Post by Nita Elwyn on Jul 19, 2015 23:45:22 GMT -6
Bright Tower Books is a fairly old building, nestled between two others along the main street with only a narrow alley in between. The exterior is old red brick, faded and chipped in places. The front window of the shop, though, is new, and it stands out. It's the length of the front wall, made of twelve glass panels lined with dark wood. Unlike many of the other shop windows, this one is not filled with merchandise. Instead, it give a clear view into the interior of the shop. Nita had the window redone when she bought the shop. Just as potential customers can see most of the shop from the street, Nita can see most of the street from the counter inside. That's the way she likes it.
The front door is made of the same dark wood as the window frame. The shiny gold knob stands out against it. A wooden sign hanging next to the door reads Bright Tower Books in swirling green letters. The sign is carved with the image of a tall, rickety-looking tower with a pointed roof the same color as the words. The roof of the shop itself is tall and peaked. There is a round window in the peak of the roof that looks into Nita's apartment (or would if anyone could get up that high.
When you enter the shop, you immediately see rows of bookshelves, lined with all sorts of books. The shelves line the walls, reaching from the floor to the ceiling. Two ladders, one on either side of the store, hang on the shelves for those who need to reach the very top. The center of the store holds shorter shelves and tables with popular books displayed on them. A window seat is nestled in the large window and several colorful armchairs are grouped nearby so that people who wish to sit and look through a book before buying can do so in comfort. Some people don't realize that this set up allows Nita to sit at the counter and watch them, just as she watches the people outside.
The main fiction section of the store is on the right as you walk in, organized neatly by genre and then alphabetized by author. Nita carries both magical and Muggle fiction, since she personally loves Muggle fiction. She gets some call for it, mostly from Muggleborn students. The nonfiction section is on the opposite side of the store, organized by subject and then alphabetized again by author. The books on the smaller shelves and the tables are the ones that are most popular at the moment. They are alphabetized by author on the shelves. The table books are displayed on racks with their covers facing out so people can look at them.
The counter is in the back of the shop, a few feet in front of the back wall. It is polished oak, dark like the door, and shiny. The overhead lights--spun glass balls hung by magic in the air above the center of the shop--reflect on the counter top. Nita has a tall wooden stool with a comfortable cushion on it so she can sit instead of standing all day. The cash register is an old-fashioned brass one that clangs when Nita opens it. She's put a muffling charm on it so it doesn't disturb readers, but the charm tends to fade every other week, so the clang grows gradually louder. Nita always apologizes when it's really loud.
Nita keeps a radio under the counter, along with a few other things. She keeps the radio turned on quietly, so that the music won't disturb her customers. She always has her notebook and quill on top of the counter, ready to record anything that strikes her fancy. Walter the Kneazle usually sits on the counter as well, except when he stalks through the shop, rubbing against customers' ankles, or when he climbs to the top of the shelves to look down on everyone. Nita has given up trying to get him to stop prowling and climbing. She has a small sign on the counter that reads, "The Kneazle is in charge, not me."
The floor of the shop is covered in thick forest green carpet. Nita likes to go barefoot in the shop so she can sink her toes into it. The back wall of the store is painted with a mural of a forest. If you look up, you can just see the top of a tower in the painted trees. The mural is enchanted so that the trees seem to move ever so slightly. Sometimes, if you watch very closely, you can see a figure in the tower window. What no one but Nita knows is that that figure is the key to opening the secret door to her apartment above the shop. Once everyone leaves, Nita can speak the password. The figure disappears from the top of the tower and a door swings open in the wall, leading to a spiral staircase. Following that upstairs, Nita can reach her apartment.
The apartment isn't very large. There is a tiny kitchen with a stove and a refrigerator (both with extra enchantments on them to keep them from breaking down) and a small wooden table with two white wooden chairs. Nita has turned the upstairs window into another window seat so she can look out at the street below. Just beyond that is Nita's bed and wardrobe and a tiny bathroom. The walls up here are painted pale blue. A door next to the wardrobe leads out onto a tiny porch overlooking the back of the shop.
There is a small backyard garden behind the shop, connected to the alley between Nita's shop and the next one with a gate set in the tall stone fence. The "garden" is mostly just grass, although Nita has a pot of cat grass growing for Walter and a couple of large planters that she keeps meaning to grow something in if she ever finds the time. In the summer she keeps a small round table and a couple of plastic chairs in the shadow of the tiny upstairs porch so she can eat outside if she wants to. A set of rickety-looking iron stairs leads down from the porch into the garden, providing the only way to get into the garden without going around to the gate. Nita has always planned on doing something more with the garden but she hasn't been able to find the time. She does let Walter out to play in the garden regularly. The fence and gate are charmed to keep him in, and to keep intruders out.
