The Story of Samo-Chapter Two, Part One
Here begins the start of the second chapter of The Story of Samo. For reference, each chapter is going to be about two weeks long.
The dusty smell of old pages lingered in the air as Samo stood on a high ladder with one arm hooked around a rung to keep himself from falling. The ladder was propped against the bookcase, built into the wall and rising 15 feet off the floor. The room was not particularly large, about thirty feet in either direction, and there were just three oak tables, at one of which Kiara had books spread out and was taking notes from three of the largest. Kia was leaning against the wall by the door. He glanced nervously out into the hall from time to time.
As Samo gave an exultant shout and began descending from the ladder, Kia gasped and retreated from the door. He said, “Hey, bud. We’ve got a problem.”
“What is it?” Samo didn’t look up from the book as he joined Kiara at the table.
A tall, broad shouldered man entered the room. He was wearing dark blue robes of a professor and a scowl that many believed never left his face. He said, “Mr. Diarcha. I thought I told you never to return here.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know, Professor Lasci,” Samo said, still refusing to remove his attention from the book. “But the chancellor told me I could return.”
“What?” Lasci crossed the room and set his fist hard on the desk. Kiara jumped back and scowled at him. Samo ignored him. “I gave you a direct order that you were expelled! We will not have accused murderers in our ranks.”
Samo chuckled. He began taking notes from the book that he took from the shelf and said, “Well, that’s good for you. If you find any accused murderers, be sure to expel them. I don’t want to share space with them.”
Lasci leaned forward and closed the book on him. He said, “I already did. Now get out!”
Placing his hands on the table, Samo stood. He slowly pushed himself up from his seat and straightened his back, bringing him to just less than five inches shorter than Lasci. “I am not an accused murderer,” he said. “The police have already cleared me, and the chancellor-”
“The chancellor is not in control of the students,” Lasci interrupted.
Samo put his forefinger up and step away. He said, “True, that is true, but he is in charge of your job.”
“What?” The professor crossed his arms, his voice betraying a hint of anxiety.
Samo continued. “He told me to ignore you, which is what I’ve been trying to do.”
“He did not tell you that!”
Kia said, “Did he really say ‘ignore Professor Lasci’?”
“No,” Samo answered. “Technically, he said, ‘ignore the buzzard.’”
Kiara stifled a laugh as Professor Lasci began sputtering in what seemed to be a cataleptic fit. He said, “If I can’t expel you for accus—well, I’ll just expe—exp—kick you out of here on your head!”
“Do you really think threatening the students is a good idea, Lasci?” An elderly man walked in, wearing similar robes to the professor. He said, “Finding everything okay, Samo?”
Samo turned to the newcomer and said, “Yeah, Chancellor. Thanks for unlocking the library for us.”
Tales of the Inventor's War 