Send Her To Heaven

AFTERGLOW

JOLENE'S P.O.V

Starting the day cautiously optimistic, Jolene tried hard to contain her excitement. Work was finally starting to grow on her. The people didn't seem so bad anymore. Even Jonah was starting to get on her good side. Although that may largely be due to the fact that he was clearly preoccupied with something else.

3 months sober. Not a milestone but it was progress. Walking up she felt less groggy. Her appetite had returned, and her hair stopped falling out. With what little was left after rent, utilities and her phone bill she felt confident enough to get a hair cut.

Rather than take her usual detour to the bathroom she started socializing in the break room. Selfishly she went in early fishing for compliments. Standing near the microwave, to solicit as much positive feedback as possible she anxiously wondered what awaited her that evening.

From her estimation, ELEMENTAL DATA COLLECTION had 1-2 years left before they went under and reemerged with a new pseudonym. The advantage of working at such a shitty place was that quality control was low. That meant she could spend most of her time refreshing her Instagram and twitter feed to monitor the day's events.

Checking her messages every 2-4 seconds she waited anxiously for Josh to text her about tonight.

With an hour left of her shift, Joshua DM'd, "Hey! I hope you're having a great day so far. In case you're running late, I set you up at the front of the stage. Can't wait to see you tonight!"

5:00 pm couldn't have come any faster. Hanging up her headphones for the day she bolted to the bus stop. This was the first time she had ventured outside her neighborhood since moving back home. Huffing and puffing on the bus she double-checked her duffle bag. By the number of items she brought with her, you'd think she was staying the night.

Once inside she bolted past everyone and blindly pushed her way to the front desperately searching for this section he had laid out for her. Finally spotting her matt she made her way to the front as promised.

The crowd was not at all what she expected. Thinking she would be surrounded by crop top wearing coed's and MILF's she wore shorts cuffing her ass and a crop top that bordered on underwear.

Most of the people there were working moms. Instead of coed's, there were socially awkward freshmen. The ones that probably debated night and day if they had what it took to go alone.

Suddenly she felt naked and self-conscience. Woefully underdressed she noticed a folded up grocery bag next to her matt. Inside was a t-shirt and a pair of joggers. Quickly putting it on to avoid any more awkward stares, she sat crossed-legged on her matt. Searching the bag once more she spotted a small white envelope. Placing the envelope on her chest, she decided to wait until she was in the privacy of her own home before opening it.

There must have been more people in attendance then any stadium could hold. Looking at her ticket, the start time was N/A. Initially she thought it was a typo or mistake but evidently, Joshua Cage was scheduled to show up whenever he felt like showing up.

Still exhausted from her sprint she decided to lay down and close her eyes.

Staring up at the evening sky, listening to people introduce themselves to each other for the first time and offer each other free food and water, Jolene felt peace for the first time since leaving L.A.

By the time Joshua came on stage Jolene was so zoned out that for a minute she felt like she was the only human left in the entire world.