Groovy Tunes, Tuesday

[furnaceface]

There had been a request from one of his students in class yesterday, did he know where she could get a guitar in town? And that had been fairly serendipitous, considering Jono happened to own the music store, and all.

Anyway, long story made short, Jonothon had offered to open the Groovy Tunes today so that Maria could look at the selection of instruments they carried over by the side wall. As he opened the shop, he kind of caught himself wondering if maybe the age of the CD was dead and gone and they should start just specializing in instruments and equipment with a selection of vinyl to feed his own addiction, but that was a short-lived thought. If a town this size, centered mostly around a high school, could support two bars, he could keep selling CDs in the age of the mp3, blast it.

The Groovy Tunes was open, and Jono was putting his Now Hiring sign out in the window on a whim while he was at it.

[OOC: OCD-free! Slowplay in a couple hours when I head off to the animation mines, but I'll be around in the evening, too.]

Comments

[candycrushlove]

Maria probably got to the store far earlier than was necessary, but to be fair, she was really excited. Not only did her teacher own a music store where she could get a guitar, he had offered to let her play something on the Taylor. The Taylor!

She couldn't wait to tell Alex back home all about it.

Once she couldn't wait any longer, she entered the store and started looking around.

"I foresee a lot of my money being spent here."

[furnaceface]

//Trust me,// Jono replied, nodding an amused hello as she made her way in, //nobody knows how much of a money sink this place is better than me, luv.//

Just ask Hannibal.

//I hope the wait wasn't too unbearable since yesterday? I imagine there's plenty of things to poke around at while getting settled in on the island, but it's been, er, a few years since I was that new, myself.//

And there was actually a bit less island, at the time.

[candycrushlove]

"I managed to keep myself distracted until today," she said with good humor.

She may have called her best friends back home to tell them about her first class and how she was pretty sure that nothing else on the island was going to measure up to her class and her teachers.

"I took some time to walk along part of the beach after class," she admitted. "It's so different here than in New Mexico."

[furnaceface]

//I can only imagine,// Jono replied, nodding faintly. //I've done enough travel to be able to guess how jarring it would be to go from desert to a small island in the Atlantic like that. It's not half so bad for me here, being from London, but I did spend several months in the mountains in deep winter once...//

Never again, please.

[candycrushlove]

"I can't imagine being in the mountains in the middle of deep winter. Even when it gets cold in Roswell, it's nothing like most places and their winters." She smiled. "My best friends back home, Liz and Alex, are already jealous that I'm going to school on an island and with a nice beach."

She hadn't had the description of Groovy Tunes on hand to give them, yet.

[furnaceface]

//Well, maybe they'll have an opportunity to see the place, someday. The school does occasionally do a sort of open house event for any friends or family who might want to see what it is you've been up to. Not quite the same as living and learning here, of course.//

Nothing in the world was quite like living and learning here, really.

[candycrushlove]

"I'll have to be careful with that because if my mom ever finds out that my roommate is a guy she will probably lose her mind a little bit."

She'd had a hard time believing that Michael had spent that one night and had never tried anything, after all.

"Alex, on the other hand, might try to stay."

Especially after seeing this place.

[furnaceface]

//Wouldn't blame anybody for wanting to,// Jono mused, after a moment. //And if you need me to do a little... creative truth embellishing, as a teacher, I can absolutely do that. I know Fandom High isn't exactly what most parents would consider a conventional school.//

Lying. He was offering to lie.

//... Unless hearing my voice at all would be problematic. I can fake that I know sign language almost passably, these days.//

[candycrushlove]

"My mom sent me here because it wasn't a conventional school, but I'm pretty sure that she has no idea just how unconventional it is." She shook her head. "Hearing your voice wouldn't be problematic, she'd probably think it was something that you were doing for her benefit."

Her mom could be a little bit odd, but Maria loved her dearly.

[furnaceface]

Jono tilted his head for a moment at that, and then blinked and decided he might as well venture, //Just what is your version of New Mexico like, anyway? You get many telepaths there?//

These were perfectly normal questions to ask around here. Of course they were.

[candycrushlove]

"Aliens, Alien hunters, corrupt FBI agents and show people that do all kinds of crazy things to become famous at any of the UFO conventions." She tilted her head. "Have you ever heard of Roswell, New Mexico?"

