I've Gone Bad For Him (A Strokes Fan Fiction)

Chapter 21: "Dammit, Nirvana!"

 We finished our pizza, and continued talking. Mom left us alone like she was good at doing. Eventually it got dark, and around five, Julian's mother called.

 "Hello Melody, is Julian there?" She must've been worried.

 "Yes he is, do you want to talk to him?" I always tried to be casual with Julian's mother, she was a lovely person, but her beauty really intimidated me. 

 "No, that's all right, but if you can, please tell him to come home, we have company. Thank you Melody, I'll talk to you some other time."

 I hung up and told Julian he had to leave. He simply hugged and kissed me goodbye, and I watched him pull out of my tiny driveway. Mom soon came out of her hiding place, asking me if Jules was gone.

 "Yeah, his mom called. What's up with you?" We both sat down on either side of the table. She avoided eye contact with me, rubbing her eyes and picking at her fingernails. She yawned before answering, "The divorce was finalized yesterday. Custody wasn't a problem because you're seventeen. You're with me, of course. Or by yourself, you're old enough to make the decision."

 "Is that why I found you passed out by yourself?" I chuckled to reassure her that I was joking.

  She shrugged. "That was for a few reasons. You gonna leave me home alone again?" I sadly nodded. "Yeah, sorry. I gotta go to Matt's. Late shift just for today. Cammy's out in Wisconsin or  something. Sorry." Cammy was a girl that worked at the record store with me. I didn't know her very well, but we cross path's when I'm leaving at six and she's coming in.

 I stood up to get ready for the shift, not doing much with my hair, leaving it up in a bun. The store didn't have a uniform or anything, I just had to wear a name-tag and a stupid promotional pin that was replaced with a new one every month. That month's was Cindy Lauper's holiday album or something.

 I wore the jeans that Mitch, the owner's son, my manager, said looked good on me. I paired that with a plain navy blue long sleeve T-shirt. I touched on some make-up and earrings,(never forget to accessorize) and was soon out the door with a coat,my purse and an umbrella. Manhattan was also very unpredictable, so pepper spray was a must. I drove my mom's car.

 It was slightly unsettling to drive downtown in the dark, also at rush hour. Fortunately I was aware of the traffic at this time so I made sure to leave early. No wonder Cammy was always late.

 The sign was big and lit up with many neon lights, the letters spelling out "Matt's Music" and a treble clef. I parked in the lot next door. Inside of the building I could see rows of vinyls, CD's and tapes. There was only one customer in there, and the only employee was Mitch who was sitting with his feet up on the desk, reading Rolling Stones Magazine. How typical.

 The door jingled when I opened it, causing the only two heads in the room to turn to my direction. The customer turned his attention back to his rack of records and Mitch pulled his feel off the desk in surprise.

 "Hey, Mel," he turned back to his magazine. I peeled off my coat and set down my bag by the chair next to him.

 "They've got you working around the clock!" I laughed at him and he smirked tiredly.

 "Yeah," he said sadly, "rent's gotta get paid somehow. And my old man's not one for lending money. Or helping at all." He shrugged and flicked the pages in his hands. I put my hands on my hips and looked around the store, remembering there was old records needing to be put up on the sale rack. I lazily dodged the aisles to the back area of the room, picking up a box and carrying it over to the rack.

 Mitch saw what I was doing and rushed over to help out. He grabbed another box and took it to the other side of the rack, just across from me,about a meter away. The door jingled again as the lone customer walked out. I began casually stacking the vinyls. I watched Mitch's head bob up and down, his short blonde hair moving with the air.