I'll be here forever

chapter 22

When I came back out into the waiting room, I expected Percy to be there, waiting for me. He wasn't. The only thing waiting for me was two other people in the waiting room chairs, playing on their phones.

I thanked the lady profusely and told her that Percy would be back with the money to pay her soon. She told me not to worry about that, and took another person back behind the curtains to do their hair.

I sat in the comfy chair and fidgeted. I would've maybe gotten up, practiced with my dagger, something, but the other person in the room prevented that, even though an earthquake could have hit and they probably wouldn't have budged off their phone. The magazines lying in front of me on the coffee table were useless, and I didn't even want to attempt to read them. Sitting there, in silence, with nothing to do but worry about Percy; it killed me.

So I got up and snuck around the lady's desk, hastily grabbing a green pen from a cup that held all sorts of different colors of pens. The green was the first one that caught my eye, because it seemed almost reminded me of the ocean, a stark contrast from the darker colors of the other pens. I liked it.

I sat down with the pen and grabbed a useless magazine about some pregnant celebrity scandal, flipping through it. Nothing. I grabbed the next one. Nothing. I flipped through every single magazine provided until I found what I was looking for; a map of New York.

I circled the town we were in right now, which after much concentration and a splitting headache I realized was actually named Elmira. Then I drew a line from town to town, connecting them all, even though they intertwined and weaved in on one another like a spider's web. I drew the line from Elmira, to Buffalo, to Niagara Falls, to Rochester, to Syracuse, to Binghamton, to Utica, to Albany, to Poughkeepsie, to New York City and finally ending with Long Island, connecting the towns in between.

I was so concentrated on my map that I didn't hear the next person come in, nor did I hear them sitting down next to me.

"Hey, Wise Girl, whatcha doing?" he asked, and I jumped, whipping my head up, startled even though I knew there was only one person that called me that. Percy snickered.

I quickly noticed Percy's new attire. He was wearing a t-shirt for a band I'd never heard of, and a different flannel than the one he'd had before; this one was green and black. He had on a new pair of jeans, and I wondered where he'd gotten all these clothes. His hair was also slightly wet, like it'd been washed but hadn't yet fully dried.

His laughter died in his throat and he studied me intensely, his eyes passing over me. I felt a blush rising to my cheeks, especially remembering what the lady had said earlier.

"What?" I protested, reaching up to touch my hair, thinking something was wrong from his stare.

Percy blinked.

"Ah- Nothing. Your hair looks amazing," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, his face red.

"Thanks," I mumbled, embarrassed, glancing down at the map I'd drawn over to hide the fact that my face was burning too. I shook my head, as if by doing that I could somehow return my cheeks to their normal color.

I surveyed my handiwork once more and tore the map of New York out of the magazine. I reached over and shoved it in the backpack on his back.

"What's that for?" Percy asked, and I opened my mouth to tell him, but then the lady walked back through the curtains with the previous customer. I stood abruptly, Percy hastily following in suit. The customer handed her a credit card, and she went behind her counter and slid it on a tablet with a credit card reader. I noticed for the first time that her desk had her name on it, and I concentrated really hard for a few seconds, trying to make sense of it, before the word actually looked like a word. Her nameplate read, Amie.

"Turn around," I hissed, and Percy did, spinning on his heel. I unzipped the backpack and slipped a couple twenties out of the baggie in the backpack, then zipped it back up.

When the other customer had walked a few feet away, I walked up to Amie, Percy following behind me.

"How much do I owe you?" I asked sheepishly.

"Oh, honey, it's on me. You were such a pleasure, and you just look absolutely stunning!" she waved me off, and I found myself turning red again.

"I- I can't just-" I started, but I was interrupted.

"Why does she get it for free?" accused the lady who had just paid.

I turned to face the customer incredulously, an expression of Are you fucking kidding me? on my face. She obviously didn't catch it, maybe because the haughty look on her face was acting as a force field around her brain, keeping a coherent thought from being formed.

I truly did not understand how Percy and I kept running into the most pretentious and snobby people, the ones that insisted on terrorizing the nicest ones. Is that really how the world worked?

"Well?" she asked snootily, wrinkling her nose at me. I saw Percy clench his fists in anger, but he restrained himself.

Amie smiled, but this wasn't like the smile she gave me. This one was a smile of extreme annoyance.

"I'm sorry, Kate," she replied tightly, "she had a coupon for a free haircut."

I definitely did not have a coupon for a free haircut.

Kate looked me up and down, obviously judging me, not even caring enough to hide it. I felt a little self conscious; my clothes were really dirty and my arms and back were covered in scabby burns. Why wouldn't she judge me?

"Ugh, it's not worth it. She's ugly anyways, and your establishment sucks," Kate rolled her eyes, huffing.

Percy's fists were clenched so tightly that his nails probably drew blood from his palms. I almost said something to him, but then his arms came up and crossed over his chest casually. His fists still clenched in anger, but he kept his face calm.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. Can I escort you to your car?" he asked Kate, his voice a mask of calm, a huge contrast from how tightly his fists were clenched.

Kate looked him up and down appreciatively, and it was my turn to glare at her.

She turned back to me once more, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, please. This stupid girl is bothering me," she said, her voice sickly sweet. I wanted to punch her so, so badly.

"Oh, I can tell. Let me help you, ma'am," he replied pleasantly, stiffly walking her to the door. Her voice faded out.

"Oh, "ma'am" makes me sound old," she giggled, "Call me Kate, please."

Once she was out of the shop, I relaxed, turning back to Amie, who looked more confused than I'd ever seen someone, ever.

"Wasn't he- didn't he- didn't you-" she tried, her face twisted in bewilderment. I don't think she realized Percy was probably about to commit a felony.

"Yeah, I know. I probably should have explicitly told him not to murder her. We don't need that added to our record," I admitted.

Amie blinked, still looking a bit confused, but she shrugged anyway.

"If she does, well... mysteriously turn up dead tomorrow, I saw nothing," she winked, and I laughed.

"I, um. I can't thank you enough," I said quietly, placing the money down on the counter. Amie picked it up to hand it back to me, but I hurried out the door. I looked back and saw her shake her head, smiling.