Lost.

Chapter 2: Coffee Shop Trouble

The bus stop was at the corner of the street. The building is on the other end of the street. I didn’t walk much before I got to sit down and wait for the bus.

In a small town like this the bus should make its rounds every 10 minutes or less. But after sitting down for two minutes I got bored.

I grabbed a few strands of my hair and bit them. It’s a bad habit. But hey, some people bite their lips, others their nails and then there are those, like me, who bite strands of their hair.

Of course a little girl with pigtails had to sit right next to me and stare me down. I smiled at her.

“Why you eating your hair, lady?” she asked, taking a lick from her red lollipop.

“I’m not eating it, sweetie.” I said sweetly, but I still didn’t take my hair out of my mouth.

“Why you biting it? Does it taste good?” she said, extending the ‘o’ in good longer than necessary.

I leaned down in close to her, “It taste delicious.” I smiled and took a good loud chomp on my hair to prove my point.

She giggled and tried to bite her own hair, but her pigtails were too high up. Her face was sticky from her lollipop so her hair got stuck to her cheek instead.

I laughed.

“Oh Mary, you got your face all dirty.” I heard her mother comment as she turned Mary around to face her. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her take out a hanky.

I leaned forward, “Hey Miss, when is the bus arriving?”

“Oh, not for another 8 minutes.” She said not bothering to look up from cleaning Mary’s face.

“Hmm.. thanks.” I said standing up. I don’t have the patience to wait that long.

“You’re welcome.” She said glancing up from Mary’s face for a split second. Then she did a double-take and subconsciously pulled little Mary in closer.

Is it my thick eyeliner?

My colorfully dyed hair?

Or my black attire?

Mary’s mom’s eyes narrowed and became judgmental, and at that moment I knew that it was time for me to go.

No parent in their right mind would be seen talking to someone like me. That’s just the price

I pay for being who I am inside, outside.

“Thank you, oh and you have a lovely daughter, Miss.” I took a step backwards, “ Bye, Mary- don’t eat your hair!” I said turning around and walking away.

I heard Mary’s mother whisper-shout to her, “Don’t you talk to strangers like that!”

Of course, because I’m the “devil child”.

I called Davey, the piano player in our band, and he gave me directions to the coffee shop that they were at. Also that they had gotten into some trouble.

It was only like a block away, so I ran there.

It was a quaint little coffee shop, I was running full speed so I didn’t see that there was a sign on the door that said “pull”. I pushed and crashed into the door. Talk about a face crash.

Rubbing my nose, I backed up and pulled on the door. I walked inside and noticed that no one paid attention to my collision with the door because all attention was pointed towards a group of angry guys. All standing up and puffing out their chest, meaning that they were ready for a fight.

You could cut the testosterone in the air with a butter knife.

Then I noticed that it was my boys, and a bunch of jocks.

“Hey!” I screamed, and pushed my way in between them. It wasn’t easy, nobody wanted to move.

“What getting a girl, to fight your troubles for you now?” one of the jocks said.

“Watch your mouth!” Johnny screamed as Davey, the smallest of the group, pulled him back.

“Get out of here girlie, this isn’t your fight.” Another jock said.

“Hey!” I turned and poked him in the chest, “You mess with my boys, you mess with me.”

“Your boys. Can’t you stick with one man, girl?” he replied.

“Can’t you stop being an asshole?” I whispered. But he heard me, I know he did. He scoffed, “What happened?” I asked Davey.

“Well your boys are hanging out on our turf.”

I laughed, “Turf? What are we? Gangsters?” I asked ironically. It got a few laughs from the other customers and it cooled down the tension a bit.

“Look. I’m sure my guys did something stupid but we can settle this some other way.”

The guy whose chest I poked looked down at me, “How would we do that?”

I rolled my eyes, “Well you’re the townies, and we just got here. Plus, they were hanging out on your turf so what do you reckon we do? A dare? Do cartwheels down the street, jaywalk?” I joked.

“ Bonfire. In the Foreman Forest.”

I laughed again, “That sounds more like a date, friend”

He looked down at me again, “ That forest is haunted. A few years ago a little girl was brutally killed when she went to retrieve her ball. They never found the killer, they say it was rabid dogs. Most people forgot but others never will.”

I pictured little Mary skipping into the Forest to retrieve her ball and being found dead.

“Fine. What are the conditions?”

“Lenora.” Davey whined. He hates scary things. Like haunted forests.

“We throw a bonfire. Last person to leave is deemed the winner. If we win, you noobs never step inside any of our turfs or face being beaten.”

“Fine. But if we win, you and your group have to help clean up the Music House down the street, for FREE.” I said, smirking. I get like ten extra hands to work.

“Old Willows place? That’s easy.” He said.

“Good” I said and stuck out my hand, he shook it. Then with we walked out.

“Lenora, are you fucking stupid?” Louie, the drummer, asked once we were outside the shop.

“No. But I just bought us a home, and I thought we could use some help cleaning it up.” I said smiling.

“But the haunted forest?” Davey whined pulling on a lock of his hair.

“Yeah so? What’s the worst that can happen?” I stop walking and asking.

“We die.” Johnny said.

“We crash into a tree and get lost.” Louie says.

“Or werewolves attack us!” Davey contributes.

I look at him, “Don’t be stupid. Werewolves don’t exist- you’ve been reading too much Twilight!” I laughed.

Davey pouted and said, “Stephanie Meyer is AWESOME!”

“In your dreams.” I say as we walk towards our first home.

Stupid Kid, Werewolves don’t exist.

I didn’t even believe in them when I was a kid, theres scarier shit out there in the world than a few man-dogs! Ahaha!