Orchids (Corey Taylor)

Chapter 3

I've never been one to believe in the idea of irony, so when Mr. Taylor walked back into the record store the very next day, I instantly began to panic on the inside. Thankfully, this time I wasn't alone and I told Aalayah to deal with him. I hurried to the back to collect myself, trying to figure out a way that he could have figured out my secret. 

"Maddie!" Aalayah whispered urgently as she ran up to me. "He wants to speak to you."

"Just tell him I'm not here." I reply in a hushed tone. 

"But I think he wants to ask you out." She tells me, her volume rising slightly out of excitement.

"Yeah, probably because he wants a piece of me. Free of charge." I grumble.

She rolled her eyes saying, "There's no way he could know that, no one would even guess that you and Carmen are the same person. You're just being paranoid."

"Okay, well I don't want to go out with him regardless."

"Fine, but you have to tell him that yourself." She states before stepping back into the main part of the story and I hear her tell him, "She's in the back, just give her a second."

I let out a quiet groan, why was she doing this to me? I glanced at my reflection in the picture frame in front of me. It had always baffled me how much makeup could change a person's appearance, but I worried that wouldn't be enough to hide me. I always wondered how long the makeup, the wigs, the clothes, and persona would last in hiding the real me before someone outside of the club would figure it out. Was that day already here?

I studied my face, peering into my own dark blue eyes. My natural face was much softer and younger looking than the one I wore on stage, even my expressions were different. Carmen didn't look like me. I tried to reassure myself that my best friend has always had good judgement on these things, and that I should trust her now. I took in a deep breath to steady my nerves, before making my way out of the back of the store.

I slowly stepped back into sight and when I met the man's eyes, I watched a warm smile cross his face as he said, "Well, hello again."

"Hi, can I help you with something?" I say trying to keep my voice kind, but business like. 

"Yeah, actually she told me that you could help me out with this." He tells me while nodding at Aalayah before handing me a piece of paper. 

I glanced over at Aalayah to see that she was obviously avoiding looking at me. She was in the middle of adjusting some of the CD's in front of the checkout counter that didn't even need to be fixed, clearly fighting off a smile. So, she had been bullshitting me. Regardless, I gazed down at the paper that read the name of a local band that I rather enjoyed.

I nodded before asking, "So, who told you about these guys?"

"The people I'm working with currently, mentioned them being someone that they were thinking about signing to their label and they want me to help with the decision."

"Oh, so you're like a second opinion?"

"Basically."

"Well, you probably don't care, but I've seen them a few times and they're a fantastic band."

He smiled at that, "No, that's actually pretty cool. I'm looking forward to listening to them even more now."

I smiled slightly as I moved to hand him his requested CD, feeling a great wave of relief as he thanked me and made his way to the register. I decided to busy myself with making sure that everything looked neat, while I mentally planned out what I was going to say to Aalayah as soon as Mr. Taylor left the store. I nearly jumped out of skin when he appeared by my side yet again.