“My mum won’t believe it when I tell her I met you! Do you still work there?”
“I do—but here’s the thing: Chalcot Library is under threat. Right now, in this chamber, the council are voting to decide whether or not to close it and five other libraries.”
Sam looked appalled. “They can’t do that!”
“That’s why we need to get in. We want to try to stop them closing the library.”
“But if I let you in, they’ll know it was me. I’ll lose my job.”
“Is there another way we can get in? Another entrance?”
He thought for a moment. “There’s a balcony upstairs in the chamber. It’s closed at the moment for maintenance work, so no one’s up there.”
June beamed at him. “Sam, you’re an absolute star. Your grandpa would be proud.”
The boy blushed. “Go down here, up the stairs, and take the door that says ‘No Entrance.’ The balcony is the red door on the right.”
They all hurried on down the corridor and up the stairs. When they reached theno entrancedoor, Alex stopped. “We can’t all go in. We’ll draw attention to ourselves.”
There was a quick discussion among the group before it was agreed that June and Mrs.Bransworth would go in. The two of them crept down the corridor until they came to the red door.
“Ready?” Mrs.B whispered, and June nodded.
She pushed the door open and they snuck in. June could hear voices coming from down below.
“We can debate this all day, but the numbers speak for themselves,” a man was saying in a loud nasal voice. “Visits to this library are down fourteen percent on five years ago, and borrowing is down by twenty-one percent over the same period, despite the recent spike. I’d argue that it’s a perfect candidate for closure.”
June caught Mrs.B’s eye and could see her own fear reflected back at her. Were they talking about Chalcot?
“But visitor and borrowing numbers are down at all the libraries in the county, even the bigger ones,” a female voice said. “And, in this instance, the library’s cost per issue is quite low compared to others. Plus, the response from the local community shows there is huge public support for the library.”
June crawled forward to the edge of the balcony in case there was any way to look down onto the floor below, but she couldn’t see a thing.
“There are other factors we need to consider,” the first man said. “As the consultants’ report highlights, this library would require significant costly refurbishment over the next two years if it’s to continue operating.”
“Some of that has already been done for us,” a voice said, and there was a murmur of knowing laughter around the room.
“They’re talking about us,” Mrs.B whispered, her breath hot on June’s ear.
The man continued. “I propose that rather than keeping this library open and having to pay for the renovations, we close it and consider how better we may be able to use the premises. It could be a valuable asset to the council in these strained financial times.”
“Bloody Cuppa Coffee,” Mrs.B said, and June nudged her to keep quiet.
“Thank you, Councillor Pyke. Does anyone else have anything they’d like to add before we take a vote?” an authoritative female voice said. “Yes, Councillor Donnelly.”
June felt the color draining from her face. Richard Donnelly.
“Thank you, Madam Chair. I’d like to address the recent events at this library, which as you all know have gained significant local and national publicity.”
June felt something on her hand and looked down to see Mrs.B gripping it with her own.
“Whilst all of us here appreciate how passionately local communities feel about this issue, we can’t ignore the fact that campaigners in Chalcot engaged in illegal activity with their occupation and criminal damage to the library premises.”
“I was under the impression that no criminal charges were made,” the chairwoman interrupted. “Was I misinformed?”
“Um, no, that’s correct. But there was considerable alteration to the interior of the library,” Richard said.
“The lying shit,” Mrs.B said. “I’ll kill him.”
