Towson

Arrival

Kona was awakened by the light touch of a flight attendant.

"Excuse me ma'am, the plane has landed!" The young lady said.

"Thank you, miss." Kona said, groggily.

She dragged herself through the crowded isles, noticing the crying child, the irritated businessman, and all the other stereotypical people you'd find on a plane. Kona awkwardly shuffled in-between all of them as she got off the plane.

Heading into the building, Kona patiently waits for her luggage. As she retrieves it, she notices the remarkable scratches on her guitar case. Having recalled her memory of her guitar being thrown around like a football, she is overcome with extreme annoyance.

'Those little bitches will have what's coming!' She thought.

She quickly cracked open her case to look at her guitar.

It has a dent in it. A large, sizable sent, along with a narrow crack on the side. A decent amount of scratches, implying the guitar was well used. Kona wanted to cry.

"You crack my guitar, I crack your skulls!" She mumbled.

Thank God it was still useable. That doesn't stop the fact that she still wanted to punch each and every one of those bastards for hurting her child.

"Miss, are you alright?"

She looked up. A handsome, dark haired man, early 20s. Glasses sat atop the bridge of his nose. He seemed reserved, cool headed, kind. He'd have had a professional air to him if it weren't for his baggy band T-shirt reading 'Drist of the West' in bold letters. It was an up and coming metal band a few people have heard of. A few years down the line, no doubt they would be world renowned.

"Ugh, the plane people jacked up my guitar. Got scratches and shit that weren't there before." Kona sighed.

"Felt. Thank God I bought myself a travel guitar I don't care much about. I can't imagine them fucking up my guitar if I had a Taylor Guitar like that. I'd flip shit." The man said.

"Oh you play?" Kona asked.

"Sure I do! I play in a band. I can play a lot of instruments, but my main is drums. I do vocal stuff too."

"Solid. You got a name?" Kona asked.

"Do you?" He laughed a bit.

"Well, I'm Kona." She rolls her eyes, returning his sarcasm.

"Hmm, should I give you my fake name, or my real name?" He thought aloud to himself.

"Do I have a choice?" Kona laughed.

"Sure you do! I'm an open book." The man said.

"I can see that. I get the feeling we'll see each other around, so, fake name." Kona said.

"Interesting choice! My name is uhh...Wrathchild. Don't forget to look up that name later!" He said.

"Well, uhh...Wrathchild, it's nice to meet you! Looking up someone else's name is strange, but sure, I'll do it. Peace." Kona waved.

"Yeah, later. I know a guitar guy who might be able to do something about those scratches. Check out a place called Music Go Round, see if they can help. They're pretty cheap."

With that, Wrathchild walked off. Feeling optimistic, Kona marched forward and took out her phone to call a cab.

"Hello, how may I help you?" The lady said.

"I need a ride to Towson, I'm at Martin State airport."

"Okay, Sending one your way!" The lady said.

"Thank you so much!" Kona said before hanging up.

Kona waited outside for a few minutes before the cab arrived. She loaded the luggage in the trunk, and hopped in.

The taxi man was dead silent before taking off, and he remained that way for a while.

Kona noticed his Towson University T shirt, and decided to comment on it.

"Did you go to Towson University, sir?" I asked.

"I did. Graduated 2017 with a music bachelor's. I work here now." The man said simply.

"What did you play?" Kona pressed further.

"Ah, lots of stuff. Mainly trumpet. I was in the band branch." The man said.

"Do you...still make music?" Kona asked.

"Nah, been a long time since then. I used to play for weddings, but most people just book DJs nowadays. Music was my dream, but it was just that. A dream. It's not as depressing as it sounds. I've come to terms with it." The man said.

Kona sat in silence for a little longer. She felt unsure of herself from the words of the silent cab driver. Maybe working so hard in music would be useless if all you're gonna end up doing is being a cab driver. She'd rather just go to driving school if she knew that would be how it ended for most folks.

She frowned slightly, before saying "I'm sure you sounded lovely."

"I sure did. I have the honor of having a wife and kid who I can show music to. It wasn't the future for me, but it might be for him. It might be for you, too. I saw your busted up Taylor in my rear view mirror." The man said.

"It wasn't always busted up. Those TSA jackasses scratched the living hell out of it." Kona said.

"Yeah, they do that. Rule number 1 of flying, don't bring anything you care about. You have where you are, and that's the only thing that needs caring for." The man said.

"That's oddly deep." Kona says.

The cab screeches to a halt. She's arrived. She fumbles through her wallet and sheepishly slides her card and hands the man a 10.

"That's the best tip I've gotten." The man says, surprised.

"Well, you made me think a lot today. It's the least you deserve." Kona said.

She opens the trunk and grabs her luggage, and sent the man on his way. The man gave her a two finger salute before departing. He was a nice fella.

She turns around to see the Towson University campus, and she can't describe it as anything less than grand.

"Oh my god, look at this place! It's amazing!"