Limelight

Alonzo and Paizley: Jobs

(I gave a very subtle hint at this in the 'Dog' Limelights~

This was actually inspired by a Phineas and Ferb scene. My voice headcanon for Alonzo is Jaret Reddick, the lead singer of Bowling For Soup and also the voice of Danny (of Love Handel) in P&F. I was rewatching the clip of his first appearance and I couldn't help imagining Al in that scene, in his music shop. So this happened

I have (possibly) one more Limelight to post before the future fic starts sometime in the next couple of days. Make sure you're keeping an eye on krut09's YouTube channel, Kreatable23, as well...!)

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The thought had been sitting in the back of his mind ever since his mom had talked about whether or not they could afford a pet. She had said something about zombies his age not being able to work for pay. That got Alonzo thinking (which Zephyr and the others found slightly concerning).

It had been so disappointing to hear that he couldn't afford to have a dog of his own, and although he appreciated seeing Zipper as often as he did, he was still jealous of Lindzey for having him at all.

And it would be so much better if he didn't have to depend on Paizley or Bonzo for new equipment that wasn't even new – it was all old junk, really, that they'd managed to salvage and fix up. It'd be a dream come true to be able to buy an actual, brand new, professionally-made guitar. And an amp...

Plus, Al was fascinated by hair dye. Dyeing hair hadn't ever been a popular trend in Seabrook before, where unnatural hair colours were seen as too similar to zombies and were therefore 'bad', but lately things were changing and some of the human kids were experimenting with different colours. Zephyr had reminded Alonzo that zombie hair didn't dye, but then Al heard about hair chalk and coloured hairsprays that were meant to wash out straight away, and dammit, he wanted red streaks.

... But he had no money...

– LIMELIGHT –

With some careful encouragement from her parents, as well as from Zed, Zane and Bonzo, Paizley had been gradually working on her coping skills with being around humans.

Since Zed had joined the football team, she had always made the effort to go to his games and support him, as long as her mom and dad, or on occasion, Zane, were there to help her if she got anxious. The homecoming game had been a major bump in the road in more ways than one, but she was trying.

The block party had been a pretty good thing for her. She was in her hometown, where she felt comfortable, but still around humans. Humans who, now that some real progress was being made, were treating the zombies with a lot more respect and consideration. She stuck mostly with Zane and Rizzo, since Zed was practically hosting the whole thing. So maybe Paizley wasn't interacting with any humans herself all that much, she was there, and that was a big deal for her.

Sometimes, she would take a walk around Seabrook with her mom or dad when it was quiet, pulling her wagon behind her just in case she came across anything of interest, which rarely happened; the humans liked to keep their streets perfectly clear.

The next step was being on her own around humans...

– LIMELIGHT –

When they started going to Seabrook High, the zombies learned that some of the teenaged humans had part-time jobs, so they had their own money to spend instead of relying on their families, and to give them a little experience for the future. Zombie teens didn't have that option.

Until about three months after the cheer championship, when an announcement was made: zombies aged from sixteen to twenty-one could now work part-time, too. For a lower minimum wage than the humans could earn, that is. But they could earn their own money. Before that, Zane had been the only one of them who had a job, and that was in his family's business, which he didn't get paid for.

Alonzo's sixteenth birthday was coming up.

For a while now, Al had been walking past one particular music store and just staring through the window at the guitars on display until Zephyr, Zach or Roz had to forcibly remove him before any employees got too suspicious – there was a 'no zombies' sign clearly visible on the door. The day that sign disappeared, Al's interest was piqued. Then it was replaced with a 'zombies welcome' sign and he eagerly pulled Zephyr closer, begging him to come take a look around with him until he agreed. Zach and Roz weren't far behind. Although they couldn't afford much, all four of them could have spent hours in there just browsing.

Three days before his birthday, Al asked if they were hiring. And they were. He applied and just over a week later, he was told he got the job. So Monday to Thursday after school, Alonzo was working at the music store.

He chose to ignore that he probably got it because they could pay him less than a human. It was still something.

– LIMELIGHT –

Paizley was already eighteen by the time they were granted permission to work, and it seemed like a good opportunity to get more accustomed to being around humans, but she was still nervous. But one of her friends now had a job of their own in Seabrook – Alonzo.

She was done with schoolwork for the day and went out for her usual slow walk with her wagon until she decided to brave the humans' side of the barrier for the sake of meeting Al after work. She wanted to ask him about it.

He just happened to be leaving as she approached the music store and he stopped and smiled when he saw her.

"Hey, Paiz!" he greeted once he was closer and he fell into step beside her, "What are you doing here? I didn't think you ever came this far into town on your own."

Paizley shrugged and sighed, "Testing my boundaries a little, I guess?" she replied, "And I wanted to ask you about something."

"About what?"

"Do you think I should get a job?" she always went straight to the point, "You actually know what it's like."

"Why ask me? Why not Zane? He's basically had a job since he was tall enough to see over the stand."

"He works in Zombie Town. You work in Seabrook."

Al stopped in his tracks, "You wanna work in Seabrook?"

Paizley stopped, too, and nodded, "Yeah. Maybe."

"... With humans?"

"I need to get used to humans. Seems like a good way to do it," she explained, "D'you think I could handle it?"

"Maybe," he started walking again and she followed, "If you find the right job. Music's my whole thing so that was the obvious choice for me."

Paizley thought for a moment, "My whole thing is... old stuff, I guess. Like, history and technology and that sort of thing. I dunno what I can do with that."

"Hm..." Al cocked his head, also thinking. They were both quiet for a while, in their own heads, then he looked at her, "Do you think Seabrook has, like, thrift shops for something...?"

"... Did you just have an idea?"

"... I think so?"