It's May 1st. That means 90 days until I'm on a plane, packed up and getting the hell out of here. It's not that I don't like Nashville, it's just... Okay, maybe that's part of it, but not the entire story. Let me start from the beginning...
I'm Margo. Margo Meyer, if we're being formal. If it's that integral to the story, I'm 23 years old, I've spent my entire life in Nashville, Tennessee and not to bore you too much, but I like coding websites and reading decrepit old novels in my spare time. My whole life I've spent in the south, just surrounded by nothing that I could relate to and nothing that I enjoy. Country music? Nope. Cowboys? Nope. The south? No thanks. Don't get me wrong, it's been comfortable. Knowing everyone, going to the same places I've gone to since I was little. That's all fine and dandy, but what about everything else in this world? It's fascinating to me, the fact that so many of us see screens full of beautiful cultures and monuments, new happy places waiting to be explored, and new people to meet, but we choose to stay in homes and cities that are really all we've ever known or ever seen? I'd go fucking mad if I had to stay in one place for the rest of my life. The entire world is out there, waiting on a silver platter for us to explore and love it up. How much more beautiful does it get?
In the past, it was always easier for me to stick around Nashville and be close to my friends and parents, even when I felt in my soul that I needed to escape. My parents supported me (financially more than emotionally) and encouraged me to stay in Nashville for college, so I did. My best friends and I all went to the same school, so nothing changed there. Things were good. Things were the same as I've always known them to be.
Well, all of that has gone down the (pardon my French)... shitter.
People change. I can't blame them, I really can't, but they do. Even I did, I think. By senior year of college, my high school best friends became distant college acquaintances, visions of where I wanted to be clouded my mind day by day as I was stuck in an unfulfilling life of trying to just stay afloat with everything going on in my life just crumbling around me and my favorite places became permanently tainted with the knowledge of my parents' (ugly) divorce. When you find out the man who was supposed to always be there for you turns out to be a cheat and a massive prick, that childhood every-Sunday-morning diner just isn't the same. Hell, even my mother left her Nashville days behind, and she's finally getting her turn to live for herself. My sweet mother is truly thriving in Palm Beach, which isn't exactly my vision of the perfect place, but at least she's being her own woman. That's all I can hope for.
It's my turn now. My turn to fucking leave for good and finally be on my way to somewhere where I can just... be me. I have plans, and lots of them. Lots of them, and exactly how I want them to go. I won't let anything get in the way of what I want my life to look like, and no distractions can mess up the fact that it's my turn. All I have to do is make it through the next 90 days.
Every summer since I was 17, I've worked at the same place, Luna's Bookshop in the Gulch. The owner, appropriately named Luna, has been a family friend since before I was even born. She'd probably of had me working for her right when I learned to speak, if it were possible! Luna has always been like a second mother to me, and I had to finish out my last season here not just for my sake, but for hers. It's great to see her everyday now that my mom moved to Florida. Luckily for me, I have a one-way ticket to Seattle, Washington on August 1st. Seattle is the tech capital of the country, and it's where I want and need to be. You'd probably never guess I'd be the engineering type and you aren't the first person to be confused by that, but here we are. I studied Computer Science at Vanderbilt University, and it's the most rewarding thing I've accomplished in my life so far. How fucking boring am I? Even though computers and coding is what I love to do, I can appreciate the finer things in life like literature and music, hence why I still come here every summer. My days are spent how I want, often finding myself head down in a new book that's come in the shop or listening to new albums on a daily basis. It's mindless fun and keeps me entertained for hours.
Today is no different, except maybe a little toastier that I'd like it to be in May... It's absolutely blazing hot this afternoon, so I've got the door open, our big fan on and Billie Eilish playing on the speakers. It's actually not too bad. We usually have customers in and out pretty steadily throughout the day, and even more with tourists in the summer. I smile slightly as I look around the small shop and take note of who's in here at the moment. I sit down on a wooden stool behind the cash register, right in the center of the shop.
"Can you help me find Harry Styles?" this young girl asks me, peering up at me with her hand on the counter, her parents smiling behind her. "Of course I can. Are you a big fan of his?" I ask, smiling and leading her over to the alphabetized album section, right to S-T. We only have a couple copies left, it's been selling out like hot cakes and we keep ordering new copies week after week.
"Yes, I'm his absolute biggest fan!" She says, grinning from ear to ear as I hand her the cd. I laugh, unable to understand what's it's like to be a fan of his...
"Yeah, he's alright..." I say, turning to walk back to the register, the girl and her parents following along. she hands me the cd, I ring up the purchase and tuck it into a brown paper bag. "Enjoy listening, come back and let me know which one was is your favorite song." I smile softly, handing the bag to the eager girl.
The rest of the afternoon drags on and on and on. Not many people, and not many more sales. Part of me is so bored that I actually might listen to the Harry Styles album, just to critique it.
I haven't ever gotten the hype about Harry Styles. He has this mystery about him that seems very self-involved, if you ask me. I was never even remotely interested. Even when I hear him on the radio, I change the channel. Thankfully, Luna comes in and interrupts my daydreaming and grumbling over Harry Styles, saving me from an hour of incoherent "love" songs.
"So, something big is happening!" She says cheerfully, urging me to stand up and grabbing my hands in hers, her grip tightening in joy. I laugh, standing up in front of her. "Uhh... Something big like what? Explain, stat." I insist.
"I got in touch with Columbia Records and guess who's coming to Nashville and doing a private album party right HERE?!" She nearly screams, which is never heard of coming from Luna.
I couldn't even begin to imagine who it is, but I do know that Columbia Records is a huge label, so it had to be someone who's pretty popular. "I have no clue!" I shrugged, my interest really piquing now.
But also... The first artist to ever perform at Luna's? She was right, this is huge. Whoever it is, I'm excited to meet them and see all of the new beginnings the show will bring to Luna's shop. She deserves it. Maybe it's her time to shine now, too.
"Harry Styles is performing here!" She squeals, nodding her head in excitement. My eyebrows raised at her response.
Ha. Fuck.
YOU ARE READING
NASH
FanfictionMargo had it all planned out, down to the very minute she'd finally be able to leave Nashville behind. All of its pain, memories and boring nothingness she's made of it for the last 23 years. She had her mind set and all she had to do was make it th...
