Creeping in between the shelves of The Library, Eugene Plug was a nervous student. Whilst he had permission to be here, he suffered from simiaphobia, after an unfortunate incident as a child, involving a circus clown, a broken key and ten Chimpanzees.
Expecting the Librarian to land on his head at any moment he scurried towards the aisle he needed, keen to get this chore completed. Never mind that everyone knew the Librarian to be an Orangutan, and certainly not a monkey, Eugene could imagine those long arms tearing him limb from limb.
Nearing his destination Eugene’s heart left his mouth and he felt able to breathe normally again. He took stock of his surroundings and saw that the bookcase he needed was towards the centre of the aisle.
He was almost there when he thought he heard a faint crack behind him. He spun round but there was nothing there. Turning back he was still alone and steeling his nerves he set off again, telling himself he was hearing things. Another soft crack floated into his ears, and this time he was certain, only the Librarian cracked peanuts that softly. He stood completely still, straining to hear his pursuer but to no avail. Glancing longingly at his tobacco pouch, he remembered what happened to the last person who chanced a quick fix in the Library, who had not spoken for three weeks afterwards due to an inconveniently placed banana.
He set off again and finally he arrived at the bookcase in question, only to be faced with an empty slot where the book should be. On closer examination he found a note in the slot. Three letters where written on the note in neat, cursive handwriting.
“OOK”
He heard another crack above him and he glanced up just in time to see a book hurtling towards his head. He dodged to the side just as the Librarian dropped down in the wake of his literary bomb and landed next to Eugene. The Orangutan grabbed the book off the floor and waved it in Eugene’s face.
“EEK!”
Eugene had not been with the university long enough to develop an understanding of Orangutan, despite the 400 page volume he had been shown in his first week, detailing the many translations of Ook and Eek. With ooks that sounded like laughs the Librarian watched as Eugene fled around the corner. He slid the book, Simian Headology, back onto the shelf, satisfied that he had rebounded prying eyes for another year….
A piece of flash fiction inspired by Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series for today’s Daily Prompt: The Sincerest Form of Flattery | The Daily Post.
L5GN 
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