Wrong Side of The Tracks

Part 2

Ashlyn wakes up to something being thrown at her head, she sits up quickly and falls off the couch. She lays there rubbing her head and looking up at her boss, Dave.

"You sleep, here again, Ash?" Ashlyn sits up, "Yeah, Mom had one of her boyfriends over last night and I didn't want to have to listen to them having sex." Dave reaches down to help her get up.

"Planning on going to school today?"

Ashlyn looks at him and what she's wearing, "Umm..."

He hands her keys to his apartment above the shop, "Go shower, eat and there should be some clean clothes for you in the basket."

"Thanks, Dave."

"Get a move on or you're going to be late."

Ashlyn takes the keys and heads outside and up the set of stairs to his apartment. Dave is really the closest thing she has to family outside of Tobin, Kelley and Hope. Since she showed up there two years ago at his gas station and garage begging for a job, he has done everything he can to help her get out of the small mixed uptown.

As Dave goes about starting work on a noisy muffler, Ashlyn finishes showering and digging through said laundry basket, she finds some of her own clothes that she left here previously and gets dressed.

Heading out to the kitchen she grabs herself some cereal and watches the morning cartoons as she eats it. Once the bowl is empty, she turns the old TV off and puts her dish in the sink, then collects a bottle of water and a banana for later before heading to the door, making sure it's all locked up and heading back downstairs.

She heads into the garage and sees feet sticking out from under an old Chevy. "DAVE!"

Her boss and friend slides put from underneath it and looks up, smiling at her, "All good to go?"

"Yeah, thanks again, man. I put your keys in the office on the hook."

"I got a couple of oil changes lined up for you after school, and maybe you can help me figure out why Mr Andrews truck isn't starting."

"I couldn't sleep last night, so I took a look at the truck, replaced the timing belt; it should start now."

"What would I do without you, Ash."

"You would probably eat better because I'm always stealing your food."

Dave laughs, "True. My door is always open, Ash, you know that; I can't pay you much, so the least I can do is make sure you eat and have clean clothes."

"I'll see you after, Dave; have a good one."

"At least make an attempt to go to class today, alright? See you after, Ash. Stay out of trouble."

"I'll try, all depends on the girls, man, you know how it goes."

"No, actually, I don't, you're the closest thing I have to a girlfriend. Being a mechanic is a small town in the middle of butt-fuck nowhere isn't actually a huge turn on for most women."

"Sucks to be you then, I'll see you after school, try not to get crushed by a car in the meantime."

Ashlyn makes her way over to her old beat-up truck and prays that it decides it wants to start today. Turning the key in the ignition it sputters and then eventually roars to life. Ashlyn cranks the radio and sings along or attempts to sing along with the songs as she drives.

Arriving at school, her truck is one of the only vehicles in the student lot as most take the bus, walk or ride bikes to the small school. Parking it in the closest spot she makes her way in and taking a look around, she licks her chops at the sight of one of the few girls in town who she has yet to charm into joining her in the janitor's closet or as she prefers to call it, her office.