She looked across the room. Dan was making out with his girlfriend as if he wanted the entire bar to see. Only a week ago, Dan had been holding her close and telling her how beautiful she was, the woman thought. She scoffed as the lines she'd heard half a dozen times played out in her mind. "You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen around here." "You've got the greatest personality." "I like a girl who can hold a conversation." "It's wonderful to know there are good people in the world. We need more people with ethics."
   Yet they kept returning to their girlfriends who had cheated on them, nagged them, depressed them. Apparently physically plain and mentally sub-average were desirable traits. It was the only logical explanation, she thought as she sipped her virgin Pina Colada. Disgusted at the poor blend, she pushed the glass aside, threw down the fee, and headed to the jukebox.
   Hmm, shall I play hate-songs, love-songs, sad songs, happy songs, or just random AC/DC? Deciding it wasn't worth trying to make a point to Dan, who probably wouldn't notice a neon sign next to him flashing "You are scum," she finally selected something off AC/DC's live album. She went by the pool table to challenge one of the guys who saw her as an opponent and not a distraction from a bad love life.

An hour later, she left the bar after a final loss due to focusing on things other than billiards. Bored, she wandered into a strip mall that was still open for day-shift workers. Figuring something metallic could help her, she entered the music store. They rarely had anything new or popular, but it was at least something to browse through.
Picking up something random, she decided to make conversation with the salesperson. The person in question had shoulder-length black hair, a loose black long-sleeved shirt, and black jeans complete with chain. He looked good, why not talk to him?
"Hey, you hear this band ever- Quasar?"
"No, they're black metal. I stick to more beautiful sounding things."
"Such as? What would you recommend?"
"Um...Silverkiss," he said pointing to a cd behind her to the right.
"There's a picture of a girl with mascara running down her face. What is this- emo?"
"

10/19/05 3:08 A.M.


7:15 pm 3/16/06

"No, nothing like that. It's this beautiful ethereal sounding music.

after 10 pm 3/19/06

They have a female singer and a mix of folk, metal, and ambient music. Here," he pointed to a song on the cd case's back,"this one, Twilight's Embrace, has lyrics like

You held me close as dawn approached You never let me go

We kissed as dew washed the world anew Standing in that grove beneath Fading twilight stars'"

He whispered into her ear from behind. Her heart starting pumping fast as she realized how close he was and the words seductiveness entered her ears. (c) Meghann Pardee