The scene painted in “Quietly Waiting” by Taylor Bardsley is an empty library full of once important now useless old books; sitting on shelves now collecting dust. The author, a librarian-in-training, walks up and down the aisles just opening these books to smell the “surprisingly sweet smell” while imagining the places those books have been. A jogger stops in, a regular at the library, and warns of a suspicious looking man walking aimlessly in front of the library. With an imagination run wild, the author goes through her regular routine in her head. With keys in hand to ward off an attacker, she looks under her car in case someone is hiding beneath. When the time comes to leave all thoughts leave her mind as she runs to her car, jumps in, and speeds out of the parking lot. Later she finds out that she jogger made a mistake and the “suspicious looking man” was really a city worker.
I found “Quietly Waiting” by Taylor Bardsley in the October 2011 issue of Teen Ink to be entertaining. The author interests the reader right away by using vivid imagery. She makes the reader feel as if they are actually in the library. Anyone reading her story can understand the boredom she expresses. Teens everywhere have felt the seeming unending boredom that she so expertly expresses. As a reader I feel as if I am standing in the aisles looking at the unnoticed books. “Quietly Waiting” not only allows the reader to experience the quiet of the library but gives readers an insight into an imagination similar readers can relate to. My imagination like the authors would also run wild after from the idea of a “rapist just walking around.” I would be scared, and much like the author plan my escape. However, my escape would not have been as graceful as the author’s; my escape would consist of me attempting to run to my car, almost making it but tripping on my own feet while screaming from the “attack.”