(no subject)
Wow, two updates in one night. Amazing. Parts one and two in previous posts.
Kaydence found herself wandering around the streets of the city with no idea where she was or where she was going. She knew, as the sun set that this was not the neighborhood she wanted to be in. All around her there were decaying houses with sunken in porches and chipping paint. Nearly half of the windows in each house were boarded up and one house’s front door was swaying with the wind, its only grip to the house was a rusty hinge. On the steps of some of the more secure porches sat groups of kids and adults, some had music playing, others were talking to people who had pulled up in a car, and all of them were smoking and drinking. Kaydence started moving briskly towards where she had thought she’d seen a more lit and less dangerous area.
“Hey baby, where ya going?” some unknown person called out from one of the groups. “Come over here and chill with us.” This comment was accompanied with a few cat calls causing Kaydence to move away faster and then break into a run. She sprinted through the streets the best she could with her backpack and guitar.
Finally she emerged from an ally onto a busy street and slowed her pace to a brisk walk. Aware that she simply couldn’t wander the streets all night and even more aware of her stomach growling, Kaydence began to look for a place to eat. Suddenly, the skies broke and a torrent of rain came down confirming the fact that Kaydence needed to find somewhere to be, and fast. She scanned the street she was on, making a note of the name: Hanson Street. She spotted a small bar across the street and jogged towards it.
Inside, the smell of alcohol, cigarette smoke and mold filled her lungs and almost caused her to throw up. Fighting down the sensation she headed over to the bar and put her bag down next to a stool which she sat down on. The bar itself was sticky from obvious neglect by the establishment’s employees and her arrival was met with a series of curious glances from the patrons of the bar. Kaydence shivered under their steady gazes and then realized there was another reason why she was shivering. Her jean jacket had been soaked through, as well as her pants and hair, from the few short moments she had stood out in the rain storm. She knew that she had very successfully taken on the look of a drowned rat. She started to wring the water out of her hair but gave up when she found it simply wouldn’t dry.
“What’ll it be?” someone on the other side of the bar asked, causing Kaydence to jump. After further observation, Kaydence found that someone to be the bartender, a tall, skinny blonde with caring brown eyes.
“Uh,” Kaydence said uncertainly. She did a mental check of her cash on hand and found she only had about four dollars. “Just some water, please.” The bartender looked her over and then nodded before turning to leave. Kaydence watched her walk before further surveying her surroundings. The bar wasn’t the cleanest she had ever seen, nor was it the friendliest. She found curious and often harsh stares meeting her as she scanned the room. There were a few tables with chairs, most of which were empty, a pool table, and a dartboard. Hope flared inside Kaydence when she noticed what looked to be a stage with a band setting up. ‘Maybe they’ll need a guitar player.’
Kaydence’s hopes disappeared when the band started playing. They were good, but not the kind of music that she wanted to play. Besides that, they already had two guitarists and singer. Just then the bartender returned and placed a hamburger with fries and a coke in front of her. Kaydence looked up confused; she hadn’t ordered that and certainly had no way of paying for it. “Don’t worry,” the bartender smiled. “It’s on the house. Every runaway gets a free meal and as many sodas as they want their first night in town.”
“I-I didn’t run away,” Kaydence stammered. The bartender raised her eyebrow and Kaydence looked herself over again. “Okay, maybe I did.”
“Where you from?” the bartender asked.
“The middle of nowhere,” Kaydence replied, earning a laugh from her girl.
“My name’s Jordan,” the bartender said extending her hand. Kaydence noticed long, black finger nails, several rings and bracelets that jingled as the arm moved.
“Kaydence,” she replied, taking the hand for a moment.
“So what’s your story?” Jordan asked. Kaydence told Jordan her story, leaving out few details. When it was finished, she looked around to see that most of the people in the bar had left and it was near closing time.
“I better get going,” Kaydence said, glad that her clothes, for the most part, had dried. “Thanks for the dinner.”
“No problem,” Jordan said. “You need a place to stay tonight?”
“No thanks, I’ll figure something out.”
“Alright, but if you’re ever without a place to crash, swing by here, I work most nights.” Kaydence thanked her again and bid her good-bye.
“See ya soñador.”
Outside Kaydence was unsure of where to go next. She was about to go back inside to see if Jordan’s offer was still on the table when someone yelled to her. Looking back she saw a black haired boy looking at her from the door way of the bar. “You a musician?” Kaydence figured he must have been listening in from his seat a few feet away.
“Yeah,” Kaydence responded, walking closer.
“I’m in a band; we’re looking for a guitarist.” Kaydence couldn’t believe her luck and followed to boy to his ‘apartment’.