A Spark of Love

The Walk

The sun was finally coming up as I continued to walk down the road I've spent my whole life living on. The road that's is all too familiar. It's really beginning to bother me. The more I think about it, the more I realize I'm not only upset about State because I don't get to go to college with Kevin, but that I also need to get out of this town.

When I reach Rodeo Road, about thirty minutes after leaving home, it's empty. For the first time in months, there aren't people anymore. It looks like the movie crews have packed everything up and gone back to Hollywood. I'm sure people in town will be sad, they all seemed to love it. I'm glad they are all gone, it made life in our small town seem big and made getting anywhere difficult.

I walk to Split Bean and take a seat at one of the outside tables and wait for Candy, the owner/employee, to come out and take my order.

"Hey Hun, what can I get you?"

"I'll have a latte and a muffin."

"Blueberry, banana nut or chocolate?"

"Chocolate."

 Candy nods and disappears back into the shop.  Chocolate always makes me feel better. I hope the coffee calms me down, too.

"It's crazy, isn't it?"

I turn my attention to Candy. 

"Yeah, sure is." I have no clue what she's talking about.

"It was my best three months, having those Hollywood people here. Even had to hire some additional staff. Oh well."

She sets the latte and muffin down in from of me and she heads back inside. For some reason, I feel irritated that she misses the film crew. I know that she won't be the last person to talk about it.

 I don't get it. The few people I met, who were just regular members of the crew, they seemed so... so fake. I have this picture in my head now, that everyone in Hollywood is like that. It used to have some appeal to me but that's gone.

I rip the plastic wrap off my muffin and break off a piece of the top. I love muffin tops, they are so much better than the bottoms. I never could figure that out. I alternate between bites of the delicious muffins and sips of my latte. 

Once the muffin is gone I down the rest of my latte and put five dollars on the table for Candy. It's more than my bill, but I want to get out of here. I continued my walk down the way of the road. I have no idea where I'm going but in my mind, anything is better than going home. Dad will probably still be in his room and I need to figure out what I'm doing.

I head toward the bike path that leaves town and parallels to the highway. The path is empty, not that it's ever really busy, but it's nice to be able to walk along and not have to dodge people on bicycles or runners.

 As I walked, I almost forgot about my crappy week. Almost.

I need to figure out what to do.

Maybe I should stick around here, get a summer job and then go to community college in the fall. I know of one not too far from State, it's where all the other rejects go. I should fit right in. At least that way I can have some semblance of a college experience and still be close to Kevin. If I work my ass off, I might be able to transfer to State after a few semesters.

Even though I do live in a small town, there are enough businesses that I should be able to get something. Maybe I can even save enough to buy myself a car, something cheap and used. That would make life much easier. That way I could come home on weekends, or at least on holidays, to visit my parents. And do my laundry. I crack a smile. For the first time in the last few days, I'm finally feeling positive about my life. It isn't State, but it's something.

I turn around as I near the end of the path. I figure I've been gone for at leat two hours by now. My cell phone is sitting on my bedside table and I don't want Dad to worry, assuming that he has emerged from his room.

Natchitoches has come to life by the time I pass back through it. It's not as busy as when the film crew was here, that's for sure, but there's a decent number of people out and about. It appears normal now, on the surface, but I know everyone, just like Candy, is still going to be talking about the movie and the crew for years to come. 

Word Count: 813

Not the most interesting chapter but there are lots more to come so hang in there.