14 years - Axl Rose x OC

19

--October 6th, 1977, Olympia, Washington

Shutting the door to her locker, Lita Monroe walked out of Olympia's High School and down the street to the left. The October air bristled against her cheeks as Lita pulled her windbreaker tighter around her figure. Leaves fell in front of her on the sidewalk in cool shades of red, orange, and yellow.

Lita walked past a slew of arcades, salons, and record stores on her way to the diner that sat on the corner of North Street and Cleveland Ave. Pulling her backpack up higher on her slouched shoulder, Lita entered the restaurant, the sound of David Bowie serenading the rows of red-leather booths. She looked both ways before moving toward a barstool.

On her right was a group of young boys, maybe a year younger than her, laughing loudly in their seats as the waitresses flew past them in their skates. The 50s-themed diner looked like magic to Lita on a day like this. She could see a red-headed boy stick his gum under the table, a blonde one sitting and intently staring at his menu, and a brown-haired boy staring at her, a smirk on his face. Their long hair and Aerosmith tees reminded her of a few boys she knew back in Indiana. There would be a letter sitting in her mailbox when she got home.

To her right were a few older women: one had bubblegum-pink hair and a large marigold flower tattooed on her bicep; the one next to her had jet-black hair, and though her skin was as dark as night, Lita could see the eyeliner ringed around her dark pupils and the bright red lipstick smudged on her teeth as she laughed at whatever the third girl–whose back was turned to Lita–said. She wished she could sit with them instead of by herself.

Turning toward the bar in front of her, 14 yr old Lita Monroe hailed a waitress from behind the counter. The young girl came down the aisle dressed in a colorful red-purple swirling dress. It reminded Lita of her favorite ice cream: Black Raspberry with cherries.

"Can I get you something," the girl smiled, pulling a notepad from her front pocket. The name 'Della' sat on the girl's name tag, and Lita recognized her from an earlier visit to the diner at the beginning of the school year. Lita also knew she'd seen 'Della' at Olympia High, but the two never spoke.

"Shirley Temple, please and thank you," she spoke with an unenthusiastic smile. Della nodded and went off to make the drink. Lita heard the chatter from the two groups again: the pink-haired girl said something funny, her friend laughed; the red-headed boy in the corner banged on the plexi-glass window at a dog outside and both his friends chuckled. Waiting for 'Della' to come back with her drink, Lita wished she could've been here, in this fun, bright diner, with a friend.

The turntable stopped. Someone switched the record and put on George Harrison.

Lita sat there, lonely and without a friend, until Della returned with her Shirley Temple, her ponytail swinging and her ice-cream-swirled dress flowing in frilly motions. "Here you go." Her makeupless face was lit in a fleshy brightness, and her teeth showed through the pulling of her lips. "Thank you," Lita replied, wishing to reciprocate Della's sweetness.

"Hey, don't you go to Olympia High? I think I've seen you there before."

"Yeah, but I'm new to the city," Lita answered.

"You're a sophomore, right?" Della tilted her head to the side, curiously. "Yeah, I am," Lita smiled. She felt like the boys in the booth or the three girls dressed in their anti-establishment garb. Lita felt like she was speaking to a friend, it was so easy. She took a large sip of her Shirley Temple.

"I'm a Junior, but I'll be sixteen next week," Della said. Her toothy smile grew as she spoke of her sweet sixteen. "Happy early birthday," Lita spoke back to her genuinely. Their conversation flowed easy, like the leaves outside drifted in the wind.