Birds fluttered around in the trees overhead. They jumped from branch to branch, chirping their morning tunes to each other in singsong voices. Everything was still in black and white. It had not yet come time for the sun to appear over the horizon.
Things were starting to warm up. Nighttime had lost is cold grasp on the world and a fresh, pleasant breeze had taken its place. The air was crisp and clean compared to the stuff Marcy had become accustomed to breathing. It reminded her of the cottage her family had spent holidays at in France. There the sky was clear at night and Marcelline's père had taught her how to find all of the different constellations.
In America the skies were different. Even in the countryside, where the lights didn't burn so bright, Marcy couldn't see Cassiopeia or Cepheus or Draco. She wasn't sure why. Maybe they weren't visible from the US. Maybe she had just forgotten how.
The grass was a little damp but Marcy didn't mind. It smelled like nature and was a nice place to lay while she waited for the shops to open in town. She hadn't slept for two days straight. Not because she thought sleep was for the weak (although that was part of it), but because Duff had given her a pink little pill and she had been buzzing ever since. He hadn't told her what it did. She didn't ask. That sort of thing wasn't important anymore.
It was some sort of upper. Marcy was in a perpetually good mood and had spent the day before and all of last night cleaning the tour bus. With at least nine people in an enclosed space the place tended to get pretty untidy, especially since nobody ever cleaned up after themselves. There were two other busses with more people on them. She had decided she liked cleaning. Maybe she would help them too. Marcy wasn't sure yet.
Before anybody woke up that morning Marcy had sneaked off the bus, being very careful not to make any noise. The band had decided to stop in a small town on their week off. Marcy had taken the opportunity to use the money Gilby had given her. None of the shops had been open when she first went into town. Understandable, considering it had still been nighttime and most people would've been asleep.
Marcy was going to go to the airport. They had one of those here, but it was only little. She'd find out if they had a flight to Lafayette sometime that week and book a ticket if they did. Hopefully it'd be cheap. She assumed Lafayette was close enough for the price to be somewhat reasonable.
When that was sorted Marcy was going to have a look at what type of clothing stores they had here. If she had money left she might get some lunch and buy something to wear to Lafayette. Izzy and Heidi didn't need to see her in the grungy stuff she usually wore and if she bought clothes back to the bus then she wouldn't have to explain where she'd been all day.
That was what she had planned anyway. Marcy doubted things would go the way she expected. In recent times Marcy had come to learn that her life was unpredictable. She always found herself improvising. It was more fun that way. Living.
Sometimes the best thing to do for yourself is to live in the moment. To escape. To forget your problems and let your worries drift away. In the city most people spent their time worrying about what happens next. What they are going to do. Where they're going. What they want to say. They get too caught up to realize inner peace can only be achieved through letting go.
That was another lesson Marcelline had been taught by her père. He'd shown her how to allow the sounds of nature to carry her away. How to distinguish the voice of a single bird and to let the song engulf her. How to run her hand over the grass. To feel the grass beneath her fingertips. To connect with the earth and become one with her surroundings.
Morning dew had built up on the little blades of grass. It was cool and refreshing on Marcy's skin. A few leaves had fallen from the trees above in the time she had been lying there. They were shades of autumn. Red, gold and brown. Just the memory of a season that had been and gone.
Winter was supposed to be in full swing. The days were still relatively warm and it hadn't snowed in this part of the country for two Christmas's. Saul said it was global warming. Marcy didn't think so. She had spent enough of her childhood running around in the hills of France to know the seasons were merely names to describe things that shouldn't be put under a label. Winter could feel like summer and spring could be the same as autumn. It might rain when the skies are blue and the sun is burning just for the hell of it. Weather is unpredictable. Just like Marcy.
The leaves were frozen. They crumbled whenever Marcy tried to pick on up. She hadn't thought it was so cold. Her body seemed warm. Maybe that was another effect of Duff's pill. She really should've asked what it does. Marcy didn't mind the lack of sleep. Having extra hours in the day had turned out to be a godsend but a heads up would have been nice, just so she could prepare herself a little. At least it hadn't been a hallucinogenic. That would've sucked.
The sound of approaching footsteps startled Marcy as they crunched across the frozen ground. She sat up in an instant, looking around to see who had interrupted her peace. Her body was slow and her joints ached, the cold air biting into them. On the way off the bus Marcy had taken Saul's leather jacket. He'd left it lying by the door. She figured he wouldn't miss it. The cold somehow found a way through the thick fabric. Marcy hadn't noticed at first, she'd been too absorbed in her thoughts to let it bother her. Now she'd sat up the chill washed over her like a wave, sending a shiver through her body.
"We've been looking for you everywhere." Duff slurred as he came to a stop by Marcy's side. He was alone and very drunk. That had become the norm for him. Duff was always under the influence of something. He didn't have much of a personality left. It was all just disconnected speech and incomprehensible words talking to him. Marcy had come to realize there was not much point trying to rekindle the friendship they'd once had. This Duff couldn't even hold a conversation, let alone be the person he used to be.
"Who is 'we'?" Marcy asked, craning her head to look up at him. He was so incredibly tall, especially from her spot on the ground. Duff towered above her in a way that might have been intimidating, had Marcy not known he was completely harmless.
"Me n' Slash," Duff held out his hand, offering to help her up. "You can't just go sneaking off like that."
Marcy rolled her eyes with a quiet laugh, turning her head slightly so he couldn't see. She pushed herself to her feet without taking his hand. He had awful balance, she'd seen him falling all over the place when he thought nobody was looking. It almost hurt to be around him, knowing he had once been so promising. Now the only thing Duff could do right was play music. Marcy never thought the drugs would catch up to her like they had with him. Duff was an extreme case. He hadn't known when to stop. When the time came, Marcy wouldn't make the same mistake.
