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Chapter Two- New Beginning

India was jostled awake when an attendant came by to wake her, telling her they were about to land. Stretching out and buckling back up she looked out of her plane window. The golden city line of Los Angeles came into veiw and she nearly gasped. This place really is 'The Golden State.'

With the sun high in the sky the city sparkled and glowed standing out even from up here. The many tall skyscrapers reached up to them from the ground, anxious for them to land. Even from up here, India could see the busy city streets, people bustling to an fro, only worried about the task ahead. Not the people around them. Perfect.

After spending ten minutes trying to hail a cab, one finally stopped for her and took her to her apartment building. It was a tall stone building with patios and balconies hanging over the sidewalk. She walked into the building and made her way through the lounge on the first floor. It was decorated with creme colored walls and a matching off white carpet. A burgundy sofa sat in a corner with a coffee table stacked with magazines in front of it. A reception area was set up in the front of the room where a bored looking woman in red sat tapping her nails on the wood in front of her.

India stepped onto the elevator and rode up to the seventeenth floor. Three floors down from the top. Walking into her studio apartment she threw down her bag and looked around. It looked better on the outside. It was a decent sized studio that was paid for by the institution. For the next month anyway. Meaning she had two weeks to find a decent paying job. In the condition it was in you would think they could spare a few pennies.

"880 a month for this?" She asked appalled.

The walls were covered with chipped off white paint and there were countless stains on the floor. The living/dining area of the apartment consisted of two brown sofas, two rustic rugs, two gray lamps, and a dining table set for three. The other half of the studio held the kitchen and bedroom. The bedroom was just a loft bed and a side table and lamp. The kitchen held country counters, a cheap stove, microwave, a barely white fridge, and an island bar. The lights hung loosely from the ceiling and she's sure if her upstairs neighbors did anything besides tiptoe they'd come crashing down. On the far side of the room sat a ceiling to floor curtain that piqued India's interest.

Walking to the other side of the room, keeping a close eye on the unstable lights above her, India three open the heavy gray drapes. She gasped as she looked out of the huge overview window.

"Now I see the appeal." She said in bewilderment.

The building India stayed in was almost one of the tallest in the city. And being that India's apartment was nearly on the top floor, she had an amazing view of the entire city. And if you looked out far enough you could even see the bridge.

"Guess 880 really isn't that bad for this place." India said turning on her heels. Walking over to one of the lamps in the living room she ran her index finger over it and made a face. "You just need a little TLC is all." Wiping her hands on her jacket she plopped herself down on the couch and went into a fit of coughs when a thick cloud of dust surrounded her. "A little cleaning wouldn't do you any bad either."

By nine o'clock that night, India had already almost completely made herself at home. After hours and hours of back breaking labor, washing and scrubbing and pushing things around, she had finally gotten the place up to standards. Almost. She had found a bunch of cleaning supplies in the bathroom cupboards and the supply closet down the hall. She was even able to find a couple tubs of paint.

Starting with the living area, she moved all of the furniture in the living and dining room, to one side and scrubbed the floors and walls. Placing some old newspapers she'd found in the closet down the hall on the ground, she cracked open a can of paint and started on the walls. She moved the furniture back into place, the way she wanted, and moved to the kitchen. After scrubbing the counter tops, floors, inside the cupboards, and in and out of the fridge, she realised everything was empty. They couldn't even buy me some crackers and spam?