The Broken Soundtrack

Track 1: Yellow

If no one would come in after half an hour, I just might go insane. I missed hearing the faint ring of the bell. The muffled whoosh of warm air from the heating system tried to creep in my ears, but other than that, silence engulfed the walls of the store. I heaved a sigh, fixing the name tag pinned on the left side of my collared shirt uniform, its dark yellow colour emphasising my natural tanned skin.

I had never worn an employee uniform in my nineteen years of existence. Mom didn't want me to work while studying. She said she could just wire me money whenever I needed it, but I wanted to be independent this time. When I finally left her in Maui to move to Moss Vale for college, I asked my Aunt Claire to help me find a job. Hence, I got the privilege to stand in front of the cash register all day in a not-so-busy convenience store.

I almost jumped on my post when the bell rang from the door, signalling me that someone just entered the store. Lifting my head to greet the customer, I caught sight of his dirty blonde locks hiding from his black cap. I could only see his back from where I stood, but I could tell from his fitted black shirt that he was one of those guys who spent a lot of time in the gym.

I watched the guy wander around the aisles, as if trying to search for something he couldn't find. He had this grimace on his face, which clearly suggested frustration, if not anger.

When he suddenly looked my way, I gulped, grains of sand slipping down my throat. His eyes locked on mine as he made his way towards the counter. I had little to no time to hide from the angry customer, so instead of letting the cold sweat get the better of me, I decided to stay put and prayed I wouldn't stutter.

"H-Hi... how can I... help you?" Of course, I failed.

I craned my neck to meet his eyes, its icy hue sending a shiver up my spine. He took off the cap over his head and ran a hand through his messy locks. I willed myself to look away, but I couldn't. My eyes kept on going back to his blue orbs. They were beautiful. He was beautiful.

"Don't you have an electric razor here?" His frustrated voice brought me back to my senses as I noticed the growing stubble running through his jaw-line. I understood his desperation to shave it off, but I must say, he still looked effortlessly good with it. "Hey!"

I blinked. "S-Sorry. I'll just..." Dropping my gaze from him, I fidgeted on the screen in front of me to check for the inventory. Unfortunately, the last one was sold few days ago. "We only have the disposable ones left at the moment."

His brows creased in the middle. "What? Is Clyde here?" His question caught me off guard. How did he know the name of the shop's owner?

"Clyde is..." I hesitated, contemplating on whether I should answer him. "... he's not here right now."

"Where is he?" he answered in a rather pissed tone, his brows still furrowed.

"I'm... not sure if I should tell customers about the owner's whereabouts. I'm sorry..." I looked down, not wanting to speak another word to him.

"Fuck! I'll just get two packs of M&L then," he finished, fishing out his phone from his pocket.

I ignored his curse, took a pack of cigarette from behind me and scanned it. I didn't really think this guy was a smoker and alcoholic. But as old folks would say, looks could be deceiving. "That would be... 22 dollars."

I watched him tap his phone over the card machine and mumbled, "Thank you."

He just lifted his chin and slipped the pack of cigar in his jeans pocket. I sighed, relieved that he was finally gone. It felt like a truckload of bricks was lifted from my shoulders after dealing with that guy. I surprisingly got through the day without having to deal with another rude customer who knew the shop's owner.