Two Different Worlds Collide

“North Carolina?” she gasped, turning on Liza, who’d been looking sheepish since they entered the airport.

“I told you it wasn’t a typical place…”

“What the hell is there in North Carolina?” she demanded, and Liza sighed.

“Look, there’s lots of bars, we can go see the ocean, they have a hockey team so you can get your hockey fix – we’ll have fun!” she insisted, but so far Cheyenne didn’t look convinced.

“Liza, I could’ve stayed here, saved the money and went to an Oil Kings game and went to Diesel afterward and done most of the things on that list, without the price of a flight or hotel room,” she pointed out. She didn’t want to tear her friend’s idea down, but really?

“Come on Cheye! We’ll have fun – and you have to admit the price was right. Just give it a chance?” she begged, and immediately Cheyenne felt bad for saying what she had – Liza was obviously excited.

“Well, I guess I’ve always wanted to see the ocean,” she finally allowed, and Liza let out a squeal before pulling her in for a hug.

“Thank you! We’ll have fun, I promise!” she insisted, and with that the girls headed for security. It was too early in the morning for all of this, Cheyenne decided, and grabbed a double-double from Timmy’s as they waited for their boarding number to be called. It was only seven in the morning, but they would be arriving in Charlotte just before supper with their layover included. She was excited for the layover in New York – just because she’d never been there. Cheyenne had visited most of the provinces playing shows or just visiting family, but she’d never really been anywhere in the states before.

The flights passed quickly – Cheyenne spent most of the time sleeping. They grabbed a bite to eat in the airport in New York City before getting on their connecting flight to Charlotte. They saw lots of people close to their age all excitedly talking about the break and where they were going and how hard they were going to party, etcetera. In some ways she wished that the money wasn’t an issue and that they were headed to an overcrowded beach in Palm Springs or something like that, but she’d squirreled away everything she could so she could keep recording, and Liza was using student loans just like she was, so throwing money away on trips wasn’t at the top of the list. If this trip to North Carolina hadn’t been as cheap as it was she wouldn’t be going here either.

“Cheye! Wake up! We’re here!” Liza excitedly shook her, whispering at her so as not to gain any attention from others on the flight. Cheyenne woke with a start before quickly swiping at her face on the off chance she’d drooled in her sleep.

“I’m up! I’m up,” she immediately insisted, making Liza laughed as she looked around trying to figure out what was going on. They were just about to descend, the seatbelt light coming on. Suddenly Cheyenne was incredibly excited – because sure they weren’t going to a tropical beach, but it was better than nothing.

“So… for being sub-tropical or whatever it’s not looking so hot,” Liza looked skeptical for the first time as they saw the rain coming down.

“I think it’s because of the elevation,” Cheyenne answered. The two quickly called a cab and made their way to their hotel to check in. The room was large, with a small kind of sitting room right as you walked in, then a small partial wall and two queen sized beds taking up most of the remaining space. A large plasma TV decorated the wall, a list of channels taped to the wall just beneath it. Cheyenne flopped onto a bed, letting out a happy sound as she sunk into the perfectly soft mattress.

“I like this. I’m gonna have a nap,” she announced, but Liza groaned.

“You slept the whole way here!” she whined, and the next thing Cheyenne knew her best friend had flopped on top of her. Tried as she might she couldn’t free herself from Liza’s grip and decided giving in was the only way out of it.

“Fine… so what are we doing?”

“Well, I thought we should go get something to eat and hit up a bar?” she suggested, and after a moment’s thought Cheyenne nodded. She didn’t really go out; the only times she was ever in bars was when she was playing, and she never drank when she was doing a show. It was unprofessional, and she wanted to present herself a certain way. To her it was like showing up to the office with a beer in hand – you just didn’t do it.

“Okay. By something to eat, you don’t mean somewhere nice that I have to change my clothes for… do you?” she asked, but seeing that Liza was already going through her suitcase she knew she wasn’t so lucky. So instead she hauled herself up off of the bed and unzipped her suitcase, waiting until Liza had picked out an outfit so she knew what she was dressing for. Liza had pulled out a cute casual shirt, so she pulled out a tank top and a blue plaid button-up, figuring her skinny jeans were good enough. They quickly changed and Cheyenne ran a brush through her long hair, wishing that the thick mess would at least be straight instead of it’s crazy waves – then it wouldn’t take so much time and effort to make it look presentable. Some hairspray, mascara and lip gloss later she decided she was good to go. Liza took a little longer, but that was usual for the two of them.