The Monkees: Gold Rush

I Wanna Be Free...

Peter walked to the saloon. When he walked in he was confronted by Calphurnia. She had her hands on her hips.
"Where have you been?" Calphurnia asked.
Peter looked down at the floor. "See, what happened was..." He said.
"I don't want no excuses!" Calphurnia exclaimed. "Your friend Mike was in here drinking the place dry and your friend Davy stopped in too, but you just now showed! What do you have to say for yourself?"
Peter scratched his head. "Well, me and Davy were witnessed to a murder," He said.
Calphurnia stared. "Are you being serious?" She asked.
Peter nodded.
"Who died?" Calphurnia asked.
Peter shrugged.
Calphurnia stared at him.
"Well, you don't know many people town, huh," Calphurnia said. "Who did it?"
"Nick Todd," Peter said.
"Really?" Calphurnia asked.
Peter nodded.
Calphurnia bit her thumb. "That's so strange. He never struck me as a man that would kill someone. I mean, I'd seen him cheat in cards, but I never imagined he'd kill somebody," She said.
Peter nodded. He walked over to the piano, sat down, and started to play. It was a sort of sad sounding song. It was slow and empty. One of the customers at the saloon obviously didn't want to hear Peter play sad music.
"Pick up the pace! I don't come here to feel sad!" He shouted. His speech was slurred by a few too many drinks.
Peter began to play the piano to a happier beat. His heart wasn't in it, but his fingers wouldn't stop playing. The music was almost a comfort. He wanted the saloon to close. He wanted a drink. That's what he wanted, a drink.
"Can I have a drink?" Peter asked Calphurnia.
Calphurnia nodded and went over to the bar. She brought a bottle of whiskey with her and a couple of glasses. She poured Peter a shot, and he swallowed it in one gulp then began to play again. This time the music was very happy and bouncy. The more he drank the happier the music became. Soon the bar was filled with laughter.
The laughter could be heard all the way across the street. Davy was sitting in his window listening to the music. He had the tune Peter had been playing before his drinking in his head. The slow song. He was whistling the tune.
"I wanna be free..." Davy sang softly. He shook his head. He didn't want it to be with a piano... Something different... Something softer... Some type of string instrument...
Davy sighed. He listened to the happier music soaking in Peter's drunken piano playing. The sun was starting to set so Davy decided to go to bed.
Peter finally stumbled into the hotel about an hour later. Calphurnia had to help him to his room. She was very sweet about it even when Peter kissed her on the cheek at his door. She laughed a little at his behavior. He was very drunk.
Once Peter was in his room he dunked his face in the wash bowl. He rubbed his face a few times before sitting down on the bed. He kept feeling the blankets. Finally after a good ten minutes, he pulled back the covers and curled up under them. He fell asleep almost immediately.
Aponi was still awake in her room. He leg was bothering her. It itched, but she couldn't scratch it through the splint and bandages. The splint had taken all pressure off of it so that she hardly felt it, but she could not scratch her leg through it.
Aponi sighed. She decided to go to sleep. She locked the door to her room. She took her dress off and draped it over the dresser. She put the hat on top of it and rested the parasol on the side of the dresser. She dropped the boots on the floor before walking over to the bed and curling up under the blankets. They were rough against her bare skin, but Aponi fell asleep quickly. She was exhausted.
The morning came with the sun. The sun and the light in his room made Mike wake up first. He had a giant hangover. His head was throbbing and even the sounds from the streets was aggravating his headache. He covered his eyes with his hands. The light hurt.
Mike somehow managed to stumble out of his room. He almost fell down the stairs of the hotel. He had no idea when he got here. He walked into the restaurant part of the hotel. Micky was sitting there with a large plate of food out in front of him.
Mike walked to sit with Micky. Micky smiled. "Good morning!" He exclaimed a little too loud for Mike's taste.
Mike shushed him. A waitress walked to him. "Just coffee, please," Mike pleaded.
"Oh, you've got a hangover," Micky whispered.
Mike nodded slowly. The clacking of the silverware on the plates was hurting Mike's head. The waitress came back with his coffee. He gulped it down, but his hangover still persisted. Mike promised himself to never drink again, but he knew he would. He always had no matter how hard he tried to stop himself.
Aponi was up in her room. She had just woken up. She stood up and walked to her dresser. There was a mirror across the room and as she pulled her dress on she caught a glance of her back in the mirror. She shuddered then pulled the dress on all the way. She buttoned the back herself. She put her hat on and then put on her shoes. She carried her parasol at her side and walked out of her room.
As Aponi walked out of her room Peter's door opened. He walked out looking very sick. Aponi walked towards him.
"Is something wrong?" She asked.
Peter nodded. "My head," He said.
"Why would that be?" Aponi asked.
"Too much drink," Peter said.
Aponi shook her head. She linked arms with Peter to help him down the stairs. They walked down to the restaurant. They sat down at the table with Micky and Mike. Mike gave Aponi a strange look, but didn't say anything about her new look. The waitress walked over.
"A cup of coffee and some toast," Peter said.
Aponi looked over at Micky. Micky smiled at her.
"Why don't you get the young lady a plate of eggs and bacon?" Micky asked the waitress.
The waitress nodded and walked out. Aponi looked over at Peter. "What is..."
"A type of food," Peter said quickly.
Aponi nodded. She looked down at the tablecloth. Micky looked towards the doorway just as Davy walked in.
"Hey Davy!" Micky exclaimed.
Peter and Mike both shoved him. Davy sat down and rubbed his eyes sleepily.
"What's for breakfast?" He asked.
The waitress walked back with their food and served them.
"That," Micky said smiling.
Davy glared at Micky. "I'd like a plate of eggs and bacon, miss," Davy said to the waitress. The waitress nodded and left.
Aponi stared at the plate in front of her. She picked up a piece of bacon and took a bite. She scrunched her nose and took another bite. She wasn't sure how much she liked white man food. The boys were staring at her intensely. She felt sort of foolish. After she finished her piece of bacon she decided not to eat anymore.
"So, what happened yesterday?" Micky asked smiling innocently.