Anchor Grind (H.S. / A.U.)

Chapter 8

I have been hiding since the whole Ferris Wheel incident. I was nervous to end up in the same place as Clarissa and she decide I got off too easily. I hadn't hit up Anchor Grind at all and instead spent the week looking around town for a cool dog park to take Domino too. After two hopeful places we finally hit the jackpot. It was a little further away but when I rode the board and had Domino running next to me it only took us about fifteen minutes to get there.

Domino got to play with a giant boxer named Betty, a poodle named Candy, and a few other smaller dogs. By the time we were going to leave he was practically a puddle of heavy breathes and slobber.

I knew I had to be home at a decent hour today because it was going to be my first day of work with Heather from the record shop. She told me to come in early so she can show me around and explain everything.

Mom was super stoked I found a job and when dad came home he even surprised me by bringing home my favorite kind of pizza and ice cream to celebrate.

Poppy stopped by last night and she ate some of the remaining ice cream while we both sat in the backyard staring up at the stars while dipping our feet in the pool. She told me stories about how she and Niall met, the first time they really hung out, and all about why she likes him so much. It was really cute and I was happy for her, but a little jealous because I have never had those feelings with someone else. Poppy asked to come over tonight again but I warned her I had work and she could come over after but she told me she had some of her alternative school classes tonight.

With the information Clarissa spilled at the boardwalk the other night, and the time Liam had brought up Poppy being in a special school, I was really curious to know more but it didn't seem like it was something Poppy really was excited to talk about. I will wait till she is ready, even if it is eating me alive just wondering.

I got ready in record time when I noticed it was already five and I had to leave the house around five-thirty to make it to work on time. I change my clothes, add some mascara, eyeliner, and Chapstick before giving myself a look of approval in the mirror. I tell mom bye, grab a handful of Doritos and head out the door to get to work.

I rolled up to Seaside Vinyl's while narrowly avoiding some looks from people at Anchor Grind. Luckily the only person I saw was Niall and Louis but they were too engrossed in a conversation to notice me back.

"Hey honey." Heather greets me as I walk into the familiar feeling store. "Feel free to toss your backpack and board in the back. The door on the left is the employee area slash storage slash whatever type room. Also, make sure to decide what record or cd you want to take home this week so we can take it out of inventory!"

I look at the rusty yellow clock above a Ozzy poster on the wall to see it's only 5:51 so I take a quick walk through the aisles of vinyl's. I see a section for Country, pop, Broadway, classic, rock, pretty much anything you can think of. I decided for the first vinyl I needed to really pick something to broaden my horizons and get me interested in the appeal of this older style of music. I know this also means I need to buy a record player eventually.

Once I snag up a Judas Priest vinyl with a cool cover I bring it to Heather to show her my choice. Her beaming smile tells me I must have made a good choice and I stash it along with my stuff in the back room before readying up to work. "Okay, so what is it you want me to do?"

Heather teaches me how she organizes her inventory, gives me a spare set of keys she made that unlock the store, the backroom, and even the little side door that leads to the diner next door.

To me, this diner was more of a small town café vibe and I adored it. Heather introduced me to the café owner, it was a little old man named Walter who had more wrinkles than Domino had spots. I loved him instantly. His skin was a warm caramel tone and I couldn't tell if it was from being in the sun consistently or natural. His hair was mostly gone but the small parts that stuck were all grey and white.