Capítulo 7: Chapter 7: Andrea the Breadwinner, Part 1
Some people say libraries are an important part of someone's school life… as well as their life after school. These establishments are where someone goes to drink coffee or tea while ditching class (which is highly frowned upon); plus, they are the source of ammo for a particular girl who chucks books at other's heads (which is highly not recommended).
Here in a branch of the Fulton County Library System that encompasses Atlanta and nearby areas…
A girl named Andrea Balakrishnan studiously returns books she borrowed, which are mostly self-help books and manga, before borrowing a fresh batch of books that comprise of much of the same.
She never encounters class-skippers sipping on coffee or tea like they're some royal big-shots, nor she encounters sniper girls who use books for unconventional purposes.
Who she encounters instead is a man who offers to assist her in rearranging her pile of books she just accidentally dropped when she tripped.
"You look like a breadwinner. Can I help you?"
***
We've wrapped up another day at the bar, with a fresh song inspiration in mind.
And thus, we do our best not to forget every detail of it, especially when we sleep.
To do this, we write every precious detail manually, on pieces of paper, and secure them in the living room's noticeboard with magnets.
And if Leigh and I forget something, there's always Aurora to fill the gap.
Alright. Every detail is written down and secured in place.
We can all then head ourselves to dreamland with no worries.
The next morning.
We decide on waffles filled with berries for breakfast.
And after that, we let ourselves watch Aurora's favorite telenovela before we proceed with composing the song, which we titled "Synchronized Sneezing", using the notes we've made last night.
With our guitars, our voices, and Aurora's advice as someone new to the genre (because a fresh perspective might be needed to inject much-needed inspiration)…
We sail on to our objective without any hitches.
***
The girl named Andrea is out again on an errand.
This time, at Dowell's Department Store.
She is deciding on swimsuits for her younger sisters, since the sisters simply outgrow their old ones.
Her initial plan?
"Not too frilly, complements their curves, and doesn't bare too much skin."
Normally, girls like her are fully capable of making clothing decisions for themselves.
But as soon as they need to buy new bras, panties, or swimsuits, they suddenly stumble upon one guy, who is veritably a bigger fashion expert than all the famous fashion designers in the entire world combined.
He simply must be consulted.
And now, this girl with the slightly dark skin tone (owing to her and her sisters' part-Indian heritage) will have a taste of this… coincidence.
"Oh! We've met again!"
"W-Whoa! Y-You're the guy from the library, right? A-Are you tracking my every step?"
"Why would I do that? It's just mere coincidence that we meet again like this."
She can see through his eyes that he's honest and never carries even a gram of creepiness.
"And why are you in the swimsuit section, mister?"
"Just a little sightseeing. If you wanna know, I have a penchant for swimsuits. Maybe… I can help you buy one?"
"T-Thank you. Now for my requirements. The swimsuits I'll be picking for my sisters should be not too frilly, should complement their curves well, and mustn't bare too much skin."
"And that's it? Here. You'll thank me later for this."
He then heads out of the swimsuit section as fast as he went in.
What the man just handed Andrea…
...are several laminated cards of models in swimsuits, displaying their full-bosomed curves with no inhibitions.
These cards are actually scans from men's magazines, printed and laminated to the highest quality.
Andrea wonders to herself, while obviously exhibiting a beet-red blush…
"How does this guy operate, actually? Does he have a stockpile of these cards, ready to hand over to random girls who are shopping for swimsuits? If he's as crazily-prepared as Batman, then I appreciate his efforts. And… I never see malice within him. He's just a good Samaritan, plain and simple."
With the man's recommendations that are spelled out in the cards…
Andrea picks two swimsuits that resemble sports bras and panties in overall appearance, and they both come in blue, black, and gray color schemes.
And thus, her job is done.
She heads home, pronto.
***
"Darling, maybe we need to tweak the E chord here."
"Hmm… what makes you say that?"
