Post by Luca Jonathan Kingsmith-Lee on Oct 19, 2014 9:37:04 GMT -5
Luca always thought it sounded ridiculously cliché to say that the music had saved him, but he honestly wondered where he might have ended up without it. Of course, he had stayed on the straight and narrow for the sake of his family, but he had a feeling that his family couldn't have been enough to keep him sane after the passing of his dad and through the turbulent teenage years with high school and peer pressure. He did so much for others and music was the one thing that he did for himself. It took him away from the stress and the worry of school and work. At twenty-two his CV read about as long as someone of thirty since Luca had worked for as long as he had been legally able to, with part time jobs mounting up whenever they came around. Academy Records was just another in that list, but currently his favourite since he got to work his passion. It was only temporary, Luca knew that. Sooner or later he would have the chance to put his Yale degree to good use again or if Lady Luck finally felt like looking his way there might be some success with The Forged. Until then he would work the day shifts in the old record shop and then spend the wee hours serving drinks to people already too drunk in a club where the music was too loud and a little too dance for Luca's personal taste.
At least here, and with his role as supervisor, he frequently got to select what the music was. He had input from the other employees, too, and Luca always listened to it. After working so many jobs he knew how annoying it could be when the higher powers didn't listen to a damn thing and even something as small as one record could be the difference between turning a bad day into a good one. Obviously he didn't know what the rest of the staff said about him when he wasn't around and on his days off, but Luca hoped that they thought of him as a decent supervisor. He tried his best to be. He took their complaints, addressed them as quickly and as best as he could, and he worked to the best of his ability to make sure they were happy. He knew he couldn't please everyone, hell, even he wasn't happy some of the time, but Luca did what he could. Introducing music lessons was a new step and one he had thought up with a few of the other musically gifted staff members. Between them they could cover guitar, bass, drums and piano, which was a damn good start. They were offering classes on the weekends and a few evenings when the store opened until eight instead of six. It was gathering modest interest which so far pleased the owner. If it proved a bigger success he might scope around for more people to come in and teach other instruments, but for now they had the basics covered and could use a workroom out in the back of the store. Normally it was just a space for delivery to take up, but with some clever manoeuvring and some early starts for Luca, he had turned it into a little classroom of sorts with a whiteboard and chairs, some disused music stands from e-bay. The delivery just got worked quicker and the remaining stock went into a store room they usually left a chaotic mess, but he had alphabetised and organised that, too.
Luca had just finished up one of his guitar lessons with some youngsters. He was saying goodbye and putting his guitar back in his case. Most of his New York friends knew him first and foremost as a bassist, since that was his role in The Forged, and it was a role he preferred if he was honest. However, there were times when Luca preferred to grab his guitar and sit front and centre, jam away and sing a few songs with his buddies. Teaching guitar had taken him a little out of his comfort zone, but nothing he couldn't handle. He had been playing comfortably for a number of years already, but it was something normally kept for himself or for when his friends were gathered around a fire or drinking beers and feeling nostalgic. After locking up the now empty room with just his guitar inside, Luca dropped the lanyard back around his neck and then moved to check on the store. It was pretty quiet which was typical for this time on a Saturday morning. They had a steady slew of customers, but it was never mad busy like the department stores. He liked it this way, since they got to spend more time interacting with the customers and getting to know them. “Hey, is there anything I can help you with today?” He asked a customer in a warm tone. He knew some people hated the friendly approach customer service, but Luca hated standing around and just watching people shop. That felt like a level of creepy he just wasn't comfortable with.
• • •
TAGGED! open
WORDS! 239!
OUTFIT! Luscious Luca!
LYRICS! Holding Onto You - - - Twenty One Pilots
NOTES! <3 <3 <3
