Celeste Amaryllis was passionate about music. She was into artists like The Smiths, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, all those 80’s, 90’s type music. Not that she would ever claim she was ‘born in the wrong era’, she loved Gracie Abrams and Sabrina Carpenter and the 2024 fangirl artists, too.

She loved all music, really. So when the old vinyl store in her small town, Kyles Ridge, was hiring, she jumped at the chance. The only person Celeste could ever remember working there was old Mr. Thomas, an only-God-knows-my-real-age man, and he was slowly deteriorating into his booze. She and her brother had practically lived at the store through junior year, so she knew everything about it, plus she could get her mother off her back about getting a job, plus she could help Mr. Thomas out. Win-win-win.

You hadn’t been living in Kyles for long. It was just, your dad had died and you had to move back in with your grandparents, who had lived in Kyles for as long as anyone could remember. So you moved to a small town where you knew no one, to finish off your senior year. So far, you’d been here for one full day, and it was Sunday. Your grandma encouraged you to ‘have a look around, dear!’

The main street area was pretty standard. Café, library, movie theatre, corner store. What intrigued you, though, was the dusty-looking record store, nestled in a corner of the street that made it feel very mysterious.

What really intrigued you as you entered the store, the little entry bell tinkling, was the girl at the counter.

She was pretty, with brown hair held back by star hair clips and sparkling green eyes. There was a black backpack next to her on the counter, so you could deduce she was a student, too, but more importantly, she was extremely pretty.

“Hey!” The girl smiled, but her eyes were obviously tired. “Welcome to Kyles Ridge Record Store. Can I help you?” That was what she had to say as a worker, but you could see the confusion in her eyes as she tried to figure out who the hell you are.