𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗩𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 (𝙵𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝙱𝚡𝙱)

Track 13 | 𝗦𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁

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"That's basically everything you need to know," I told Ari as we chained our bikes to the rack on the sidewalk, just outside of the record store where he worked.

"I can't believe I thought it would take more than an hour to catch up on seven missed months of calculus," Ari scoffed, stepping onto the concrete and making his way towards the store. "Felt like it took less than fifteen minutes."

"I guess I have a way with words," I chuckled.

"Sure, you do," Ari winked, grabbing the door handle of the shop and opening it wide, gesturing me to walk in with his hand. I entered, the sound of soft radio rock playing over the speakers hitting me unexpectedly. The familiar record store was left the same way it was the last time I had visited. The only difference was that there were fewer customers.

"My guy, where have you been?!"

I turned to my left, noticing a cheetah—who looked about 20 years old—standing behind the counter by the register. He was leaning over and staring at me, which caused me to tense up a little.

"I had school, remember? I told you that I might be arriving later than usual from now on," Ari followed in behind me and closed the door, walking past me and heading over to the front counter where the cheetah was. I loosened up, realizing he wasn't singling me out.

"Oh, right," the cheetah remembered, standing back as Ari hopped up on the counter, using his hands to stabilize his body. He spun his legs around the table, careful not to knock anything off the countertop. Once he faced the other side of the counter, he hopped back onto the floor, standing up next to the cheetah. "Dude, there's an entrance over there, can you not?" The cheetah groaned.

"It's my shift now, get out of my spot," Ari teased, grabbing onto his chest and pushing him out from behind the counter through the same entrance the cheetah had mentioned.

I stood back as it all happened, wondering what to do and how to react.

"Alright, chill," the cheetah stumbled back, catching his balance as Ari chuckled. "So, uh... how did it go?"

"You don't have to pretend you're interested," Ari smirked, leaning up against the counter.

"I'm just glad you're getting an education," the cheetah got sentimental all of a sudden.

"Yeah, even though I was enrolled seven months into senior year."

"At least you have four months," the cheetah immediately dismissed, patting Ari on the back. "And eight, for the, you know." He then grabbed his keys from the counter and headed my way without looking. "Seeya, Ari."

He then bumped into me after facing the way he should've faced. "S-sorry," I stuttered, stepping aside as the cheetah passed by me, grabbing the handle of the door and leaving the store.

"Ari!" I heard another voice call, this one older and deeper. I looked ahead to see a tall moose, coming from the back of the store. "You're five minutes late."

"Oh, my god, I had school!" Ari groaned, tired of repeating his words.

"'I had school!'" The moose mocked Ari's voice with a high-pitch, making Ari exhale through his nose sharply. "I don't give a shit, okay? This is your school. Don't let it happen again." The moose turned around and walked away.

"Okayyyy," Ari dragged on jokingly, resting his head in his fists.

"Hey, what did I say about the attitude?" The moose chuckled as well as he called out, disappearing into the back of the store.