Until We Meet Again // H.S. AU

III. Good Tunes

(song: naive by the kooks)

I love mornings. I love waking up at six o'clock and looking at the sun rise and watching the world wake up, one person at a time. It's all so peaceful, the hours I get to myself before my parents wake up. I never understood why people get up around noon. They miss the different colors that change in the sky as it changes from dark to light, they miss the peace and quiet of the world all sleeping in sync, they miss the distant sound of birds chirping and slowly arising as well.

I walk to the kitchen as I do each morning, starting my day off by making some tea. As the water boils over the stove, I go to the bathroom and freshen up. I brush my teeth, take a quick shower, and brush my straight, ombré style hair out. My natural hair color is light brown, but I dyed it to fade into a platinum blonde and I have to admit, it looks pretty good considering I did it myself. I always do my hair myself, I could never trust a stranger to go near my head with scissors and chemicals. It's too risky.

By the time I'm done, I hear the pot of water begin to hiss and make my way back to the kitchen. I love starting the day off with a warm chamomile tea as I sit on the porch outside and watch the day begin in front of me. It's just a routine for me to start every day this way.

I look at the screen of my phone for the time; 7:23. I get up and put my mug in the kitchen sink and wash it, aware of the fact that I'll be punished if I ever leave any of my dirty dishes in the sink. I go back down the hall to my bedroom to get my purse. Taking my earbuds out and playing music, I get ready for today and walk to Good Tunes.

"Naive" by The Kooks starts to play and I mindlessy make my way down the path I now have memorized; I could walk to and from Good Tunes backwards with my eyes closed if I wanted to. Actually that sounds like a cool idea... I'm going to try that one day.

I finally make it to Good Tunes at eight o'clock sharp, right on time.

"Rennie!" Steve exclaimed when he saw me as he held his arms out.

"Give me some sugar!" He shouted and ran up to me and gave me a hug. I couldn't help but laugh as I hugged him back. Steve's gotta be the funniest person on this planet.

"Stevie!" He loosens his tight embrace and I go around the counter to settle down.

"How'd you sleep last night, Rennie-poo?" I cringe at the nickname he made up for me but answer anyway.

"I slept great. What about you, Stevie-pie?"

"I slept like a beautiful baby, thank you for asking." I laugh at his response, he never fails to brighten my mood.

"Now stop slacking off, I don't pay you to just sit around there!" Steve mock-scolds me and I laugh even more as he pretends to be serious. Steve isn't the serious type, he's more playful and just a carefree person that can make anyone laugh without even trying. Eventually, he laughs with me but he stops soon and goes behind the shop to work in his office. It barely qualifies as an office, it's more like a large supply closet. But he makes it work for him. I don't even know what he does in there. I'm pretty sure he just sleeps all day and occasionally makes calls for new orders for the shop.

At around ten, a couple customers come in the shop, but no one needs my help so I continue making a new playlist to play throughout the day in the store of my favorite songs at the moment. Something--well, someone--catches my eye outside of the shop. A girl with blonde, bouncy curls is tugging on who I assume is her boyfriend's arm and pointing to the shop, clearly saying, "Look, there's a music store right here!"

Oh God, why does she seem so excited? She seems around my age, why is she so eager to find a music store? There are quite a few around here, they're not that difficult to find. I continue attempting to eavesdrop on their conversation, even though I can't hear through the glass windows, and can only make out what the girl is saying because her boyfriend is facing away from the shop.