slow burn // derek discanio

one

Albany

"Max, hands to your self!"
I tugged at the leash as I led my golden retriever away from an innocent victim of his licking attacks. The other Central Park patrons scowled at me, but I just laughed at Max's friendly personality.

I got Max from the rescue shelter the day after I moved into my apartment in New York City, and ever since then we have gone on daily walks through Central Park. So many city dogs never get to breathe in the outside or interact with other dogs, and I wanted to make sure Max was not one of those dogs.

We were soon back to my apartment building located very close to the park. As soon as I unleashed Max, he just sat sadly at the window longing to go another walk as I got dressed to go to work.

"Sorry, Maximilian," I said, giving him a good scratch behind the ears. "I'll miss you!"

Sadly, I've become so lonely that I rely on my dog for conversation. Yes, most people talk to their dogs, but I literally have nobody else to talk to. Unfortunately, all my friends are back in Michigan and I'm afraid that they are not missing me too much. I love my friends and hanging out with them, but I always feel like if I was gone, they wouldn't be that upset about it.

I greeted the doorman as I walked out into the beautiful streets of New York. It was only eight blocks away to get to the comforting atmosphere of Harley's Music Co., the store I work at. One section of it is all records and CDs and cassettes, one section is instruments, and in between is a cute little stage where smaller bands come to play. I love to see how small bands can still attract such devoted fans, even if there are only a few. The relationship between these bands and their fans is much different than with larger bands.

The door rang its familiar bell as I walked in, and I noticed that a band was playing tonight called State Champs. I had never heard of them but the poster advertised them as being pop punk. Pop punk bands were always my favorite.

"Albany!" my coworker, Jonah, exclaimed from across the store.

Jonah is one of my favorite guys at Harley's because even though I had only been here for a few weeks, he already had made me feel so welcome. He is the type of person that you instantly feel comfortable around and I feel like I can tell him anything. Plus, he has the cutest little kids who love running around the store.

"Hi Jonah!" I called back to him while I walked into the back room and set my backpack on the usual shelf that looked like it could collapse at any given moment. Haley was in the corner making her usual coffee in her Harry Potter mug. She is also so cool to be around. She's got purple hair and doesn't care what anybody thinks about anything she does. I wish I could have an attitude like hers.

"Albany! That band that's playing tonight is moving their stuff in here in an hour, and I heard they are super cute!" Haley informed me. She is engaged, so she is constantly on the lookout for eligible bachelors for me. As much as she loves her fiancé, I think she misses the browsing.

"I'll keep an eye out," I laughed. "Thanks for the heads up." Luckily I looked particularly put-together with jeans, a black lacy tank top, and my hair nicely curled. My typical work uniform was a t-shirt and leggings, so this was an accomplishment.

Most of the morning was spent in the back room organizing new records when I came across a State Champs vinyl. I always liked to listen to incoming bands before they played here, so Jonah let me open the record to play it. I popped the record onto the store's player behind the register and an upbeat song overtook the store's sound system. I returned to my work and lost track of time tightening drum heads when Jonah called over to me, "So what do you think of State Champs?"

My back was turned to him so I shrugged. "They're pretty good. As long as they're not assholes, I think I may become a fan."

An unfamiliar laugh sounded from behind me. I whipped my head around to see several guys carrying in equipment, smiling to themselves.