“What do you mean, if things get nasty? Mrs.Bransworth?”
Mrs.B shrugged and told her to track down “that skinny woman from the news” to see if she’d cover the occupation.
By ten past nine they had everything in place and were standing behind the locked door, waiting for Marjorie to arrive.
“Are you sure you want her to see you here?” Stanley said to June. “You could still hide, and we’ll tell her you left last night.”
June took a deep breath before she answered. “No. I don’t want to hide anymore.”
“Very well,” he said, and gave her arm a squeeze.
“What will we say when she gets here?” June said.
“We tell her that she can’t enter the premises until the council agree to keep the library open.”
“Have you ever seen Marjorie in a bad mood? There’s no way she’ll put up with that.”
“You’ve not seen me in a bad mood either,” Mrs.B said, giving June a wink.
A moment later they saw Marjorie crossing the road toward the library, a murderous look in her eyes.
“What the hell is going on here?” she bellowed as she approached. “June?”
“This is a political protest,” Mrs.B shouted through the door. “This library is now occupied and will remain so until the council agrees to our demands.”
“What nonsense! Let me in.”
They didn’t move.
“June, open the door!”
June pulled the door open a fraction. “I’m sorry, Marjorie. I can’t sit back and watch in silence any longer.”
“You know what this means, don’t you?” Marjorie said. “I won’t be able to protect you from the council.”
June nodded. She felt sick.
“We want to speak to a representative of the council and hand over our demands,” Stanley said. “Until that happens, you may not come in. Thank you.”
“Oh, for goodness’ sake, I don’t have time for this. Do you have any idea how busy I am?”
“We’re here for as long as it takes,” Mrs.B said. “Down with library cuts! Down with the council!”
Marjorie glared at them. “Very well, I’ll call them. But don’t you dare mess anything up in my library.”
She turned and stomped back across the road. June shut the door, her hands shaking.
“Stage One complete,” said Stanley with satisfaction. “Let’s have a cup of tea, shall we?”
•••
Over the next few hours, as people turned up to use the library, June, Stanley, and Mrs.B gave them flyers and explained what they were doing. Some looked confused and walked away, but most offered their support. By midday there were around thirty people inside, all chatting excitedly. Someone brought some bags of food from the supermarket, and June was sitting down to eat a sandwich when she heard a shout from Mrs.B.
“The council are here!”
Everyone crowded round the window.
“Look, it’s Richard Donnelly and that Sarah woman,” Stanley said. “And Brian Spencer’s here too. I wonder where Marjorie is.”
