Ford Escort

16 - Adrenaline

Ava knew the ins and outs of Portland Maine better than I ever would. Instead of needing to look addresses up on her phone, she would just tell Uber drivers what part of town, street names or landmarks to go by and they would know where to go. It seemed to make her that much more likable, she was confident and knew where she was going. All the drivers seemed at ease with her, knowing they had something in common, being a Maine native.

I hated being in cabs or Ubers alone, even armed with the exact address the drivers would ask me questions like, "Oh like over by the museum?" or "Yeah, right past Hadlock Field?" and I would always be unsure how to answer. Worst of all, I never knew where to go in the first place.

My first few weeks in Maine, I had wanted to try the food, see the sights and get to know the history. But I hadn't known where to start, and I ended up just crying in a McDonalds.

So I remained silent as Ava and I climbed into our Uber just after 7:30, as she expertly directed our driver to God knows where and I didn't even bother lingering on it. I knew she'd pick an amazing place to eat that I, as an out-of-towner, would've never have stumbled across on my own.

Minutes later we were being sat in a glass restaurant on Commercial Street overlooking Casco Bay. Of course the menu was mostly fish, which I wasn't personally a fan of, but the view alone was almost enough to make me crave seafood. Almost.

"I'll have the chicken." I told our waitress, a tall brunette called Hannah.

"Not a fan of seafood?" Ava asked as Hannah gathered our menus and hurried off to the kitchen.

"Not particularly, no."

"Maine is not the place for you, honey." She took a long swig of her Coke.

"You don't say."

As it turned out, the chicken was amazing, and I even tried a bite of Ava's shrimp scampi and didn't vomit. Maybe I could get used to seafood after all, back in Sacramento of course. Ava had kindly offered to pay, knowing I was low on funds, but I had swiped a hundred from my savings and it felt nice to splurge on myself for the first time in weeks.

We spent the entire meal talking about how hard college was, and how beautiful Maine could be in the summer months. Before I knew it, it was almost 9 and we suddenly remembered we had somewhere to be.

"Should I get the Uber this time?" I asked as we collected our coats and headed out onto the street.

"No, it's just a block and a half away."

Of course it was still raining, only slightly, and we had to run all the way to the club to avoid messing up Ava's hair. Our running came to a stop in front of what at first appeared to be a small bookstore, but you could hear loud music humming from inside.

As I opened the door, I expected the music to hit us at full volume, but it was still muffled and the store appeared almost empty. The man behind the counter gave us a once-over and a toothy grin, leaning towards us over the countertop so we could hear him.

"What can I help you ladies find?"

Ava unceremoniously slammed the tickets down on the counter and the man gave us a nod.

"Wow VIPs are we? Can I see some ID?"

Shit.

"All I have is my student ID." I told him with a twist in my stomach.

"No driver's license?" He asked me with a raised eyebrow as Ava produced hers and handed it over.

"No, I'm not from here, and I didn't bring my car when I moved..." I couldn't actually remember where my drivers license was, I wasn't even sure I'd brought it with me to Maine.