Amberline,PA

Welcome to Buddy's

"Welcome to Buddy's" the waitress said to the three gentlemen entering the restaurant. Her hair as bright as the town firetruck, pulled back into a high ponytail. Running back to the table, causing her docs to squeak against the tile floor. If you look at the crowd, you'll find that she doesn't match the other tables. The three guys who came in, wearing the same thing most men do in town, navy blue and neon yellow uniforms. "Miners, great." Blair muttered to herself. The same group of people who come in this time of night in her small town. Blair has seen those uniform multiple times a day every shift for the past year she's lived in Amberline. "How can I help you gentlemen?" Blair asked in her soft customer service voice, a fake version of her real voice. The typical answer: burgers and beer and the one creep saying, "your phone number" (gag). After serving the men, she shuffles back to where her coworker, Tatum, was getting ready to start her shift. "I swear Tatum, sometimes I don't know why I didn't just stay in Philly '' said with a sigh. Her life before Amberline. A loving family and a normal teenage life. However, when Blair's dad got sick and passed, her mom took everyone to the town of coal miners. "Just think, if you didn't move here, you wouldn't have met me" Tatum spoke as she walked over to a table. Tatum's right. She and Blair have been best friends since the moment the Crawford family got here. Awakened from her thoughts, her alarm went off. Quitting time. "Ok Tate, I'm out of here. If you need something text me" Blair spoke, grabbing her jacket and backpack. She walks outside to her truck and just puts her head on the wheel. Somedays, she wonders if running away would be worth it. "No, they all need me," she thought before heading home.

"Mom! I'm home!" Blair yelled walking through the door. The house was oddly quiet, til she looked at the clock, 12 am. "I just put Reya to bed," her mom, Kat, softly whispered. "Sorry mom, is grandma still awake" "I believe so dear, she's in her room." Blair walks down the hall to the last door on the left, the one that belonged to her grandmother, Hazel. "Hey grandma, I'm home, do you need anything?" A smile showed on the elderly lady's face as she looked at her oldest grandchild. "No, dear, I'm ok. How was work?" "Oh, you know, the usual. Guys coming in flirting. Karen's complaining. Same old same old," said with a sigh. She walks over and kisses the older lady's forehead before going across the way to her rooms. Inside the heather gray room, pictures of the family and her friends followed her to her bathroom, where she jumped in the shower to get the smell of smoke and maple syrup off her porcelain skin. She looked in the mirror and admired the reflection. Hair as red as a candy apple, complexion as pale as a ghost, pools of mud in her doe eyes. With a sigh, she slips into pajamas and covers up with the giant quilt decorated with skulls and roses. She sees one text from Tatum saying that more people came in and goodnight. She slips her phone on her nightstand and looks up at the stars on her ceiling, man is she happy she stuck those stickers up there. Blair starts thinking about life. Family, friends, and if driving into the darkness would be worth it. "No, they need me." she whispers, falling asleep. Tomorrow is a new day in this Hell called Amberline Pennsylvania.