next several moments of silence

"I have an idea" offered Alice

"Yes? What's that?"

"Would you let me in if you had a key? Knowing I'm not a cop?"

"Oh, certainly!"

"Then could you grab a book for me?"

"Of course what kind of... I mean, we ain't got no books here! We're just a-

"-a libarry, I know, I know. If you can just grab one of your books on libarrys. Perhaps a recipe collection. Nothing fancy. I can wait"

Genevieve was still a little nervous and began searching the library for a book on something called "libarries". Getting caught in a library was a fine of one eyeball and $4. Genevieve already had an eye-patch from being a bad judge of character previously [don't ask]. She was good on money, though - she always carried a decent amount of cash.

After a while Genevieve did, in fact, find a book about libraries in the library and thought that was close enough

"You'll never believe it, Alice. I found a book all about famous libraries!"

"In a libarry? What are the odds?"

Genevieve was thrilled her lie was working

"Low. The odds are so low. Wow, we sure are lucky"

"Yes, we are. Now do me a favor, Genevieve, and throw the book against the wall, would you?"

"Oh... oh, yes of course!"

Genevieve used her little green hands to fling the library library book against the wall and Alice proceeded to come in through the newly formed window.

"Thank you, Genevieve"

"Oh, no problem at all! You may think it looks a lot like a library in here, but that's just probably because you've never seen a libarry... um..."

"Grove?" said Alice, trying to help

"Yes! Grove!" agreed Genevieve

"I've heard you need lots of books to grow libarries" said Alice

"Oh... oh, yes! Yes, you do! That's why we have all these books!"

"Would you mind if I took that short rest now?"

"Certainly not. We have marvelous couches here and Gladys will be back in the morning to reopen the... libarry and plant the... um..."

"Seedlings?"

"Yes, the seedlings" Genevieve agreed as she hopped over to remove the window

Alice was really starting to like it here. She knew how to talk to people here.

"You don't look hurt from your fall" Genevieve ribbited to her new friend. She was a good listener and remembered the details.

"Oh, no. I landed on my feet. I'm just exhausted"

"Well, please, please. Would you like to hear a poem as you doze?"

Alice loved poetry and so she gladly accepted. Genevieve cleared her bulbous throat and began to read her favorite poem. It went like this:

Where hope will grow and flubis falls
He sneaks and snorks and bites
Upon the grassy, gumbly gknove
Sleepy from his flights

Beware the Clawed Jahoosaphat
To know him is to cry
Beware Benedict Cumberbatch
and drunken birby guys

If she is to defeat him then open up her peepers
Never flinch, or winch, or pinch and always play for keepers
The Clawed Jahoosaphat will bend and borrow when stolen all his might
It smells your weakness like a fart and kills you when you fight

But she did not know no fear nor fream
She bardled and she whalloped
She had no scream of him or there
She would not enter coffins

She stared and shamed and chewed him out
For being such a bastard
And now his head hangs on the wall
Dumby, dead and plastered

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[Prompt 21 is next]