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The record store was always Kai's favorite place to go. Betsy Dawson, a local, owned it. She was known as the town's looney case, but Kai had always found her sweet. Plus, it helped that Betsy's granddaughter, Jovie, worked there every day.
Kai, ever since she was little, had gone into Betsy's Blues, picking up records for her grandmother. It was one of the only places that her grandmother had actually allowed her to go—and even then, it was for her own personal reasons.
Betsy's never really got that much business, besides Kai buying records for her grandmother's collection (and occasionally herself), but—despite being not-so-nicely talked about throughout the town—Betsy was a local and a favorite, so her business stayed, just as it had been for the past fifty years.
The familiar chime of the bell rang as Kai pushed the door open. The smell of old records caught her nose as well as the sight of them. Jovie sat on an old wooden stool behind the counter, flipping through a magazine—she didn't seem to be reading it, just scanning it so she had something to do.
Kai studied them—from the backwards hat she wore to the loose flannel and black tank top that covered her top. Jovie didn't look up, despite being well aware that Kai was there; she just continued studying each thin page of the magazine.
The only thing that was heard besides the low hum of 70s jazz that played from the vintage record player was the sound of their soothing voice. "Why are you studying me, Kai?" Jovie plopped the magazine in her lap and looked up at her friend with a knowing look. "It's not like we've known each other since we were kids or anything."
Kai softly smiled. "I don't know," she shrugged, walking over to the counter.
She watched as Jovie hopped off the stool, their converse-covered feet hitting the ground. The girl that she admired—and somewhat envied—tossed the magazine onto where she was just sitting, then turned to face Kai with an almost-smirking smile.
