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1
“That’ll be five forty six.” The gas bar attendant drilled out the numbers. He sounded about as pleased to work at this gas bar as a child did taking medicine.
“Sure, you take cash right?” Jude always asked just in case.
He gave her an exasperated look and then he swiped the ten dollar bill of the counter. It took him a minute but he finally fingered the coins he needed out of the till and then he slid them under the glass partition.
“Have a wonderful evening. Please come again.” Again, the nasal voice but she just ignored him and counted her change to make sure he hadn’t short changed her.
She wasn’t too bothered about the change; she just felt it was a normal thing to do. In reality she had a few other things hidden in her purse. The attendant had been too busy on his phone to notice that she was slipping things in her bag and the only thing she’d paid for were three candy bars. Inside her bag were three sandwiches, four Red Bulls and six energy bars. Another thing she swiped on her way out was a pack of batteries and some Dentyne.
The bell announcing her departure from the building sounded and she gave the attendant one last smile before she left. He just made a sniffing motion with his nose and turned back to the computer he was most likely checking his Facebook on. She remembered when she’d used that website. It was now just an unused page with her last status update being ‘Chipotle is so good at two am!’
She had a weakness for Chipotle that she didn’t like to admit. She even wore crop tops, high-waisted shorts and flower crowns. The only thing missing now was a Starbucks in her hand and Instagram.
Outside it was chilly so she pulled her military jacket tighter around herself and looked down at the dirty brown boots she’d owned for the past four years. Her socks were starting to fray around the edges, she’d need to steal some now ones or go rummaging around those donation bins for something. That was where she did the majority of her shopping. The only thing she did buy were the bras she had in her leather backpack. The sun was setting so she pulled the sunglasses out of her long and slightly dirty brown hair to set on her small nose.
I think there’s a bus to Savannah, she thought, if I am lucky I can go to that Red Hands concert and actually see them play.
She wasn’t one of those girls that follow bands around but she was currently in Atlanta and the band she really liked was playing in Savannah the next night. They had advertised on their site that they’d be playing at the Muse Arts Warehouse. She’d even put some money aside to buy entry to their concert.
The Red Hands were an Indie Rock group that had appeared on the music scene two years ago in two thousand eleven. She walked to the bus stop down the road and sat down on the bench. Her iPod was in her jacket pocket but she was saving the battery life until she got to Savannah and she could find a café to charge it in. While Scarlet waited she sat back and thought about her life. She wondered often what she wanted to do with her life. Was she chasing some sort of dream by living like this? Was she waiting for it to fall into her hands and then she’d just know? She had no idea what the next day held for her but she was curious about her future. If her mother hadn’t been such an abusive person she might’ve been able to figure it out.
She quickly shook her head to stop herself thinking about her mother. It always depressed her and then she’d start smoking weed again. She’d made too many risky decisions while high and right now she couldn’t afford to leave or fall asleep afterwards. This bus was going to be here in thirty minutes. Instead of smoking she decided to eat a granola bar she’d stolen three days ago. She was proud of how long something could last her. It didn’t help her already thin and small frame. She was a tiny girl with small features and the small amounts of food she ate didn’t help. Luckily she had vitamins to help keep her healthy.
A tall chunky girl waddled over to the bench she sat on and perched herself on the edge. When Scarlet made no sounds of protest she inched closer and made herself comfortable by pulling her headphones out of her flower patterned bag and putting one bud in her right ear. Jude glanced over at her and noticed that she’d pulled her hood down and revealed her dark skin and dark afro. She had a thick layer of red lipstick on her lips. After she blotted her lips she pulled out a cigarette and turned to Jude.
“Do you mind if I smoke one?” she asked in a raspy voice.
Jude looked down and could taste it on her lips, “If you give me a drag.”
The girl laughed and nodded before she put the cigarette to her lips and lit it. She inhaled and handed it to Jude. The girl held it for a while and closed her eyes. Jude smiled and took a drag as well so she could savor the buzz too.
