A small little muggle bookstore

Amanda was browsing around the bookstore looking as if she had finally attempted to do something to her appearance. Her hair was straightened and ten pulled back in a thin, golden colored headband, and her eyes were actually visible without any smudges on her glasses. In attempt to blend in with the muggles' dress ways, she was wearing a purple and black flannel shirt with a gray tank-top under it, a pair of jeans with a rip in knee, and a pair of ballet flats. All in all, she blended in pretty well as she nudged her glasses up her face and skimmed through a fiction corner. Her life seemed to be stuck in a rut. Sure, her book had actually found it's way on the Hogwarts book list as suggested for any Care of Magical Creatures students and she was finally getting a good profit, but, her social life was pretty bland. Besides the occasional drink with Olivia, or hanging out with Dede and her friends, she was turning into a crazy cat lady.

Amanda's eye caught something as she picked up a black book with several crudely drawn magical creatures on it. They were good drawings, but based off of muggle sightings of magical creatures, so they were pretty inaccurate.

[IT RETURNS]

"Superstitious garbage," said a man beside her, who happened to spy the book from the corner of his eye. "Child's fairy tales... Though, I guess if you're into that sort of thing. It's an interesting thing to study, I'll admit." In his hand was a hardcover edition of a Chinua Achebe novel - to be specific, Things Fall Apart. "I read this one back in high school. I've been meaning to get a copy of my own all these years. Have you read it?" He looked almost directly across at her through his lensless, thick-framed glasses.

Amanda jumped, shocked to hear someone talking to her in a muggle bookstore. She quickly scanned the man, eyes stopping when she got to his lensless glasses. Who would wear glasses that large if they weren't for seeing purposes? Even if he looked goofy, for some reason his opinion mattered in some way, and her hand fell back to her side, away from the book. She stared at his book for a moment. "Actually, I haven't read that. Looks neat though."

"It's intriguing, to say the least." He turned the book over in his hands to read the back cover. "To very specific interests though. Tribes in Africa, oppression... I'd say it's worth a read. Also, I'm sorry if you're not really apt to starting conversations in mall bookstores!" He laughed.

Amanda smiled, letting out a small laugh. "I don't hang out in malls, I'm more of an... erm..." Muggle translation for Diagon Alley? Uhm... Outlet! "Outlet person myself."

"Outlets?" The man flipped the book over again. "I'd have to agree with you there."

Amanda nodded. "There so much more fun. Better people watching chances as well." She bit her lip, blushing and wishing that didn't come out. Most people didn't see that a a cute attribute or anything good.

"Really?" He cocked an eyebrow. "I suppose. I'm Trevor, by the way," he added with a nod.

"Amanda. Nice to meet you. Hm," Amanda eyed the mythological creatures section more. "Suggestions?"

"Never really been into fantasy much."

"Oh, I've never been able to get into anything but. Why read a five hundred page novel on something I could skim in the prop--paper."

"What?"

"Erm, never mind. Stupid comment." Amanda stared down at her feet, blushing. Why am I being so dumb? I'm not a lovestruck teenager... "So what's your favorite book?"

"Doubt I could choose just one." Trevor slid the book in his hands back into its place on the shelf. Another day, he decided.

Amanda gave a bit of a laugh. "Thank-god I'm not the only one. I just was attempting small talk. They're all so different, how do you choose, really?"

Trevor smiled. No one had ever carried a discussion this long before. "Exactly!"

"I think a better question would be one which is less broad. Because how in the world do you compare a book like yours," Amanda made a motion towards Things Fall Apart, "To any of these mythology books?"

"You couldn't. Completely different worlds, different stories... different types; aren't those references?"

"Eh, true..." Amanda picked up the one with muggle interpretations of magical creatures. "This one is more like a story book of all the uhm, myths, though.

"Oh, really? A series of shorts or an actual, linear storyline?"

"Series of shorts. Couldn't really combine all of the different myths without it being pretty bad. But, they do the series of shorts surprisingly well."

"Oh, if you say so."

"Terribly inaccurate, though."

"Are you some sort of expert?" he asked.

Amanda shifted her weight to her left foot awkwardly, trying to decide what to say. Technically she was... "Erm, yeah. I actually wrote a book."