We all have our masks [Twenty One Pilots]

Chapter One: Homecoming

The diner was packed when Lena entered. The smell of coffee and bacon filled the air to the point where it was almost unbearable, but Lena's stomach growled at the simple thought of a cream cheese bagel. She forced her way through the small entrance, pulling her heavy suitcase behind her. Then, she stopped. The noise was overwhelming. All she could hear was the grating clatter of cutlery against plates and the clamour of a thousand different conversations and voices. Despite her growing headache, Lena smiled while looking around. What she saw felt so familiar, it was like she hadn't left the country at all. 

But she did. When she was fourteen, her father took her to France, and the past few years merely consisted of a long and rough patch. Surely, her teenage years hadn't been the best, but there had been rays of sunshine towards the end. She smiled again, reminiscing the few happy moments she had, but was called back to reality when someone pushed her, almost tripping at the contact of their bodies. 

"Whoops, sorry..." a young man said to her, but she didn't have the time to blink that he was already gone, making the doorbell jingle along the way. She spotted black skinny jeans, untied boots, messy hair under a snapback. 

With a nostalgic look, she stared at her own snapback that was hanging from her suitcase handle. But before the item could take her back to her past, she was pushed again, this time by two little boys that were heading towards the door, follower by their screaming mother. Lena was tiny enough to take a step back so she could let the woman walk away after their children, but she was shoved aside again by the waitress coming from behind the counter.

"If you don't move soon, sweetheart, you'll be dead before you know it!"

The woman was was wearing a dark green apron low on her waist and carrying a platter filled with coffee cups. She didn't look very young, but not that old either. The skin of her face was smooth, and a few grey strands gave a shiny look  to her long brown hair tied into a loose bun on the top of her head. 

"Want a table? Follow me. If not, move out of the way, dear!"

Lena wasn't even shocked by the woman's rudeness. She remember seeing that behaviour a lot, when she was a kid, coming from her own mother. She wasn't as manly-speaking as that waitress, surely, but her mother had a strong character, and she was able to handle all sorts of customers with fierceness when it was necessary. Or so she thought...

Lena shook her head to get rid of the dark thoughts that were suddenly filling her head, and followed the waitress as quickly as she could. The woman stopped at a table and offered her biggest smile to four men that were seated in a corner, dropping off the coffee cups before continuing along the hallway. She finally stopped at the only free table Lena could see, wiped it with a clean towel and waited for Lena to sit down before bringing a small black notebook out of the front pocket of her apron. 

"What can I get ya honey?"

Lena glanced at the menu with curiosity, wondering what kind of American meal she could get that she had forgotten about, but the thought of that cream cheese bagel came back on full force. She asked for two of those, with a glass of Coke. The waitress - Kay, according to the name tag on her jutting chest - disappeared as quickly as the wind, and Lena started to quietly observe her surroundings. 

The room was full with all sorts of people : students enjoying the early evening with friends before going home, families eating dinner, colleagues, friends, lonely people. She stared with discretion at those, because they reminded her of herself. She was alone, too, lost in Poughkeepsie, a city that she used to know so well. Now, it just looked to her like any other city, too big, too noisey, an entanglement of square streets and tall buildings that brought back hazy memories. 

She had hope, though. She knew that she was on the right track to find what and who she was looking for. She remembered her uncle and cousin really well. It had been such a heartbreak when she had to leave those two when her father decided it was best for them to move to France, and she hadn't forgiven her dad for long after that. But she was here now, back to her roots. She just needed to find their address, and all would be well: she would crash at their place for quite some time, maybe sleep on the comfy couch they had in the living room, the one they used to spend their nights in when she and her cousin Hannah were kids. She would find a job, save money, and maybe she would even be able to go to university to get a degree. She would start over for good.

"Here you go, babe! Enjoy your meal and call me if you need anything!" Kay dropped a full plate on the table with a loud clang, along with the drink she ordered. 

"Thank you! Well actually... I might need something." Lena replied. 

The waitress stopped dead in her tracks, and without a sound - except for her loud fashion of chewing gum - stared at Lena. The young girl gulped nervously. 

"So... I'm looking for a guy named Richard Parker. He used to work here. I think he even owned the place. He's my uncle. Do you happen to..."

"Doesn't live here anymore, sweetheart. Sorry. You won't find him here, or in town for that matter."

The hope that had been floating around Lena's head for the whole day suddenly burst into a cloud of dark smoke. She looked down at her plate. The bagels didn't seem that enjoyable anymore. She paid for it anyway, while Kay was still there, but she sighed loudly. Uncle Rick and her cousin Hannah were her only way out to a new life. She had no one else, nothing else either - just a full suitcase. She picked at her bagels, not really hungry anymore, while hopelessly trying to figure out what to do next. It was when she was about to head out that the waitress hailed her.

"Take this." She handed her a paper towel. Scribbled in black ink was an address. "It's the last place I know of that Rick worked at. I hope it helps!"

Lena didn't know what to say. This piece of paper was her last chance, and she couldn't thank her enough for her help. Softly, she went to hug the waitress and said her goodbyes, then started pulling her suitcase towards the entrance.

"Hey girl... Please put that smile back on your pretty little face, will ya?"

Lena couldn't help but smile lightly. There was still hope, after all.