“My name’s Linda Hobart.” She stated and Jude knew not if she should reciprocate by giving her own name.
“Jude Fallon, nice to meet you.” She extended her hand and Linda shook it with a firm grip.
“So what brings you to this bus station at this hour if I may ask?” she played with an orange earring hanging from her right lobe.
“I’m going to Savannah to see the Red Hands, what about you?” was that sensitive information? Was she revealing too much about herself?
“How funny, I too am going to go see them. They’re pretty great eh? My girlfriend and I really enjoy them. She left two days ago for a work thing and I’m meeting her there tonight.”
Jude had assumed this girl was a lesbian, she had a few manly qualities but she really liked her. She seemed like a pretty cool person and Jude had a small bit of hope that she could spend the bus ride getting to know this girl. She took her sun glasses off and put them in her hair again as it was getting dark.
“You have pretty eyes Jude, from what I can tell in this shitty lighting. Are you wearing makeup?” she inquired.
“No, and thank-you, with the life I lead I don’t really have the time or care to put on any makeup. If someone wants me or finds me pretty they get the real deal. They should see it as a good thing, I do.” Jude had green eyes and long wispy lashes surrounding them. She’d never been a big fan of her eyelashes thinking of them as too long and too thin.
The bus would be arriving in ten minutes so Jude got out one of her energy drinks and a sandwich for the two girls to share.
“Hey, do you want half my sandwich? I just stole it from that gas bar down the road.” She said and placed the meticulously wrapped sandwich on the bench between them.
“Yeah, what kind is it?” she eyed it hungrily.
“I think it’s a ham and cheese sandwich. Are you a vegetarian?”
The girl shook her head and Jude split the sandwich in half and popped the tab on the can so they could take sips in between bites of the incredibly dry sandwich. Jude was thinking about the poor quality of the sandwich and was really glad that she hadn’t paid for it.
The other girl chewed quietly and then said, “Aren’t you glad you didn’t pay for this shit?”
She laughed and Jude joined in. They laughed for a long time; so long they didn’t realize the bus was in the distance. They both gathered their things and stood up so the bus driver would be able to see them and not drive past them. It had happened to many times to her, more times than she cared to think about.
“Evening ladies,” the bus driver grunted and then put out his hand. Both girls handed over tickets and he pointed towards the back gesturing that they could take a seat. Jude settled in her seat and pulled out her phone to see if he had texted her.
“Waiting for a call?” Linda asked but then
to regret saying anything.
“Yeah, a dude I know in Savannah is supposed to call me about a spare bed he has for me to stay in.”
Linda told her that she could stay with her and her girlfriend which pleased Jude immensely. Now she had a place to sleep and she would be able to relax for the rest of the night. Linda showed Jude many pictures of her adventures with her girlfriend ad it was what took up most of their conversation. Jude wasn’t sure if she wanted to talk about herself with a stranger, even one as seemingly cool as Linda.
“So do you follow the Red Hands around?” Linda sounded out her question slowly, obviously aware of Jude’s guarded personality.
“No, I don’t know so much if I even have a plan, when it comes to anything in life, I just go with it. I heard about the Red Hands playing a few weeks ago so I bought a ticket and started to slowly make my way down here to Georgia.”
“What do you parents think about this? I can’t imagine you are much older than twenty.” She had approached the subject Jude had hoped would be ignored but she just decided to answer the question.
“My mother isn’t in the picture anymore. She wasn’t my real mother anyway. She was a terrible woman so I left. Her life is probably better off for it, I know mine is.” Jude said nothing more and instead started applying a lip balm she found in her bag.
“That’s cool, I was only wondering. I totally respect your decision to leave and start your life. I mean people often sit at home their whole entire lives and never go farther than the next town.” She replied.
Jude decided not to correct her grammar and the two girls sat quietly for the rest of the ride occasionally commenting on other passengers.