Oil & Ink

Chapter 12: Insomnia

Charlie couldn't sleep.

This happened from time to time and when he couldn't sleep, he had a rule for himself: "If I can't fall back asleep in 20 minutes, then I'll just get up."

Usually, he fell back asleep quickly. But tonight, he reached under his pillow and pulled out his phone. He knew it was a recipe for not falling back to sleep in a timely manner, but he started to scroll through Instagram.

He scrolled past pictures of fresh tattoos, ads for equipment, and random selfies. His eyes felt tired and the images started to blur together, but his mind was wide awake.

Just when his eyes were about to completely glaze over, he scrolled past a graphic.

Wait.

He scrolled back to look closer. It was a graphic from Blue Jar Tattoo Shop. It read:

BLUE JAR'S ANNUAL TATTOO CONTEST

GRAND PRIZE $20,000

Festival + Judging: September 10th

A tattoo contest? Charlie sat up, putting his phone down. He ran his hands through his hair. He'd never heard of a tattoo contest. How were the entries submitted? He picked up his phone again, reopening Instagram.

He liked the post with a double-tap of his thumb and then screenshotted it for safe-keeping. He was going to have to look into this further when it wasn't the middle of the night.

But $20,000? That was a lot of money. Life-changing. He sucked in a bunch of air, puffing up his cheeks and slowly let it out.

How was he supposed to go back to sleep now?

***

When Charlie woke up the next morning, the tattoo contest didn't even cross his mind. At first. Reaching for his phone, it hit him. The contest!

He opened his photo album to see the screenshot once again. No different information than he remembered from last night. The grand prize money and the September 10 deadline; all the same.

He scanned the photo for any details. The caption had more information.

"We're looking for the next great tattoo artist! Bring your canvas to Blue Jar Tattoo Shop for the Festival, where live tattooing will be open to the public. All tattoos will be judged on September 10 at 12pm. Public participants will be allowed to vote on their favorite tattoo, along with social media input. A panel of judges — including famous tattoo artists Tim True, Mary Zoe, and Steve Kinser — will determine the grand prize winner. Register at our #linkinbio // The deadline to register is August 1 at midnight PST.

Live tattooing. Charlie would have to bring a client to the festival and tattoo them right there — no previously completed tattoos allowed. Charlie went back to Instagram to find Blue Jar Tattoo Shop's profile. He clicked the link in their bio.

Registration was $100. He could swing that, but it was getting to Los Angeles, staying there for a few days... it would be a chunk of change. But he couldn't put that other number out of his mind: $20,000.

Today was July 26. He had a few days to think it over, do the math, and make a decision. For now, he needed to get to Tucker's. It was going to be another busy day.

***

When Charlie pulled up, there were already a few cars in the lot. No telling if they were people stopping off for snacks or a map or if anyone needed a tattoo. He walked inside with a quickness.

"Hey, welcome to —" Sara said, giving her standard Tucker's welcome without seeing who it was at first. "Oh hey, Charlie."

Charlie gave her a wave and beelined it to his corner. He looked around Tucker's to see what kinds of people were there. A few people were getting sodas, but the snack aisles had been overtaken.