I'd noticed her before. How could I not? Her figure a breathtaking crescendo of curves and curls; her thick, shoulder-length brown hair tinted whichever shade took her fancy that week; her round hazel eyes and scarlet lips bursting with the colours of an autumn dawn. She was stunning, a tie-dyed Rita Hayworth. As I walked into the packed library, I first noticed that this week's colour was a reddish-purple, and then that...