Charles stood behind the counter. He was waiting to get off of work so he could enjoy his Friday night at the bar. Only a few customers had come into the music store where he worked, and each of them had bought something he considered crap of the worst kind, though it was not his job to say so. Instead, he simply sold them what they wanted and told them to have a nice day.
"It pays the rent," he mumbled to himself as a customer walked in. She appeared to be his age and was wearing a shirt combining Metal Slug and Metallica. She was wearing a skirt and Charles found himself looking at her legs for a second before watching her go to the rock/metal section of the store.
"You work here, right?" The young woman shook Charles out of his daze with a rough, but beautiful Scottish accent.
"Yes, I do," Charles said. "Sorry, just..."
"A little bored."
"Yeah."
"I work at an art supply store. I get it."
"Let's see...Eluveitie's Everything Remains and Van Halen II. Good choices."
"Complete my Eluveitie collection and I've somehow gone my entire life without listening to the other."
"If I may, you strike me as an Alestorm fan."
"I wonder why," the woman said with a chuckle. "It's a necessity, as I am from Perth."
"Are you doing anything later?" Charles handed over the CDs.
"My band is playing at Crow Bar tonight at 2000. You'll be off by then, right?"
"Yes. Charles."
"Midori. See you then."
Charles walked into Crow Bar. He saw Midori on the stage tuning her guitar. She looked up and waved. Charles simply waved back and smiled.
"The young lady in the band said she'd buy you a drink," the bartender said. "What would you like?"
"Really? Well...okay, I guess I'll have a Ducking Great Lager."
"Coming up."
"Thanks." Charles held up his beer towards Midori. She nodded back at him.
"Thank you for coming out tonight, fellow humans," Midori said. "And for those who just happened to stumble in here, thank you for stumbling in here. I am Midori, they are the other members of Big Flag, and we'll be your entertainment for the night. We're gonna kick things off with a Deep Purple classic, but you'll have to forgive the lack of an organ."
Big Flag launched into a cover of Highway Star. Charles was immediately hooked, especially hearing Midori sing.
"Have you figured out why I bought you a beer?" The show had ended and Midori was sitting with Charles at the bar.
"I'm guessing you find me interesting or wanted to poison me," he responded. "Unfortunately for you, I've spent the last few years building an immunity to iocane powder."
"Well, damn, that plan fell through. Good thing I find you interesting. I think you're the first black metalhead I've ever met."
"You're the first Asian metalhead I've met. I'm guessing you're also a total geek."
"What gave that away, the shirt?"
"I shared that on my Facebook not so long ago. I see you ordered one and got it."
"Yeah, I like Metal Slug, but my favorite game franchise is definitely Kirby. I love the little puffball, and the fact that we're the same age makes me love him even more."
"That makes us the same age. My favorite franchise from 1992 is Mortal Kombat."
"I've always preferred Street Fighter. Hey, what say we talk about this over games at...my place or yours?"
"My place is a four block walk."
"Sounds better. Let's go there."