Melantha Undiscovered

Ten

"You sure about this?" the large Spanish man lurks over Melantha, a crook in his frayed eyebrow.

"I'm sure. Just do it," Melantha spits with wavering conviction.

"Okay. It's gonna hurt," he says, and she shrugs. He tugs at her lip and flicks the buzzing tattoo gun on. Fifteen minutes later and the words "Thug Life" are inked on the inside of her tender pink lip. "Done," the man says.

Melantha lopes over to the mirror and laughs satisfyingly. "I love it," she turns around to face him. "Thanks Nando," she's gushing at the blue ink, just imagining what her grandmother would think. Her voice is slightly muffled because of the cotton stuffed into her lip.

"What did your parents think of the last tat?" he tucks the gun away in a cabinet and props his large body into a spinning chair. The dingy room is lit by buzzing green tinted lights and has pictures of vivacious tattoos scattered across the white brick walls.

"Oh they fucking flipped," she hops onto a counter, her auburn hair swinging. "They always do when I get one," they both laugh.

"I remember your first one. Damn almost two years ago," he sticks his hand in his pocket and pulls out a cigarette, lighting it then dragging.

"Yup. My 18th birthday, it'll be two years in 5 days," she swings her feet, wrapped in white converse.

"Doing anything this year linda?" he puffs on the cigarette. She looks off into the mirror behind him.

"Yeah I got something planned," her lips curl into a devilish grin.

"Now I haven't known you long, Mel, but I know that smile means you're up to no good," Nando shakes his head with a grin.

"You know me well enough," she bounds off the counter and replaces the soggy cotton with new balls of fluff. "I gotta go, but hopefully I'll see you," she leaves without looking back. Only opens the metal door to the rainy enigmatic drawl of the October day.