[furnaceface]

//The place has a bit of a reputation in most realities, I think,// Jono replied, a little wryly. //Where I'm from, it's less 'UFO conventions,' and more, 'so, I guess some of our students are alien royalty, now? Was bound to happen sooner or later, I suppose.'//

And Kubark was... definitely a student, alright.

//... Not much different from here, actually. I think you'll fit in fine.//

She already seemed to be!

//So, aliens are still a fairly underground presence, there? If you've got conventions and people hunting for them and so on.//

[candycrushlove]

Maria bit her lip. She didn't want to lie to Mr. Starsmore of all people, but she also didn't want to betray Michael and the others back home.

"The ones that believe that they're aliens are mostly low key. It's the ones that are convinced that they're on a mission to destroy humanity that you have to watch out for."

Humans in Roswell or that haunted the conventions could be very weird.

[furnaceface]

Well, in fairness, she'd only just met Jonothon yesterday. He wouldn't blame anybody for not wanting to spill the beans right off the bat, especially if it would put somebody in danger.

//... Ah,// he said, with a little nod that suggested that he'd had some experience with that sort of mindset, himself. //I can see how that might complicate things. Particularly if people take that 'mission to destroy' thing to heart and decide that, say, it isn't just an enthusiastic but dangerous handful, so much as... well.. everybody who's playing alien, whether they actually are out to kill or not.//

That was an excellent way for a few stupid jerks to make it easier for an already bigoted world to hate and fear everyone, right there. Humanity wanted an excuse.

//All it ever takes is a few fanatics. Fear does the rest.//

[candycrushlove]

She nodded. "Group of people who turn into fanatics are some of the scariest things that I believe have ever been created or whipped up."

She gave a sudden shake of her head and a smile. She hadn't meant to make the conversation go in such a downer of a direction. Not when she was in an amazing music store.

"So... I see that you appear to be hiring employees?"

Subtle, Maria. Very subtle.

Not.

[furnaceface]

They were especially scary when they had the power to back that fanaticism up.

Jono needed a moment to shift gears, which he took by stealing a quick glance toward the sign that he'd put out himself, not long ago.

//As a matter of fact, we are,// he agreed, and when he looked back her way, his own mood had lightened considerably. //You've got an interest in working here, then? I do currently only have somebody to cover Thursdays for me, and I typically come in on Saturdays, but I'm fairly flexible, there. Somebody willing to take another shift off my hands would actually be quite welcome.//


[OOC: Feel free to pick a day! Thursday is already spoken for, and I have somebody who's put Monday on hold, but any other day of the week is wide open!]

[candycrushlove]

Maria's mood had also lightened again.

"I do have an interest in working here," she agreed with a smile. "Who wouldn't want to work here?" She looked around the store for a moment from where she was and then turned her gaze back to Jono. "Tuesdays and Fridays," she asked hopefully. "Back home I worked at the diner every day after school so two days a week is not a heavy load for me with classes."

Please, Jono, oh please.

[furnaceface]

Jono blinked. A teenager who wanted to work? Maria was quickly working her way up his list of students he held a fair bit of respect for, now.

//Both days? Well, I don't see why not,// he replied, thoughtfully. //I don't exactly have a flock of people running here to work, so you're not taking the shift out from under somebody else's nose or anything. If it gets to be too much, or if somehow I do get a small stampede of people looking for work here, there's always the option to re-negotiate.//

Jono was pretty easy, that way.

//You'd get the employee discount, and first claim on any new music that comes in. Hell, if there's anything in particular you'd like me to put on order, just let me know and I'll be happy to do so. The system here is fairly straightforward. Basic cash register. Music sorted by genre, then band or artist name, then album name, that sort of thing. The stereo sometimes has a mind of its own, but that's typically just a minor inconvenience, at worst.//

[candycrushlove]

Two days was nothing compared to her schedule at the Crashdown and she liked the idea of having a paycheck and working so that she didn't need to ask her mom for money while she was here or dip into her savings. Her savings that she hoped one day to use to make a demo CD to shop around.

"That's great and yes, I would always be open if you needed to re-negotiate my schedule for some reason. And the sorting is just like how I have my music organized at home so that part will be like second nature."

Sorry, Frank. You had the alcohol, Maria was going to fill up her side of the room with a stereo and music.

She gave Jono a grin. "Does the employee discount apply to instruments, too?"

