A Record Player With No Records

Introduction

"Henzi! I'm leaving for work!" Little did I know that would be the last I heard of my father.

He was a tall man, with shaggy black hair, and chocolate brown eyes. My father was a muscular man, but so soft like a teddy bear on the inside. He had a love for records and record players. He really just loved everything music.

He created a name for himself, and was known all across the country. William Jonter; it was a stage name. His real name was Noah Harvester.

It was my 18th birthday that day. I had already graduated from high school, and I was starting to get ready for college that fall. I think that my father was more excited than I was. He was so happy that at least one of his children was going to go off to do something great.

My older brother had become a part of a rock band, and we only heard from him once a month. My father wouldn't let us go see his concerts, either, because they would "rot our brains".

When I found out that my father passed away, I didn't even cry. I was angry. I was angry that I didn't get to say goodbye. It's better to get that closure. But when I found out that he had hung himself... I was hysterical. No one could help me. My mother had passed away just two months before from breast cancer.

My brother came to the funeral, but didn't want any of our father's things. He didn't want any of mother's things, either, when she passed away. I got it all. I even got the house. I still went to college, because I had a passion for teaching, and because I needed something to keep my mind off of everything.

When I finished college, I began my job as a fourth grade teacher. I loved it. I talked to my brother a bit more often, but still not enough. I moved into Mother and Father's house, and that's where the story begins.

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"Can you help me clean out this place? I want to make the attic a livable place. Maybe we'll find some treasures,"I stated. I was sitting across from my best friend, Cici, having a glass of wine.

"Of course! I've always loved the attic. And the house in general. I wish I had a house like it. Are you going to sell it? 'Cause if you are, I'll buy it from you,"Cici replied. I laughed and looked out to the lake.

"No, I wouldn't sell it in a million years. This is my forever home, no matter how cliche it may sound,"I said. Cici nodded and looked at the water with me.

"Lakefront home. So beautiful. When was this house built again?"Cici asked. I shrugged and pulled out my phone. I had saved all of the house's information in a note.

"Uhhh....1952. But my parents updated it like every ten years. That's why it's so modern now,"I replied. Cici nodded and looked back into the house through the sliding glass door.

"When do we start the de-cluttering and organizing?"Cici asked. I shrugged and looked at my watch. It was already 9:15 at night.

"Probably around eleven tomorrow. That work for you?"I replied. Cici nodded, said her goodbyes, and then left. I was alone on the porch. I saw a speed boat zoom by, and someone waved at me. I waved back, and realized it was our neighbors, Jeff and Hattie. They were twenty years older than me, but we were good friends. I watched as they did one more loop-de-loop, and then watched as they docked the boat.

"Want to come over for a bonfire?"Hattie called. I thought it over, and came to the conclusion that it would be fun.

"Sure! Be over there in a second!"I called back. I went inside, put my flip-flops and jacket on, then walked back out and over to their yard.

"How was the boat ride?"I asked. Hattie lit the fire and I smiled as she sat down.

"Pretty good, we haven't gone that fast in a long time,"Hattie replied. I nodded and turned my head as I saw Jeff come out of the house with s'mores stuff.

"Oh, yum!"I cried. I grabbed a stick and put a marshmallow on it. Putting it over the fire, I felt like a little kid again.

"You guys know you're like my parents. You treat me too well,"I stated. Jeff sat down in a lawn chair and closed his eyes.

"It's kind of hard not to. You're a good, kind, girl. Well...woman. You're not a girl anymore,"Jeff laughed as he sat up.

"Thank you guys. For everything. My friend Cici and I are going through the attic tomorrow, wanna help out and see if you can find any treasures?"I asked. I bit into my s'mores, and it was delicious. The gooey feeling all over my face and mouth was comforting.

"Sure! Hey, maybe we can find that old boombox that your father borrowed and never gave back,"Hattie chuckled. I smiled and let my eyes close.

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The next day while I was getting ready to start cleaning, I got a phone call from Cici.

"Hey, I'm going to be around twenty minutes late. Is that okay?"Cici asked. I told her yeah, and that I would see her then. About ten minutes after that, Jeff and Hattie were over, along with lots of cleaning supplies.

"We thought that since we're organizing it, we should clean it, too!"Hattie said. I smiled and nodded in agreement, taking some of the load off of them.

"Follow me. We just have to go upstairs and then up a ladder. But don't worry, it's not steep,"I stated. They nodded as they followed me. When we got up there, I started coughing. There was so much dust!

"I'm guessing you haven't been up here in a while?"Jeff asked. I walked over to one of the corners, where I knew some of my stuff was.

"Hattie! I found that boombox you were talking about!"I laughed. I held up a bulky boombox that was covered in a thick layer of dust.

"Think it works?"Hattie asked. I shrugged, plugged it in, pressed the on button, turned the volume all the way up, to nothing. I tried to adjust the channel, but it didn't work.

"I have a buddy that can fix it. We can use it or sell it,"Jeff said. I nodded and handed it to him. He set it down near the doorway. I walked back into the corner and picked up a box.

"Okay, these are all of my old books. There should be some good ones in here, because I read a lot of dystopian novels in high school,"I stated. I picked up a pair of scissors that I had brought up and cut the box open.

"Oh, The Hunger Games! Harry Potter, Divergent...There are Junie B. Jones down here. Do you think I could sell these?"I asked, pulling out the books. There were so many series; I was an avid reader back then. I didn't have much time anymore.

"Yeah, probably. You can probably get forty bucks for each series,"Hattie replied. I nodded and put the books back in the box. I coughed again from the dust.

"Wow, I haven't seen one of these in years,"Jeff said. I looked over to the other side of the attic to see Jeff holding up a record player.

"Yeah, you guys know my father loved his music. What records do we have?"I asked. Jeff rummaged around for a bit, and then sat back on his heels.

"There aren't any from what I can see. Maybe we'll find them later,"Jeff said. I nodded, and we continued to go through boxes and tubs, throwing things away, what we can sell, what I want to keep.

"Hey, we've been here for an hour, where's your friend-Cici?"Hattie asked. I shrugged, and checked my phone. There was nothing from Cici, and she never blew me off.

"Um, I'm not sure. She hasn't texted or called me. Maybe she got stuck in traffic. She lives in Los Angeles,"I stated,"Have either of you found those records yet?" Jeff and Hattie both shook their head and took a seat on a box, me not far behind.

"Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-daaaa-DUM-DUM!" I looked at Hattie, then Jeff, both of them as confused as I was. I looked around. The boombox was still off. We found a piano, but ghosts aren't real! All of us had different ring tones for our phones. That only left...The record player.

To be continued...