Mrs. Ruiz shut the book with both hands. The kids on the rug yelled, "Again!" before she could say a word.
At the back of the room, Owen looked at the wall clock. He had one hour before the library closed. His math test was on Monday. His apartment was loud every night, and the library was the only place he could spread out his papers.
The head librarian stepped into the room and tapped the door frame. Mrs. Ruiz nodded, then told the kids to pick one last song.
After the song, the head librarian met Owen by the study tables. She held a yellow page with two lines under it. The town had cut the library budget. They had enough money for the rest of the year, but not for every hour and every program.
"We can close at five instead of six," she said. "Or we can end Saturday story time. We can't keep both."
Owen looked through the glass wall. A dad sat cross-legged on the rug with his little girl. She pressed a paper crown onto his head. Mrs. Ruiz was making animal sounds, and the room shook with laughter.
Then Owen looked at the study tables. By five, he'd only have half an hour. He worked after school three days a week. On those days, the last hour was the only hour he had.
The head librarian set the yellow page on the desk. "The board meets tonight," she said. "They want to hear from people who use this place."
A little boy ran up and held out a book with a train on the cover. "Can we read this next week?" he asked Mrs. Ruiz.
Owen picked up the yellow page. At the top were two boxes. One said, close early. The other said, end story time.