Baila Conmigo (Dance With Me)
"These came in the post for you," TK handed his boss a stack of letters.
"Invoice, invoice…ah, is that a handwritten letter? For me?" TK's boss held up a white envelope with blue-and-red striping on the edges.
"Who's it from?" TK asked.
"Cody. It's nice that he wrote to me. I'm sorry, I think I need to step out for a little. I'd rather not have my emotions get the best of me. It's not professional," TK's boss slipped the letter into his pink fanny pack.
"Yeah. Understandable. I can hold the fort down on my own," TK nodded.
"Thank you. I'll be back shortly," his boss waddled out of the store.
"Take your time," TK said to himself. He didn't mind when his boss left him alone, he preferred it that way. TK leaned over the cash register, scanning the store. Another slow business day. The only other person around was a purple-haired young woman with tattoos up and down one of her arms and multiple piercings in her ears. She seemed like a rather trendy, put-together, and fun person, but judging from her constant bouncing back between the unrelated genres of Foreign Language, LGBTQ, Self-Help, and Fitness, TK could only assume this girl was not as self-assured as she let on to others.
"Hi, how can I help you?" TK approached the young woman.
"Hey…I'm fine. Just browsing," the girl smiled at him, her weary eyes staring back at him through her horn-rimmed glasses.
"Right…," TK nodded. "Anything in particular? Seems like you need someone to help point you in the right direction."
"You know what? Fine…you got me. I don't even know what I want, but maybe you can give it a crack," the girl stretched her arms behind her back until her shoulders made a popping sound, which caused TK to cringe.
"Sure. Hit me with your best shot," TK bit his lip, his stomach knotting up in anticipation. What the hell did he sign up for and was it too late to back out now?
"Okay, so I'm just on break from school. I'm studying in Ethhhh-paaaniiiiaaa you see," the purple-haired girl smiled haughtily.
"Right…," TK slowly nodded his head.
"That's Spain in Spanish, in case you didn't know," the girl flipped her long hair to the side.
"Okay, thanks for the clarification," TK said, trying his hardest to keep a neutral face.
"Anyways, I'm attending university in Eth-paannia, and I'm just so lost on what to do. I love the people, I love the culture, the food, the lifestyle, the everything. I've never felt so accepted, so free to truly be myself, and yet, I still feel like an outsider, like I haven't completely settled in yet. I know it takes time, but I just want to feel complete," the girl ranted.
"Okay. If you don't mind, can I take a glance at what you have right there?" TK pointed to the pile of books in the girl's arms.
"It's a bit embarrassing," the girl pulled the books back.
"I'll probably see them when I have to ring them up anyways. I promise, I won't judge. I just want to see if there's titles I can recommend," TK held his hand out.
"I guess you're right. Here," the girl reluctantly passed the books over to him.
"Beginner Spanish?" TK flipped the book over.
"I want to brush up a bit," the girl pinched her fingers together.
"Oh? How long have you lived there? I heard that immersing yourself in whatever 24/7 is one of the quickest ways to pick something up," TK said.
"It should be, if all my classes weren't in English," the girl sighed.
"Huh. You go to Spain, where you attend classes in English…interesting," TK nodded slowly as he sifted through books.
"Yeah, stupid - I know," the girl huffed.
"No, not stupid. Just irony. Now this…this is stupid," TK held up a book titled Baila Conmigo: The Basics of Latin Dance.
"What? How is that stupid? I thought you said you weren't going to judge!" the girl snatched the book from TK's hand.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to come off as judgemental. I'm sorry! I was just thinking you can't learn how to dance from reading a book! This is something you learn by watching other people do and following them. Monkey see, monkey do. You can't read about this," TK said.
"But it has photos," the girl flipped through the book.
"Yeah…that doesn't help. Trust me, I tried. I still have two left feet," TK shrugged.
"Fine. For a bookseller, you're not doing a good job at selling books," the girl said.
"It may seem like that right now, but just trust the process. You'll thank me for it," TK smirked.
"Oh yeah. Then what would you recommend for a newly-open lesbian who is in love with a Spanish girl who probably isn't even interested in her because she's probably a heterosexual?" the girl put her hands on her hips in frustration.
"Probably not any of these books that you picked out. Let me see…," TK scanned the aisles and started pulling some books off the shelves.
"Apparently, I can't pick anything right can I?" the purple-haired girl sighed.
"I wouldn't say that. You're in the right place. You just need a little guidance. Now here, what do you think?" TK handed her a couple of books.
"How to Master Any Language Fast, Practical Spanish Vocabulary for Everyday Living, and How To Move On and Finally Live Life- wait, why did you give me a book about death?" the purple-haired girl raised an eyebrow.
"Actually, I had another customer recommend it to me. He told me that everyone should read it when they get the chance, and I thought it would be fitting in your situation. It's not necessarily moving on from a 'death', but moving on from what's holding you back. I feel like everyone has an obstacle that holds them back from doing something they want, but I hope this book helps you out," TK said.
"Okay, I'll give it a try…I'm sorry, I never asked for your name. I'm Yolei by the way," the purple-haired girl said.
"I'm TK, and it's no problem. Is there anything else you'd like to take a look at?" TK asked.
"No, I think these books will be it for me. Thank you so much for listening to me rant. Do you guys accept mobile wallet?" Yolei pulled out her cell phone.
"Sorry, not as of yet. Just card or cash," TK shook his head.
"No worries. Here, just ring me up! I don't want to stay much longer, because I'll overthink everything," Yolei held out her credit card.
"Okay, I'll be back," TK took her card and rang up the books. He carefully bagged them up and made his way back to her. "Here you go. Is there anything else I can help you with before you go?"
"Actually, yeah. If you don't mind me asking…you said that everyone has an obstacle. What's yours?" Yolei asked.
"Uh…," TK turned red. He couldn't believe he was out on the spot, but at the same time, he did ask for it. He took a deep breath and then finally replied. "I guess my biggest obstacle is that I'm a little scared of the outside world. I feel safe here in the store. Books don't hurt you like people do."
"Well, thank you for being honest with me. I hope that we'll both be able to move on and live life to the fullest," Yolei said.
"Thank you. In due time," TK nodded.
"Thanks again for helping me out. I think these books are going to be much more useful for me. Good night," Yolei beamed and walked out of the store.
"Good luck," TK waved goodbye and strolled back to the register. Back to the safe distance, far enough to not be noticed but close enough to observe everything.