Can I Be Your Anything?, chapter 2
A very tired and rugged Adrienne Nesser struggled to keep herself awake as she roamed the road. All she wanted was somewhere safe to lie down. She could turn around and head home, and be there by dawn. But one thing kept her from doing just that - her pride. She had said she'd never come home, and she meant it.
A horn blared from a passing car with a male driver. She jumped, startled, but didn't think anything of it. With the last twelve hours of wandering down the roads, that had happened countless times. She didn't even bother to flip off the drivers anymore. She just kept her eyes open and her legs moving.
After another two hours of just plain wandering, she saw dim lights in the distance. The spark in her soul for her runaway was reinstated. Her legs moved faster. When she actually made it to the town, she was disappointed. She hadn't made as far as she thought she had. By the looks of the town, she was only in Rodeo. Adrienne walked up to a slummish gas station that, by the grace of god, was open twenty-four hours.
"How far away is Berkley in walking distance?" Adrienne asked the cashier, who looked to be sixty, with thin brown hair, short bangs, sunken cheeks, and thin lips. Her dark eyes took in Adrienne with pity.
"Hon, it would take you twelve hours to walk there, and with you being as purty as you are, there'd surely be some men who wouldn't think twice about pullin' you into their cars," the cashier said with sympathy in her almost Southern-accented voice.
"Ma'am, with all due respect, I've already walked from Poltin. I think I can manage another twelve hours to Berkeley," Adrienne replied.
"Weelll, if you're suuurree," the woman behind the counter said, dragging out her words to emphasize her disagreement with Adrienne's choice. "But if you change your mind, just turn your purty little self around and come back here and I'll take you to my house and you can stay there for as long as you need."
"Thank you very much, but that won't be necessary," Adrienne said as she turned on her heel and pushed the door open, heading into the cold California night.
The wind was harsh that night, and with the way it blew, she had to squint her eyes to see, which improved her vision. About a mile up the straight road, she saw lights and heard a dull roar. Approaching it with speed, she heard more clarity in the sound, and in an empty lot, a band was playing, with an audience of about fifty people. Clearly half of them were stoned, and the other half well on their way to becoming so. The pull of the music was irresistable, from a half a mile away the catchiness of it could be easily recognized. The crowd sang in moderate synchronization.
"Starting across the room / Are you leaving soon? / I just need a little time." The almost inviting atmosphere that surrounded Adrienne gave her a pang of remorse and homesickness. It reminded her of the local concerts that her and her closest friends would go to almost constantly. She joined the back of the ground, and lifted her gaze to the stage, to lay eyes upon the boy whom would become the man that would steal her heart. Her brown eyes took him in with an almost joyous feeling. A meek smile creased her weathered face. She tapped her foot to the music, even though she'd never heard any of it before. The song finished abruptly. The boy stepped back up to the mic.
"Thank you Rodeo! In case you didn't know, that's 'At The Library,' which is gonna be the first track on our premiere album, 1039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours! Lookout Records was kind enough, or stupid enough, to sign us!" The crowd responded with an eruption of cheers. "Thanks so much for coming to the show, have a great night!" The drummer hopped off the stage, followed closely by the bassist, and then the guitarist/singer/boy that had stolen Adrienne's heart climbed down the stairs, holding his beaten and painted guitar close. The crowd departed, many of it's occupants tripping over one another, and Adrienne stood there the entire time, watching every move that he made. She moved a little closer to the stage. Adrienne froze as someone spoke to her.
"Hey."
A horn blared from a passing car with a male driver. She jumped, startled, but didn't think anything of it. With the last twelve hours of wandering down the roads, that had happened countless times. She didn't even bother to flip off the drivers anymore. She just kept her eyes open and her legs moving.
After another two hours of just plain wandering, she saw dim lights in the distance. The spark in her soul for her runaway was reinstated. Her legs moved faster. When she actually made it to the town, she was disappointed. She hadn't made as far as she thought she had. By the looks of the town, she was only in Rodeo. Adrienne walked up to a slummish gas station that, by the grace of god, was open twenty-four hours.
"How far away is Berkley in walking distance?" Adrienne asked the cashier, who looked to be sixty, with thin brown hair, short bangs, sunken cheeks, and thin lips. Her dark eyes took in Adrienne with pity.
"Hon, it would take you twelve hours to walk there, and with you being as purty as you are, there'd surely be some men who wouldn't think twice about pullin' you into their cars," the cashier said with sympathy in her almost Southern-accented voice.
"Ma'am, with all due respect, I've already walked from Poltin. I think I can manage another twelve hours to Berkeley," Adrienne replied.
"Weelll, if you're suuurree," the woman behind the counter said, dragging out her words to emphasize her disagreement with Adrienne's choice. "But if you change your mind, just turn your purty little self around and come back here and I'll take you to my house and you can stay there for as long as you need."
"Thank you very much, but that won't be necessary," Adrienne said as she turned on her heel and pushed the door open, heading into the cold California night.
The wind was harsh that night, and with the way it blew, she had to squint her eyes to see, which improved her vision. About a mile up the straight road, she saw lights and heard a dull roar. Approaching it with speed, she heard more clarity in the sound, and in an empty lot, a band was playing, with an audience of about fifty people. Clearly half of them were stoned, and the other half well on their way to becoming so. The pull of the music was irresistable, from a half a mile away the catchiness of it could be easily recognized. The crowd sang in moderate synchronization.
"Starting across the room / Are you leaving soon? / I just need a little time." The almost inviting atmosphere that surrounded Adrienne gave her a pang of remorse and homesickness. It reminded her of the local concerts that her and her closest friends would go to almost constantly. She joined the back of the ground, and lifted her gaze to the stage, to lay eyes upon the boy whom would become the man that would steal her heart. Her brown eyes took him in with an almost joyous feeling. A meek smile creased her weathered face. She tapped her foot to the music, even though she'd never heard any of it before. The song finished abruptly. The boy stepped back up to the mic.
"Thank you Rodeo! In case you didn't know, that's 'At The Library,' which is gonna be the first track on our premiere album, 1039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours! Lookout Records was kind enough, or stupid enough, to sign us!" The crowd responded with an eruption of cheers. "Thanks so much for coming to the show, have a great night!" The drummer hopped off the stage, followed closely by the bassist, and then the guitarist/singer/boy that had stolen Adrienne's heart climbed down the stairs, holding his beaten and painted guitar close. The crowd departed, many of it's occupants tripping over one another, and Adrienne stood there the entire time, watching every move that he made. She moved a little closer to the stage. Adrienne froze as someone spoke to her.
"Hey."
