𝘈 𝘏𝘐𝘋𝘋𝘌𝘕 𝘎𝘌𝘔

                                𝐌𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐄  𝐀𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐍𝐎  /  𝐀𝐋𝐆𝐀𝐄𝐀

name : melanie  aquino  /  nicknames :  mel  +  melli  /  age  : 34   /  pronouns  : she + they  /  sexuality  : bisexual  biromantic  /  birthday  : march 19th  /   stature :  five  feet  eight  inches  /  zodiac  sign :  pisces   /   occupation  :  manager  at  the  golden  lyre  /  residency  :  labyrinth  apartments  /  pet ( s )  :   teacup pig, bubbles and beta fish hydra  /  deity  :  algaea  /  status :   goddess of beauty, splendor, glory and adornment  /  ability  :  being able to tell if food or a plant is inedible with just a glance, an enhanced sense of smell

“hmm.” he began, his fingers tapping on his chin slightly at her words. “well…. i’m a rather classical music kinda guy but lately i’ve been dipping into the heavy metal and rock genre. sometimes…. those songs just speak to you.” he nodded his head slowly as if listening to a song right now in his head. “and the way they can use a violin to make beautiful chords in such a heavy genre…. beautiful.”

—

    If someone had asked Harrison five years ago where he saw himself in five years. The answer definitely wouldn’t have been ‘standing at a drive-in concession in Australia talking about nostalgic sweets’. Nevertheless, he was enjoying the sweet wistfulness of childhood memories. “Swedish Fish are the fuckin’ bomb, dude,” Harrison exclaimed, he had never met anyone who actually liked Swedish Fish. At most, they thought they were a mediocre candy choice, “and Dippin’ Dots were a staple for a zoo trip growing up. Not getting them would be like… I don’t know… not wearing a bathing suit to swim.” He never had been good at coming up with similes or metaphors, but in this case, the simile was right on, depending on how you took it. 

“Okay, yeah, deal,” Harrison agreed excitedly, “I have a couple of boxes at home I could spare for sure, there’s no way I can eat 5 boxes of ‘em.” In reality, he probably could eat 5 boxes of Cookie Dough Bites, but when you make a new friend, it’s always polite to share any spoils. Plus, he didn’t want her to know that he was low-key a sweet-tooth guy.

a  grin  spread  mel’s  cheeks  as  they  nodded  in  agreement.  “  they  are,  but  there’s  no  way  that  they  aren’t  plastic.  they  taste  like  chemically  flavored  plastic  with  a  bit  of  chewiness,  but  definitely  still  plastic.  ”  as  rare  as  it  was  for  mel  to  indulge  in  things  that  weren’t  organic,  but  sweets,  especially  chewy  sweets,  had  always  been  their  absolute  weakness.  “  dippin  dots  are  so  good,  i  don’t  know  why  people  act  like  they  hate  them  so  much.  plus,  they’re  so  small  and  you  can  get  them  in  that  cute  little  baggie  !  maybe  we  should  try  to  get  them  here  at  koala  kingdom . . . .  ”  mel  trailed  off,  already  thinking  about  who  it  was  that  she  would  have  to  talk  to  to  get  that  to  happen.  “  cause  you’re  right  .  .  .  kinda  !  lots  of  people  go  swimming  without  bathing  suits.  ”  normally  in  private,  but  it  still  happened.

“Honestly, beats me. It’s probably some romanticism about the way a truck can get you the hell out of some shitty town, but then the next verse is always about lovin’ your hometown. I stopped trying to make sense of it a while back,” Bellamy said, voice laced with a small chuckle as he shook his head. He often thought that maybe, just maybe, he missed home but what that word was suppose to mean had never been Alabama. He wasn’t sure he even knew what the concept was, only what it wasn’t.

He looked over at the sections she referred to, trying to see what belonged in that category and compare it to the music overhead. It was a bit of a far cry, but he agreed with their claim that it didn’t belong in just one area or another. 

“The last thing I wanna think about is home,” Bellamy scoffed. “And this doesn’t make me think about it. Send it my way.”

𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚗  ››  𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚗 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚎

his last appointment was a no show, and with the studio handled ralph decided to take a rare early finish.   he’d been out of sorts, but FINALLY felt like he was coming around —- his skin was cooler now, less hot-blooded …   literally.  ralph felt almost fatigued, and without the energy to socialise or return home and tinker on his bike… he headed out to the smooth-rocky shoreline where the broken stone lay; where the cooling breeze off the ocean rolled over his skin and ruffled his hair felt wonderful.  noticing a figure as he approached the natural structure, he hoped that he wasn’t about to come across some people shagging out in public.  again.   it seemed to happen a lot to ralph, much to his displeasure —-  but it was evidently one person, and he was pretty sure he knew them; at least somewhat, “if you don’t have pants on, this is a perfect time to do it!” he called out on a teasing chuckle, with caution born of experience.

lilac  was  on  break,  her  shop  not  too  far  from  the  golden  lyre  and  the  enchanting  manager  her  eyes  had  spied  a  few  times  and  spoken  with  a  handful,  perhaps  lilac  wasn’t  a  collector  of  records  but  a  pretty  flower…  well,  that  came  in  all  forms  to  the  florist.  there  was  a  vibrant  orange  gerbera  in  her  fingertips,  plucked  from  the  bunch  last  minute  as  she  decided  to  make  her  way  to  the  musical  mecca  of  the  island.  when  she  entered,  the  bell  above  her  tinkled  and  she  was  pleased  to  see  them  behind  the  counter,  “no  trouble,”  she  replied  back,  approaching  a  selection  of  newly  released  albums  and  hovered  her  fingertips  over  some  of  the  copies  as  she  considered  them.    after  a  moment  she  plucked  an  adele  album  from  the  racks,  having  planned  to  by  the  album  online  anyway,  and  headed  over  to  the  counter.

