I Can Ride

Exploring

----->>> picture of Pete on the right

I woke up early the next morning. It was 6:00 and the sun was just coming up. The sunlight had woken me up from it's bright light seeping in through the window of my room. That would take some getting used to as well, considering the sun didn't face my window at our old house. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and stretched my arms over my head. I yawned and got up out of my bed. I walked into the bathroom and turned the light on. My refelction in the mirror made me smiled. I like the way I looked. I have long black hair that went a little further than half way down my back. I have these bright emerald green eyes that are framed by my long and thick eye lashes. My skin is tan but more like the sun kissed tan than the dark Hispanic like tan. My lips are a soft light pink and my cheeks have a natural rosy look to them. All in all, I was a pretty decent looking 17 year old girl.

I picked up my tooth brush and brushed my teeth. Once I was done I rinsed my mouth out with water and whipped my mouth with a towel. I reached my arm behind my head and pulled my hair our of its ponytail and my hair fell down my shoulders and back in loose, wavy black curls. I went to my closet and put on a pair of dark skinny jeans, a white tank top with a see through off the shoulder white shirt over it and converses that lace all the way up to under my knee. I went back into my bathroom and put on some mascara and a little lip gloss. I didn't like wearing that much make up. I usually tried to go for the natural look, which for me is mascara and a little bit of lip gloss and the occasional concealer. I grabbed my phone and put it in my pocket and grabbed my black leather jacket and slipped it on. I went into the kitchen and grabbed a pen and a notepad that was laying on the counter and wrote a note letting my dad know where I was then walked out the house.

I went over to the moving van that was still in our drive way. I opened up the back of it and saw my motorcycle in the very back. I smiled to myself and walked into the van. My bike is a red Ducati 1098 and it is my most prized position. It took me forever to pick what bike I wanted but as soon as I  laid eyes on it, I knew it was the one I had to have. My dad doesn't quite like the idea of his only daughter driving a motorcycle but after a while, he didn't really say anything more about it to me. I know he worries about me on it and that one day someone's going to have to peal me up off the side walk but, I've promised that I'll always be careful while riding it. No crazy stunts or anything which made him feel better because he knows I don't lie so it was easy for him to believe me and trust me with riding it. I grabbed the keys that were hanging on the handle and put it in the ignition without starting it. Then I grabbed my black helmet that was sitting on the floor. I placed it on my lap while I pulled my hair up that way my hair wont blow everywhere from the wind and then put my helmet over my head. I turned the key in the ignition and  revved the engine. I smiled at the sound and pressed the gas, making my way out of the back of the van.

I drove around the streets for a little while and stopped at a few places. I stopped at a jewelry store and saw an awesome black and silver skeleton necklace with diamonds as eyes, a book store where I found some really interesting mystery and teen romance books which I ended up buying one of each and then I stopped at this awesome looking music store. I parked my bike and took the key out of the ignition and put it in my pocket and took my helmet off and placed it on my handle bars. I opened the door to the store and heard the little chime as I entered. I walked around and they all different kinds of music and instruments as well. As I was looking at the guitars, I noticed this one that I had been looking at on the Internet for a while. It was an Alvarez Artist Series AF60 Folk Acoustic. Not really the most popular guitar I know, but I liked it and the research I had done on it, it seemed like a decent guitar. Especially considering I was in the need of a new one. I picked it up and sat down on a little bench that was placed in front of the instruments. I placed my fingers on the stings at the neck of it  with my left hand and strummed the stings on the body of it with my right. I smiled once I heard the nice melody it made. I started playing the chorus of the song "A Drop in the Ocean" by Ron Pope. I sung along as I played and couldn't help but smile. I hadn't played my guitar since mom died. I'm surprised that I even remembered how to play. When I had finished, I just sat there for a second in silence. That is until I heard clapping from a few feet away. I jumped and turned my head to see a boy about my age with short brown hair, brown eyes and light skin. He had a goofy smile on his face and was clapping like a maniac. "You're a really good guitar player." he said. I smiled and stood up and placed the guitar back on the stand. "Thanks. I haven't playedin a while." I said. "How long exactly have you not played because you sounded like you've been playing forever." "About five years. Give or take a few months." His mouth hung wide open at my statement and I couldn't help but laugh. He regained his composer after a few seconds and I secede my laughter. "Wow that long huh?" "Yeah." "Why'd you stop playing for so long?" I froze at his question. "Um...personal reasons." He gave me an understanding nod and didn't press the question. "Oh, I'm Pete Kenish. You must be new around here." "Yeah I am. My dad and I just moved here yesterday. I'm Candy Walker." "Nice. I like your name by the way." "Thanks. It's not my real name but I like it better." "Ah. So are you registered to go to Olympia High?" "Yeah. My first day's Monday." "Well maybe we'll meet up before school starts and I can walk you to your first class." "Sounds good." "Well I gotta run but I'll see you Monday." "Ok." He smiles and walks around some of the shelves and out the front door.  

I looked around the store for a few more hours, focusing primarily on their music selection. I was mainly interested in the country, hip hop, pop and folk sections. I have a pretty diverse style of music that I enjoy. It's mostly hip hop and pop but I have several artists that sing different genres. Music is sort of my release. No matter how lonely I ever felt, music was always there for me. I use it to escape into a world all of my own, and I've never let anyone in it except my mother. She really understood my love for music. I used to play my guitar for her and sing for her all the time. I even used to make her listen to new songs that I found that I extremely enjoyed. Not that she minded, we had pretty much the same taste in music. I ended up picking out two cd's - Ron Pope and Matt Nathanson - before I left the store. I paid for them and walked out the store. I placed the bag on one of the handle bars, along with my bag of books and then put my hair up and put my helmet on and turned the motorcycle on and drove out of the small parking lot.

I stopped at a Subway quickly and ordered two subs: one for dad and one for me. I got dad a meatball marinara and myself a cold cut combo with three kinds of meat, American cheese, lettuce, cucumbers, banana peppers and oil and vinegar. I paid for the subs and made my way home. I parked my bike in the drive way and walked in the house. Dad was sitting on the couch watching tv with a cup of soda in his hands. "Hey dad." "Hey sweetheart. You were gone for quite a while. What time did you wake up?" "6:00, but I didn't leave till about 6:30." "What were you out doing?" "I was exploring the city." "So you walked around town for about 5 and half hours?" Damn, I was gone for that long? "No, I drove my bike." My dad sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Candice, you know how I feel about you driving that thing around." "Dad, you said you trust me. I told you I'd be careful and I have been ever since I got it last year. You don't have to worry about me." He gave me a sad look but he knew I was right. "Would it make you feel any better if I told you I brought Subway home?" I ask with a smile. "Are you trying to change the subject?" "That depends, is it working?" He paused for a second, just looking at me like he was debating his answer. "Yes." he finally said. I laughed at him and he gave a slight chuckle. I walked over to him and took the subs out of the bag and laid them on the coffee table. Then I walked into the kitchen and made myself a glass of coca cola and walked back into the living room and sat on the couch next to dad. We ate our subs together and watched a football game. I spent the rest of the day with him and it was pretty nice. I enjoy the quality time I get to spend with him.