Bad Tastes

[holiday_pirner]

When Holly entered Tracks, the record store was mostly empty, save for a few people milling over some new releases. A Cinderella track was playing over the sound system, and strains of glam metal accompanied the brunette as she wandered over to the cassettes.

As she rifled through the Q's, trying to find a Queen album a friend had recommended, a movement in her periphery caught her eye. A boy, maybe in his mid-teens, was grasping a few tapes in his hand and acting twitchy.

Holly tilted her head, watching him closely. He was too busy looking out for store employees to notice her, until she pointedly cleared her throat. "Are you sure those are the ones you really want? I mean, if you're going to opt for the five finger discount, make it worth your while."

The brunette approached him, ignoring his surprised glare. She grabbed one of the tapes and held it up. "This one isn't too bad, but...is that Quarterflash?" Holly shook her head disapprovingly. "I think someone should call your parents just to warn them of their son's budding horrible taste in music."

He pulled away from her, grabbing the cassettes back. "Do you work here?"

Comments

[holiday_pirner]

Holly followed him, strangely satisfied at his reaction. Okay, so she hadn't meant to scare him or anything. But it was good to know she wasn't the only one new to rubbing shoulders with the...what? Supernatural? Holly supposed it was as good a term as any.

"Me too," the brunette replied matter-of-factly. "We have so much in common."

[brian_campo]

“I’m taking a break,” he called to his boss, who acknowledged the statement with a bored thumbs up.

Brian led Holly through a stockroom. It was cramped with half-empty boxes of casettes, a small table and four chairs for meals, and an assortment of trash bags full of Styrofoam peanuts. The air in there was stuffy, so when he opened the back door, the fresh air was a relief. He let the door slam shut and reached up, where a ladder extended off the fire escape. It rattled to the ground.

“Nobody goes up here,” he said. These days, he didn’t want to hang out in the alley. It seemed excessively dangerous.

[holiday_pirner]

"Ooh, I like climbing these."

Holly waited for him to go first. It wasn't until a breeze tousled her hair that she realized she still had the tapes in hand.

"I'm going to pay for these, promise."