“afternoon  mel,”  lilac  said,  “just  this  please,”  she  slid  the  album  onto  the  counter,  with  the  $20  note  atop  it  that  she  had  already  plucked  from  her  wallet.   then  raised  the  flower  into  sight  and  offered  it  to  them —    “and  this…  is  for  you  —  it  seemed  a  shame  that  there  was  only  one  bright  flower  in  this  place,”  lilac  winked,  laughing  a  little  as  she  tossed  her  long  hair  over  her  shoulder,  adding  with  a  softened  smile  but  no  less  playful  flirtation  on  HER  part;  “but  regardless,  it  seemed  fitting  for  you…  orange  gerberas  symbolise,  among  other  things,  enthusiasm,  warmth  and  energy.”

melanie  had  seen  lilac  around  enough  that  it  didn’t  have  them  scrolling  faster,  in  fact,  having  her  want  to  find  the  perfect  song  for  the  aura  she  felt  that  lilac  gave  off.  melanie  tried  to  do  that  for  everyone  that  came in,  unless  of  course,  there  were  too  many  people  inside  at  once  or  she  didn’t  know  them  well  enough.  with  something  chosen  and  beginning  to  play  softly  in  the  background,  melanie  sat  up  and  dropped  to  the  ground  just  in  time  for  lilac  to  walk  over  with  her  album.  “  hi  lilac  !  you  look  nice  today,  how’re  you  ?  ”  melanie  chirped  back  in  greeting  instantly,  then  looking  down  to  the  album  of  choice,  and  missing  the  flower  until  she  heard  lilac  address  them  again.  instantly,  their  gaze  was  drawn  to  the  brightly  colored  gift,  a  huge  smile  creasing  her  cheeks.  “  this  is  so  beautiful  !  it’s  for  me  ?  ”  melanie  confirmed  before  reaching  out  to  take  it  gently,  moving  her hair  back  to  place  the  flower  right  behind  her  left  ear.  

—

Harrison knew the face Mel was making, it was the same face he many made when reminiscing back to “the good old days”, it was important to do every once and a while. “Yeah, fruity candy hits different at drive-ins for sure,” Harrison agreed with a giggle of his own, “oh gosh, like ring-pops! Those things always taste like plastic.” For some reason, Harrison was just now noticing that children always gravitate towards the novelty candies that either taste like plastic or have plastic in them. “Between you and me, I ordered them online from the US, because I couldn’t find any here,” he lowered his voice, leaning in slightly as if it were some conspiracy against the Commonwealth of Australia, “if you don’t tell anyone where I got them, I might let ya come over and share some with me during the movie.” 

“Bold of you to assume that,” Bellamy said. “I grew up in Alabama in the states. That’s all there was growing up but I did make a point of turning away from country roads and people serenading their trucks once I got out. A few songs, though… They do help when I’m a little too far gone and homesick.”

He’d taught himself out of his accent early on, some part of him feeling that his voice had influences imposed on it rather than being built by his surroundings. By the time he was in the military, it was gone and replaced by something much more plain. Since living on Magnetic Island, there were some moments where the local accent claimed his tone but it did that for all of them, he believed. 

“I didn’t think you’d be leaning towards country, though.”

                𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐀𝐄𝐀  :  𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒

she   enters   with   rooted   hesitancy   steps   slow   and   cautious,   bell   singing   at   her   entry.   music   thrums   almost   concealing   her   entrance.   a   notion   she’s   near   thankful   for   but   at   the   others   announcement   cover   is   blown.   glancing   to   her   she   begins   to   nod   but   stops   herself   realizing   the   other   is   too   occupied   with   her   phone.   

lifting   her   hand   she   pulls   thick   curls   over   onto   one   shoulder.   a   output   of   anxiety.   trying….   attempting….   to   funnel   her   nerves.   pink   lips   lightly   sheened   with   a   clear   gloss   quirk.   “   its   okay.   no   rush.   i’ve   actually   got   it.   ”   clearing   her   throat   after   spoken   words   the   moves   further   forward   to   the   equipment   section.   hopefully   she’d   heard   her   over   the   thrumming   music.   voicelessly   hoping   other   customers   might   enter   to   steal   the   others   attention.   reaching   up   fingertips   skim   over   plastic   packaging,   searching   through   her   options.   *

Tahlia had always adored the dusty, chaotic interiors of record shops. No matter where she lived, record shops seemed to stay the same, to welcome her with open arms like the home she’d always wanted, plastic lining instead of picket fences. This week has been long ; exhaustion stops her from waltzing through town with her typical boisterous laughter, has kept her from Club Bacchae, even. It’s all she can do to make it to work on time and avoid falling asleep at the computer overnight. The Golden Lyre, she’s sure, will help. Melanie’s voice floats across the air as Tahlia wanders in, already brushing her fingers across a stack of records as her eyes adjust to the light. “I’ll be here.” She calls back, half-heartedly. “Probably.” 

—

The woman he had bumped into was very apologetic, though it was clearly his fault. Harrison immediately beamed a smile toward her to let her know that it was no sweat. “It’s not a big deal, no need to pay,” He shrugged off the lost candy with a laugh, “funnily enough I bought ‘em to try to revive a little childhood magic, and I can’t say I’m disappointed. I mean half of them ended up on the floor when I was a kid too.” He remembered that most movie trips with his father ended in him staying behind in the theater cleaning as much of his mess as he could. “Between you and me, I have a box of cookie dough bites in the car, so I’m set.” He reassured her that there were no hard feelings. “So, is this your first time seeing Wolf Creek, or are you an avid fan, coming back for more?”