Where It All Began - Grojband

Chapter 2: Out and about.

Monday, May 29th

My curtains blow as I open my bedroom window. I take a moment to breath in the cool summer air as it fills the room. It's the perfect time to go out and look for a part-time job. There's nothing for me to do this summer, so why not make some extra money?

It's 6 in the morning; I had a difficult time sleeping last night, as the thought of meeting him again lingered in my mind.

The weather is quite nice. It's not too hot or too cold out, in fact, it has a perfect balance between the two. It's convenient that the town square is close to my street, and its a short enough walk that I don't need my car. Though it would be nice if I had a bicycle to ride on to make the trip a bit faster.

I roam through the streets of Peaceville. Everything is so familiar yet different. Some houses have been rebuilt and new shops have recently opened.

I reach the town square and decide to apply at the library first. It'd be nice to have a peaceful workplace environment all summer, and I've already prepared my resume last night.

At first sight, the library looks newly built but has an old feeling to it. The walls have beautiful patterns carved onto it, and I can tell somebody has put in a lot of work to make it look this detailed.

I enter the building. It looks bigger than I'd expected, and not much people are inside. There are many desks that fill one side of a wall with computers atop of each one.

I reach the checkup desk and find that the librarian is no where to be found. I look around and spot a boy on the ground searching for something.

A pair of glasses are on the floor next to him. I assume that they're his and hand it to him.

"Thanks for finding them; I swear I would've lost my mind if I hadn't found it!"

"No problem. Anyway, do you know where the librarian is?" I ask.

The boy places his glasses back on his face and looks up at me. "She's just out in the back to open up new books that were sent in, she'll be back soon. I suggest you wait for her at the front desk."

I smile. "Okay, thanks!" It'd be nice to make friends while I'm here, maybe I'll see some familiar faces. If I work here, then there's a possibility I can befriend him.

"Wait, do I know you?"

I spin back around to look at him. He does seem quite familiar...

"What's your name? I just need clarification if you're my old friend or not," he says.

"Laney, Laney Penn," I reply.

"Wait, Laney?! No way! You're back?" He exclaims. His voice echoes and everyone turns to look at us and the boy apologizes.

"What about you?" I question. "What's your name? I still don't know who you are."

"Don't you remember me? It's Kon!"

"Oh my gosh, Kon?!" I whisper yell.

Kon checks his watch. "There's only 5 minutes til I'm off. The boss said I could head off early since I pretty much did everything I needed to do for the week yesterday. We should go out to the café and catch up!"

"Sure, but are you hiring? I was hoping to find a part-time job here to earn some extra cash."

"Yeah, someone recently resigned and we need extra help next week, I'm sure it'll be easy for you to get in. All you need to do is hand in a genuine resume and you're pretty much in."

"Alright, thanks. It looks like your boss is at the front desk, so I'll be right back."

I hand my resume to the lady and Kon tells her he's leaving. We exit the building together.

"So, how long have you been back in town?"

"Since yesterday afternoon," I reply.

"Really? And you're already getting a job too!"

"Yeah, I don't have much to do this summer."

"That sucks. We should plan something then."

"We should, that seems fun. Anyway, enough about me. How have you been?"

"It's been kinda boring lately. Kin is in New York at an expedition showing off his new inventions and Corey has been too busy in his art studio working on a mural. I never have an idea of what that dude is up to these days."

The mention of him makes me bitter, but I'm curious to know how he had gotten into art.

"I've been alone lately. All of my other friends are off travelling."

We enter a café and sit in the seats bear the window.

"Are you guys still into music? What about the band?"

I hate talking about the band. It makes me think of Corey more, but this time, I feel it's worth it to ask.

"We disbanded a week after you left. It just didn't feel the same without you, Kin and I haven't done any music in a while. I don't know about Corey though."

"I see," I say, frowning. Had everyone quit music because of me?

Kon must've noticed the look on my face because he spoke up almost immediately.
"Don't worry Laney, we still continued music a little while after, but it was never altogether."

I decide to order some iced coffee and excuse myself.

Had everyone just drifted apart the days after I left? I thought they would've replaced me and kept the band thriving. Did I really make a big impact? I'm curious to know more, though I'm hesitant to ask Kon more, as the topic may be difficult to talk about.

"Order for Laney Penn!" I grab the iced coffee and return to my seat.

After a while, we decide to part ways, so we exchange each others numbers and say our goodbyes.

I think over the information Kon had given me as I walk back home. Apparently, Kin and Kon had started to talk to Corey less and less, but they still hung out from time to time. However, they didn't have much to talk about since music was out of the picture, and Kon thought it was too insensitive to bring it up in front of Corey, since he was the most serious about it.

Kon is saving up money to open up a bakery, because he's fond of making people smile whenever they try his treats. His cheesecake recipe is known to be the best in town, and he promised he would let me try some the next time we meet. I'm excited for that.