It was only natural she asked since she wanted her guitar very badly.

[furnaceface]

//Instruments like, say, a guitar today?// Jono was doing that eye-smiling thing again. //Absolutely. For other instruments in the future, I'd like for you to talk to me about it first. Some I'm practically selling at cost, since they were so difficult to get here in the first place. But all the records and songbooks and things like strings and picks, go nuts, luv.//

[candycrushlove]

"A guitar today would definitely be something I would like to go back to the dorms with me," Maria confirmed. "And sure, I'll do that. Even if I wasn't going to be working here, I'd want to talk to you about future instruments if I wanted to learn them bad enough. Is there a particular acoustic guitar that you would recommend that I can probably afford?"

[furnaceface]

//Well, I suppose that depends on your budget,// Jono pointed out, //though I've got an Ibanez in that's got a nice sound to it, and it's one of the handful that isn't creeping over the $200 mark.//

He nodded to the far wall, the one with a few guitars on display on it.

//There are some Fenders and Yamahas, if those are more up your alley. I'm a bit biased toward Fender, but that's almost entirely a nostalgia thing, admittedly.//

[candycrushlove]

Maria was going to ask ab out trying the Ibanez when she spotted the blue Fender in the display. She liked Fenders, but this was the first time she had seen a blue one and the entire instrument looked gorgeous.

"Mr. Starsmore," she said with a question in her voice. "May I see if that blue Fender feels right?" If it felt good and right in her hands, she knew that she wanted it. She'd dip into her savings account for that one.


[[OOC: Hope it was okay to mod that was there?]]

[furnaceface]

Jono turned a brief glance toward the guitar in question, and then, recognizing it as one that he had been talking himself out of buying just the other day, gave a pleased little nod.

//By all means, luv. And please, call me Jono. Formalities always sat a little weird with me. Make me feel old.//

As if he didn't already feel plenty old as it was. Honestly.

[[OOC: By all means! Mod to your heart's content! The stock is pretty vague on purpose for just that reason. Nothing particularly large-- No grand piano or anything, but the instruments and the music stock are all absolutely moddable.]]

[candycrushlove]

"Jono it is, then," she nodded as she waked over to the guitars and looked at the Fender before carefully taking it down and fitting it against her. It was obvious that she knew how to handle the instrument and even holding it was done with a kind of reverence.

"It's gorgeous and it feels almost perfect in my hands."


[[OOC: Thank you! I came across a pic and knew that Maria would want it]]

[furnaceface]

//I can grab a pick for you, if you'd like to give it a play,// Jono offered. //Or you can fingerpick if you prefer, whatever makes you happy. Little sense in bringing it home because it fits well if you find you don't like how it sounds.//

Shamelessly enabling? Absolutely, yes.

[candycrushlove]

"I play both ways," Maria murmured absently as she was already starting to to move her fingers along the strings to see how it sounded. She adjusted the tuning a little and then started playing one of her favorite songs.

Old and Wise by Alan Parsons Project.

Having a hippy for a mom meant you knew music from all kinds of genres and sources.

[furnaceface]

Jono knew music from all kinds of genres and sources mostly because he was a huge music nerd. It didn't take him long to place to song at all, though it wasn't his usual fare, and he found himself nodding along.

... So much as it was a song that one could really nod along to, granted.

//That song must be at least a couple of years older than you are,// he noted, appreciatively. //You've got an appreciation for more than just the new and popular, then?//

That would be helpful, when working in a music store. And was probably something he should have asked earlier, for that matter. Oops.

[candycrushlove]

"I love all kinds of music," Maria said, still holding the guitar to her. It felt perfect for her and it sounded perfect. She had found her new love. "It's one of the many things my mom has instilled in me -- popular doesn't always mean best. I know music better than I know most things."

[furnaceface]

Best. New. Student.

Jono was nodding appreciatively at that. He always loved meeting people who got that there was value in the old as well as the new, and the obscure as well as the popular.

//Then you'll be an excellent addition to our staff,// he decided. //And it's good to have you aboard. Have you made up your mind about the Fender, then?//

Going by the way she was clutching to it...

[sharp_as_knives]

If Hannibal were ever asked, he would point out that there was no such thing as too much music, and thus it was very lucky he'd had built enough storage for a music collection more than twice as large as he'd needed at the time.

He was going to need to add more.