Jonas looked at the strings of the store in front of him. There were many brands and colors, but he did not feel like they were going to be much use on his guitar. He popped one fighting a guy the other day. The other five caught up the slack, but it would not feel complete as a weapon of justice if it only had five strings. He needed to get paid!

Looking through each of the boxes in front of him, he memorized the brands. Their names were of long dead composers of a time centuries ago. It felt anachronistic and in a way Jonas felt awkward. He had to budget these strings well if he was going to have a chance to keep fighting on the salary he had. His abilities for all he knew were limited to his guitar and he did not want to think about what it would be like manipulating sound without his instrument.

He was hoping he would find a pack for less than ten pounds. There had to be something of low cost around. It would be silly not to. They would lose business from all the homeless men on the street and poor artists like him who wanted to make it elsewhere.

Still, in this shop, Jonas was not hopeful. He was unsure about many of these prices and their quality. Usually he just got the first pack he found and left, but now he had price ranges and types to choose over. It was confusing and it was new. He was just hoping him in his dark trench coat and tight clothing would not illicit a lot of attention as to his nervous stares between boxes of strings. If there was something Jonas knew more than anything else, it was that he should not illicit attention.

Luckily, she was free today and away from the hospital for a while. Nicolette was still rather shaky on meeting that person who gave her first (drunk) kiss. Oscar was at work, despite the fact her older brother looked like a mess because the older Proulx child had just recovered from a bad case of the flu bug. Bored and tired from being confined in her room for too long, not to mention shake off the unusual events that occurred to her lately; Nicolette decided to take a breather and take a long, well deserved walk alone. Now, Oscar might digress about her being out all alone, fending for herself around town and Nicolette decided to ignore that face since she is a grown woman, not a child. Her older brother was rather over protective, and Oscar's protectiveness was fueled even more because of the said drunk's kiss that happened a few months ago.

She went to this music shop a few train stops from Hackney. Nicolette had her brunch of a bagel with lox, capers, and onions, and a cup of tea to tie it all in. The young woman just wandered by the shop, looking at the various instruments that were displayed. She just got paid from her part-time job at Starbucks, and she had been saving up for something rather useful or to spend her time with just to relapse. As much as she wanted to buy a gaming console and several games, those things are expensive as hell and her paycheck will be gone out the window. She sighed as much she wanted to play the new Battlefield title, she can't. She's broke, she lacks the gaming system, and everything in between. Semper Gumby, as the old Marine saying goes. Maybe in time she'll have a PS3... or something, and if Oscar approves as well.

Nicolette had scrolled through the piano section and most of them were out of her range, even the 'cheap' electronic ones. She doesn't have the strength capacity to lug the instrument in several flights of stairs up to the flat she is staying in; there is also the fact that the flat doesn't have much space. She went to the guitar section on which several well known brands such as Taylor, Fender, Yamaha, Takamine, and many more. She was also interested in the guitaleles displayed from Cordoba and Lanakai.
She picked up one 3/4ths guitar, because that was the length that she could use without having difficulty to reach for the chords and frets. Oscar plays his guitar whenever he wants to or has the time, and he taught her a thing or two but unable to practice because of time constraint and their busy schedules.

"How does it go again?" She asked herself in a quiet tone. Nicolette tuned the guitar to the correct chord sound, trying to remember what is A and D.

Jonas’ youthful pondering on strings was quietly interrupted by a new image in the area. A girl had walked in and was tuning a guitar to the C-scale position. He watched her work the strings in slight interest of what exactly she was planning to do. It would be an interesting thing to watch to say the least. He had no idea who this girl was, or how talented, but he was intrigued nonetheless. Maybe it was for the need of company but his interest was now fully piqued.

He watched her motion through the frets before walked over to her with interest. She had asked a quiet question into the air. Jonas, in his ever-knowing kindness went to her. “Is there something I may be able to help with?” Jonas asked sincerely, letting the thickness of his accent curl across his voice. He was mediocre at best but he did know the basics of guitar playing. Maybe he could provide some help? There was no one else around. Maybe this was his chance! “I play a lot and know a lot of progressions. Is there something that is currently slipping your mind?” He wondered if he could actually back the claim up, but part of him had no worry in relation. If it was something he did not know, it did not mean that it couldn’t be found.

Nicolette was playing simple chords on the guitar when a voice interrupted her. She looked up and saw a young man with a cavalier grin; he spoke of something that he could assist her on her musical predicament. The auburn-haired girl quirked her head to the side and tried to speak what's on her head. Problem is, she doesn't know what to tell. The guy seemed harmless enough, but at the same time she has trust issues ever since she recalled that moment again. She really has to forget that moment before it kills her ten-times over. The young woman gave him a wry smile before putting the guitar down.

"Ah... I'm alright." The girl said curtly to Jonas. "I was just playing around, that's all." She added. "Planning to get a guitar since a piano's too bulky, expensive, and large for a small flat." She commented. "The electronic ones are alright, but my budget seemed to fit only the guitars and ukuleles." Nicolette mused with a dry chuckle.

Jonas mentioned something of him playing the guitar. It was a kind offer but, of course-- the guy might charge something because of the bloody economy that's going in a rut. She pursed her lips and smiled again, "Oh. Really? Where do you play?" She asked quizzically. "My brother taught me basics, but I kind of forgot about them."

Jonas thought about it for a moment and couldn’t help but chuckle too. “Yeah, I would imagine. Never played a piano in my life I’m afraid so I don’t think I’ve ever faced the same dilemma of geometry, mass distribution, and simple algebra in making my shop decisions.” He really didn’t. His family had always been too poor for a grand piano and electric keyboards were simply not his fancy. He liked the feel and inclusive ability a guitar gave him. It gave him an edge, and he planned to use that at any time possible. Plus, his ability also made a guitar a great service for its easy portability and a ukulele was just not intimidating.

Jonas listened to her ask where he played and he simply stared at her stunned. “Ummm. I don’t really play anywhere. My last gig was at a Starbucks.” He shrugged meekly. It was better to be honest. “Basics though are not that difficult, you just have to remember the half-step rules that your music tutor might have taught you. You start from one and keep jumping half-steps until you reach five on the sixth string and you got the basics from there.”