Nita has spent the better part of a year getting her shop set up and decorated in a way that pleases her. She is very happy with it at the moment. Shop hours are 8 am to 5 pm every day but Sunday. Nita usually takes a break of about an hour around noon for lunch and any errands she needs to run. On Sundays she keeps the shop closed, although really desperate book seekers can still find their way in if she spots them through the window looking forlorn.
The front door is made of the same dark wood as the window frame. The shiny gold knob stands out against it. A wooden sign hanging next to the door reads Bright Tower Books in swirling green letters. The sign is carved with the image of a tall, rickety-looking tower with a pointed roof the same color as the words. The roof of the shop itself is tall and peaked. There is a round window in the peak of the roof that looks into Nita's apartment (or would if anyone could get up that high.
When you enter the shop, you immediately see rows of bookshelves, lined with all sorts of books. The shelves line the walls, reaching from the floor to the ceiling. Two ladders, one on either side of the store, hang on the shelves for those who need to reach the very top. The center of the store holds shorter shelves and tables with popular books displayed on them. A window seat is nestled in the large window and several colorful armchairs are grouped nearby so that people who wish to sit and look through a book before buying can do so in comfort. Some people don't realize that this set up allows Nita to sit at the counter and watch them, just as she watches the people outside.
The main fiction section of the store is on the right as you walk in, organized neatly by genre and then alphabetized by author. Nita carries both magical and Muggle fiction, since she personally loves Muggle fiction. She gets some call for it, mostly from Muggleborn students. The nonfiction section is on the opposite side of the store, organized by subject and then alphabetized again by author. The books on the smaller shelves and the tables are the ones that are most popular at the moment. They are alphabetized by author on the shelves. The table books are displayed on racks with their covers facing out so people can look at them.
The counter is in the back of the shop, a few feet in front of the back wall. It is polished oak, dark like the door, and shiny. The overhead lights--spun glass balls hung by magic in the air above the center of the shop--reflect on the counter top. Nita has a tall wooden stool with a comfortable cushion on it so she can sit instead of standing all day. The cash register is an old-fashioned brass one that clangs when Nita opens it. She's put a muffling charm on it so it doesn't disturb readers, but the charm tends to fade every other week, so the clang grows gradually louder. Nita always apologizes when it's really loud.
Nita keeps a radio under the counter, along with a few other things. She keeps the radio turned on quietly, so that the music won't disturb her customers. She always has her notebook and quill on top of the counter, ready to record anything that strikes her fancy. Walter the Kneazle usually sits on the counter as well, except when he stalks through the shop, rubbing against customers' ankles, or when he climbs to the top of the shelves to look down on everyone. Nita has given up trying to get him to stop prowling and climbing. She has a small sign on the counter that reads, "The Kneazle is in charge, not me."
The floor of the shop is covered in thick forest green carpet. Nita likes to go barefoot in the shop so she can sink her toes into it. The back wall of the store is painted with a mural of a forest. If you look up, you can just see the top of a tower in the painted trees. The mural is enchanted so that the trees seem to move ever so slightly. Sometimes, if you watch very closely, you can see a figure in the tower window. What no one but Nita knows is that that figure is the key to opening the secret door to her apartment above the shop. Once everyone leaves, Nita can speak the password. The figure disappears from the top of the tower and a door swings open in the wall, leading to a spiral staircase. Following that upstairs, Nita can reach her apartment.
The apartment isn't very large. There is a tiny kitchen with a stove and a refrigerator (both with extra enchantments on them to keep them from breaking down) and a small wooden table with two white wooden chairs. Nita has turned the upstairs window into another window seat so she can look out at the street below. Just beyond that is Nita's bed and wardrobe and a tiny bathroom. The walls up here are painted pale blue. A door next to the wardrobe leads out onto a tiny porch overlooking the back of the shop.
There is a small backyard garden behind the shop, connected to the alley between Nita's shop and the next one with a gate set in the tall stone fence. The "garden" is mostly just grass, although Nita has a pot of cat grass growing for Walter and a couple of large planters that she keeps meaning to grow something in if she ever finds the time. In the summer she keeps a small round table and a couple of plastic chairs in the shadow of the tiny upstairs porch so she can eat outside if she wants to. A set of rickety-looking iron stairs leads down from the porch into the garden, providing the only way to get into the garden without going around to the gate. Nita has always planned on doing something more with the garden but she hasn't been able to find the time. She does let Walter out to play in the garden regularly. The fence and gate are charmed to keep him in, and to keep intruders out.
Nita has spent the better part of a year getting her shop set up and decorated in a way that pleases her. She is very happy with it at the moment. Shop hours are 8 am to 5 pm every day but Sunday. Nita usually takes a break of about an hour around noon for lunch and any errands she needs to run. On Sundays she keeps the shop closed, although really desperate book seekers can still find their way in if she spots them through the window looking forlorn.
