SHATTERED

one

alex

i let out a sigh as i rubbed at my temples. i glanced over at the kid, who seemed about sixteen or so. he had come into the guitar shop about ten minutes ago, looked around some, then asked if he could play one of the guitars.

i get that everybody starts somewhere, but fuck, he's ruining one of my favorite songs.

thankfully, he didn't play very long. he turned the amp off, unplugged the guitar, and within a few minutes came over to the counter, where i was sitting, to ask about buying it.

"how long have you been playing?" i asked as i got everything ready for him.

"uh, almost a year now," he answered. "i've been using one of my dad's old electrics. i started working a bit ago, and i've been saving up to get my own, so this is a big thing for me."

"well, this is a great guitar to start off with; it was one of my first," i told him. "so, i think it'll do you well. if you take care of it, it'll last you a good while, too."

i finished ringing him up. he thanked me, and he headed out the store.

i glanced around. there was only one customer in here, and dave, one of the other workers, was talking to him. i took the opportunity to grab one of the guitars off the wall, plug it into an amp, and start playing with the volume turned down low.

our boss doesn't really care if we play the guitars during work hours, just as long as the shop isn't busy. he doesn't want us playing while there's customers here, so that they can ask us about anything without feeling like they're interrupting something.

i practiced riffs i've been working on and little sections of songs that i've wrote. as i did, dave rang up the customer, who left after they paid for their things. dave gave me a small head nod as he sat on a stool and started to scroll through his phone.

roughly twenty minutes later, another customer came in. she was about 5'5. she had shoulder length, black hair with the two front pieces dyed a dark purple. i could see a few tattoos littering her arms. her hands were placed in the pockets of her black cargo pants as she walked over towards me.

"hey," i gave a small nod. "you need help finding anything today?"

"mm, no, thank you," she hummed softly.

i shrugged. i turned down my amp a bit more, but continued to play. i glanced at her a few times. she looked through the guitars before she grabbed a fender stratocaster.

she walked over to the amps, and she glanced around. "actually, is there a cable i could use? and a pick?" she asked.

"yeah," i muttered as i placed the guitar i was using on a stand. i walked over to the counter, and i grabbed a cable and a pick for her. i walked over to her, and i handed them to her.

she let out a small "thanks," before she plugged the guitar into an amp. she adjusted the volume a bit before she started playing.

she ended up playing a few different guitars; a fender telecaster, a gibson les paul, and a few others. she eventually landed on a paul reed smith. instantly, i could tell that she was far more comfortable with this than the other guitars she had tried. i was proven right when she started to play it.

she's really good, i'll give her that.

she eventually stopped playing, and she asked about buying the guitar. i put away the guitar i was using, and i started to ring her up.

"my guitar finally kicked the bucket, so it was time i got a new one," she explained as she drummed her fingers on top of the counter. "i was gonna try something new, but..." she trailed off with a shrug.