No Cure For Curiosity (boyxboy)

8*Then Where's Your Portfolio*

I'm dedicating this chapter to xxCupcakeForYouxx. Her story 'You're Mine' is absolutely awesome.

The next few days flew by rather quickly. Monday night I went to put in the application at the music store that Cam worked at. I also filled out the employment forms, so that I didn't have to wait until my first day.

Tuesday TFC met up to talk about any future protests and activities. There hadn't been any good rights movements lately, we were all kind of itching to have one.

Now it's Wednesday and I'm starting my first night of work. I walked into 'Smash' to find my friend already behind the counter.

The store isn't too big, nothing out of the ordinary, as far as music shops go. One wall is lined with guitars hanging from it, further back there are other stringed instruments also. Underneath the guitars, are amps of different makes and models. On the back wall, a couple drum sets occupy the space. Around the desk there are accessories on stands and in glass cases. The wall behind us holds air instruments and other items. But I think, of all the things in the store, my favorite was the single row running the length of the entire room. It was right in the middle so you could stand on either side of it and contained all vintage records. We didn't sell any CD's, tapes, or 8 tacks, just old vinyl records.

"Hey, Walt, ready to start? I'm gonna be training you today," Cam says as I approach the counter.

"Yea, let's do this," I stand on the other side of the counter and rub my hands together.

Cam gives me a lanyard with my name in a clear plastic pocket at the end, "That's your nametag. Don't lose it. You hafta wear it, like, every single time you work. If you don't have it, you either buy a new one or they send you home."

"Who would send me home?" I look around. We're the only ones here.

"Well, usually, it'll just be you and me, or you and Gina. She's super cool. You'll meet her sometime soon," he explains. "But if there's a manager around, you really need to have that lanyard on your neck. No joke."

"Alright, cool."

Cam goes on to tell me all the rules. He directs me what to do and how to do it. Showing me how to use the cash register is the highlight of my day. Only a few people come into the store. It was a pretty boring day, but it's nearing the end and Cam and I are sitting behind the desk talking.

"Soooo," he looks over at me. "I promise not to start hitting on you again."

"Thanks for that," I say sarcastically, but smiling to show I'm not mad.

"So, what's up with this 'Undisclosed Beau' of yours?" I can tell he's not trying to pry but that he's genuinely interested now. "Like, you obviously have feelings for him. Why are you keeping him hidden? Don't you want all your friends to meet him?"

"I really do want you all to know," I leave out the 'meeting' part since they all already know him. "He isn't ready to uh ... meet ... everyone yet."

"Oh, so, he's still closeted, huh?" He brings his hand up to his chin, pondering.

"Something like that," I shrug, trying not to say too much.

"So, then, are you just, like, never going to introduce us and continue date this guy forever?"

"No, I told him he has until Sunday," I look at the floor. I don't really want to think about it. "I said that if he still wanted to be ashamed of me, then he didn't need me in his life. So you will either meet him before then or you won't have to worry about him at all."