1 Month later - Friday -
{You're tuned into NBC Radio1Extra, that was JoeT with 'Bring it on home', next up we have a new track for you, 'Harlem Shake' by Mo..}
A middle age white haired man turn of the the Radio " Sorry about that,lad" He turned to face a man over his counter, who had a tablet in his hand.
"Alright, that will be 8 20kg bags of rice, 50 units of soft drinks, 3 boxes of floor items , careful with those there pretty heavy, ummm 9 trees , 15 fabrics rolls aaand those last 2 boxes have got...thheee kitchen ware goods, just sign here and here and it's all good to go!" A dark haired man wearing a black and dark green EPS delivery outfit, handed his tablet over the counter to the white haired man, who proceeded to sign away on the details.
After the delivery man left his shop, the white haired man proceeded to step outside the shop and head to the front, he looked at the rows of boxes and shook his head whilst rubbing his back.
"Gramps, I am away…. Get someone to help with these boxes" A pig tailed, light skinned girl ran out of the store and kissed him on the cheek, before running down the street. Chuckling and watching his gran-daughter run out of sight, he began slowly moving the small boxes inside into the store.
.....
' Come on! Push! .. you've got this' Dressed in a light grey sweatsuit covered in mud and dirt was a sweaty Seamus. In front of him was the view of the shopping lane, that felt like it was moving further and further away, as his legs were burning with every step.
Eventually his tall figure made it start of the shopping lanes pavement, he transitioned into walk while using the walls to hold himself upright, breathing heavily.
"Ah?! My back!"
Seamus looked ahead to see a white haired man dropping a box to the ground and holding his lower back. He looked around the shopping lane to see it mostly deserted, with people dotted around in the distance. 'Ahhh … fuck it' he lightly jogged over to the man, still feeling the burns in his muscles.
"Hey boss, you need a hand?" Seamus came up to the store front, to see the man sitting on top of a box, taking some deep breaths. His white hair and gentle looking brown eyes, quickly reminded Seamus of his gran-parents in his other life.
"A young lad, yes please… if you can just move these boxes inside, that would be helpful, please be careful though, I put out my back with them over " The man pointed to the bags of rice, whilst wincing in pain. His eyes opened wide upon seeing the young man, walk over and swiftly lift two of the bags with ease.
"Ah lad, ya lift?" He took a second to look over the grey sweatsuit dressed youth, who had a tall figure, broad shoulders and looked sturdily built. "Ah, you must be training for the army,no?" he pointed at the muddy sweatsuit. "Or are you one of dem aspiring sportstars?"
"No boss, I just train to keep healthy…. do you have any specific space for these" Seamus nodded to the bags in his hands.
" forgive me...just put them onto the counter if you can.. Just call me Harry btw" Harry pointed to the counter location, which already had one bag on top of it. "You lived here long lad?"
"Yeah, I've been here practically all my life...you need any help dressing these shelves?" Seamus was busy bring in the last of the boxes and seen the items still needed tagged and hung ' Still a store floor boy, even in this life' his thoughts made him chuckle.
"If you can lad, you've been far too kind...do you live near-by, by any chance?" Harry asked as he found himself a seat behind the counter and watched Seamus starting to unbox.
"Yes...17 Gordo's close, on the other side of the town"
"Ah, is that the one, as you are leaving, heading to Ishlaw?"
"Yeah, that's it"
"Wait, a moment, you mean to say you're related to that wee skinny kid, ah fuck! What's his name!"
"I am that , was that skinny kid "
"Fuck off! What you been eating lad" Harry looked at Seamus, scanning him up and down, his long black and bushy beard hid his face, so he couldn't truly confirm Seamus's words.
….
"Ah lad, you know if you're looking for work, you can work here?" Harry asked with a curious face. He had spent nearly an hour with Seamus and was enjoying his company and work ethic.
"Thanks for the offer, but I've…" Seamus glanced over and his eyes met a clock "Sorry b..Henry, I've got to go" Seamus quickly packed away the box and placed it on the counter "Bye" and quickly ran out of the store .
______
"Sorry you've missed your appointment, you can wait till we have an opening " a brown haired lady with purple hoop earrings spoke to Seamus, whilst bringing up his details on a computer.
" Em...we can fit you in after 4 actually? you can take a seat over there" she looked over his muddy appearance and messy hair whilst she directed him to an empty chair.'Offt, a Beckie will love this one'
Seamus sat in between two women, who immediately moved away upon having his sweaty smell hit their noises, he could only apologise with a slight nod. To distract himself while he waited, he picked up one of the magazines on a table and started reading Togue to pass the time. ' I need clothes...urgh...this broke life' he flicked through the magazines and thought about how his existing wardrobe was going to become too tight to wear.
"Next up please"
Seamus looked up to notice he was the last one left in the hairdresser's and that he had ploughed through their magazine collection, looking at Elle,Loome,GQ,and more "Hey, is it okay if I take a couple of these with me?" he asked the hairdresser who had called him up.
"Sure, I don't see why not"
"Now, what can I do for you hunnybun?" she looked Seamus up and down like she was inspecting a blank canvas, as a small smile formed on her face when she noticed his light golden eyes, 'Concentrate Beckie,we got work to do' she mentally adjusted herself as Seamus sat down on the chair.
'Should I go wild?....fuck it! you only live twice...haaaah' He turned his head to look at the hairdresser "Umm..I kinda wanted platinum white, is that possible? im unsure about the rest"
Beckie began tossing his long hair around with a puzzled look " What about, charcoal grey, with your eyes and skin tone, you'd pull it off! you know what... trust me! you're in safe hands! charcoal it is "
Seamus chuckled, seeing her smile turning wider and wider as she talked " Sure, you're the expert here, I'll trust you, just don't make me bald or anything please" Seamus slumped back into the seat, as a black fabric cover was placed around his neck and his head was dipped back.
______
"Hey boss, you sell any phones?" Seamus had returned back to the store and called out to Henry, who was playing with a radio behind the counter.
"Yeh....oh my….lad is that you?" Henry turned around to see Seamus with charcoal grey hair and a fade with a shaped beard. "Lad, you've sharpened up,... you know, I've got some single nieces, their are good women … I could set you up " Henry laughed as he pulled out his range of phones.
"Thanks, hahaha just the phone will do for now" Seamus smiled as he walked up the counter to see the phones.
"Lad, you helped me out last time..so take this one as my payment to you"
"No,I can.."
"Nope, you're taking it lad, it's the least I can do" Henry handed him a phone that reminded him of HP Pre 3 with a sim card.
"Thank you Henry " …. 'It's no iphone vx3 but it will do' Seamus looked at the white box and the phone as he set it up "Oh, btw you wouldn't know where I could find some discount fabric do you?"
"Lad, this is a bargain store! we have everything .... let me check out back ..wait here" Harry left and came back with a box full of what looked like sample fabrics, handing it to Seamus for free along with the phone.
______________________________________________________________________
Upon entering his house, Seamus planted the box on his island, made coffee and went over to the computer to check his emails. As he breezed through his inbox, his eyes grew wide at the email in front of him.
{ Hello Moench and then team,
Sorry to contact you out the blue, but we at the WEMX festival team, would love to have you come down and perform on {xxxxxx} as a supporting act.
We heard your song Harlem Shake and think you would suit our line up perfectly.
Please find attached a pdf with the festival details for performers.
We look forward to hearing from you
}