"To me, it sounds… a little awkward. Right, Aurora?"
"Yes."
I then think of the many, many variations the chord alone has.
Besides the many ways I can play the E major chord itself, there are many other variations of the chord itself, notably minor, dominant, suspended, augmented, and diminished, with additional numbers that indicate additional chords.
But I try not to drown myself in music theory.
I'll just tweak the chord the way I want it: Change the finger positions on the fret, and determine if they jive well.
After some trial and error (with both Leigh and Aurora doing the thumbs-up or thumbs-down to gauge if the tweaked chord sounds good and flows smoothly with the rest of the song)…
I decide on E major 7th.
We then take a look at the finished handwritten song, complete with chords.
And once Leigh and I pick up our guitars, tune them, and make our first strums in hours…
Aurora will have her very first world-exclusive preview of "Synchronized Sneezing".
The sneeze prompts will have to come later, but they are also indicated in the lyrics.
***
Andrea is back again.
This time, she's inside Augustine's Supermarket, which is not that far from Dowell's Department Store.
Her purpose should be obvious: Replenish her sisters' grocery supplies for the next month.
Fresh fruits and vegetables fill around 45% of her shopping cart, since she will whip up something special for her sisters.
She's about to pay everything and check out when…
"Whoa! For the third time, we…"
She encounters the man she saw at the library and the department store.
Whether it's the starts that align or something else, one thing is certain…
The third encounter between them is just a coincidence.
To hide their embarrassment, they finish their own check-outs quickly, and their shopping carts meet near the exit as they continue…
"Fancy meeting you again, fair maiden."
"Yes, yes. Third time's the charm."
"Since we've crossed paths several times within just a day… I believe…"
"Andrea Balakrishnan. That's my name. And you?"
"John Mark Bertes. So then… I notice that in the encounters we have so far, you always try to do stuff by yourself."
"Isn't it obvious? I'm my family's breadwinner, and my two sisters depend on me."
"What happened to your parents?"
She just falls silent as her face temporarily tilts downward.
"S-Sorry for your loss. My condolences."
"That's OK. And if you want to help me lighten my load… then be my guest. Even this 19-year-old female body can only go so far."
And thus, John Mark agrees to do double duty.
He will have to deliver his own groceries to his family's house, and he will then have to deliver Andrea's groceries to her house.
The GPS that is provided with his car, which is a modest second-hand sports car, takes care of directions and decides the most efficient route, anyway.
***
We three just slouch on our couches for the majority of this afternoon.
Once we're done composing and doing a trial run of our new song, we simply rest and wait for 6 pm to drop.
That time is where we three eat our dinner and then prepare our stuff before heading off towards work.
Once we check that nothing stays unsecured, we get ready for our gig.
The country bar is still teeming with activity, which is a sight to see.
A sight that we see everyday, but it's a reminder to ourselves that the monthly pay our boss gives us, which is $4,000 each per month, depends on how we entertain our clients.
We certainly can't fail them all.
"Let's give it up for Brave Ad 65!"
Another day, another set list.
This time, it's all covers, since our stock of originals is drying out fast.
We might have to do 100%-cover set lists for the time being while we are working on brand-new material.
Patrons would know if we have rehashed the same songs in just a span of a few days, anyway.
After we wrap up our show, we three immediately head towards the bar.
Laurent hands us three glasses of ginger brew with lemon juice, which are all served lukewarm.
"Gotta watch out for your throats, everyone."
And thus, we try not to speak as we immediately drink the entirety of the brew and let its throat-soothing effects invigorate us.
Once we finish our drinks, we are surprised by another surprise… from behind.
We divert our sights towards a nearby corner of the establishment.
Oh!
It's a man and a woman saying "HUH?" as they drop their jaws and let their eyes meet each other.
Wait a sec.
Ain't that one of the common situations being portrayed in romantic comedies?
The prospective hero and heroine coincidentally meeting each other at seemingly random times and places?
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