Busking

The rain pours softly onto the roof. The leak that's five feet away from my head helps lull me to sleep, the constant drip-drip-drip mixed with the sound of the wind. The sounds of the city gets quieter as the bars and the want to be pubs close down and the drunks begin their seemingly long quest home to their beds. I try and get comfortable, but my feet stick out from under the too small blanket. I give up trying to fight it and curl into a small ball on
the old couch. I hear the argument from upstairs and try to ignore it and get to sleep, focus on the drip of the leak hitting the table. I finally give up and walk to the bathroom and open the medicine cabinet and take out the bottle of over-the-counter sleep aides and put two into my mouth and drink a glass of water. I walk back to my couch and look at the room. two couches,
a silver TV, two tables, one littered with beer bottles and old fast food bags, the second only with my pair of keys and wallet and the ever growing puddle, and the beat old up guitar case that leans near the door next to my jacket. I sit on the couch, curl into a ball and pull the too short blanket over myself. The argument grows louder for three seconds, then it stops. I
know that the only reason is that they don't want me thinking that anything is wrong, that everything is fine. I roll onto my side and look at the back of the couch, and go to sleep.

I wake up to being shaken. I look up into a pair of dull blue eyes. She's saying something, but she's talking so fast I can't understand her. She walks into the bathroom and I hear the shower start. I take this time to clean up the room. I’m on the third trip of throwing beer bottles and cans out when she's done in the shower.
"What're your plans for today?"
I tell her that I’m going downtown to play.
"Are you going to even look for a job?"
I ignore her as I get into the shower. The cold water hits my face. I take a quick shower and walk out of the bathroom. She's gone, off to work or school. I get dressed and put my shoes on. I pick up my guitar case and a bottle of water and lock the door.

I get downtown and stand at my usual spot. I open the case and make sure that the guitar isn't out of tune from drunken people playing with it. I start playing. Some people ignore me, some throw insults at me, some stand and listen, some throw
pennies and nickels into the case. One person though, watches me while I play all my songs. I open my bottle of water and take a drink when she talks to me.
"I like your music."
I tell her thank you.
"I’m not really in touch with the music scene," she says with a laugh. "were those all covers or did you write them?"
I tell her that I play my own music first then play three covers. We make small talk for three minutes. most of that is about me. I ask about her. I ask her what she does.
"Well, actually, I'm a painter."
I say something dumb in an attempt to be charming and we both laugh at me.
"Well, the gallery down the street is displaying one of my pieces, if you'd like to see it."
I tell her that I’d love to, and I pull out the loose change out of my case and put the guitar away.

During the walk we keep talking. I learn her name, I learn what she wants to do with her life, and I learn that she went to the school I went to. We make some more small talk as we walk into the small gallery. She points her painting out to me. I tell her that I like it.
"Really? I don't think that it's my best."
We make some more small talk. We talk about art and music as we walk back to the place where I was playing before.
"So I have to ask this, did we go to school together?"
I tell her that we had two classes together.
"Yeah, you looked familiar," she says laughing. "I have to go a class in a few minutes---"
She keeps talking but I don't listen to the words, I just look at her, take her features in. She hands me a piece of paper with a number scribbled on it.
"Call me?"
I smile and tell her that I will. As she starts to walk away, I start playing again. She looks back at me and smiles.

I walk back home, change jingling in my coat pocket, the paper with her number in my wallet. I unlock the door and walk into a full house. The three people sitting on the couch I'm using as a bed look up at me, too absorbed in their drinks to acknowledge me. The only person that does is the one walking out of the bathroom.
"How are you doing?"
I tell him good.
"Make any money out there?"
I shake my pocket.
"Good, we might need some of it."
I don't bother telling them that I need the money for myself. I walk upstairs, looking for a safe place to put my guitar even though I know that they'll come up and play with it. I turn and see that the dull blue eyes are looking at me. I walk back downstairs to a heated argument about something. I don't pay it any attention as I refill the bottle of water and put into the fridge for tomorrow. I walk out of the kitchen with a can of store brand soda and decide if I want to sit with the large group of people or run upstairs. when I walk out, I hear one of them shout my name.
"Why don't you play us a song?"
I tell him that I'm tired.
"So? Play us a song!"
I walk upstairs and get my guitar and walk downstairs. I play a cover of a bad song that they request before they get too distracted with the TV. I walk back upstairs and put my guitar away. I decide to sleep on the floor upstairs. I try to get comfortable as drunks be loud and belligerent.

I wake up before anyone else the next morning, so I get my stuff and walk downstairs. I put my guitar up near the door and start to clean all the beer cans and bottles, and put the bottles of the other liquor in the cabinets. I finish that and clean up the rest of the apartment and take a semi-long shower. I finish that and sit down, looking at the phone. I pull my wallet out
and look at the seven digit number. I play with the paper for a bit when I hear a voice come from the stairway.
"You going to call?"
I look up and see the dull blue eyes looking at me, looking more dull from the night of drinking. I ask her what she's talking about.
"Are you going to call the person who's phone number is on that piece of paper?"
I ask her how she knows what's on the paper.
"Well, you're eyeing the phone, and you just have that look."
I laugh as she walks past me and tosses the phone onto my lap and walks into the bathroom. I look at the number. What could go wrong? I dial the numbers and wait for her to pick up.
"Hello?"
I tell her who it is.
"Oh, hi! What's up?"
We make some more small talk for a few minutes before I ask her if she wants to go out for coffee or something.
"I have class till noon. How about lunch?"
I tell her that's fine and we make plans to go out to lunch. I get dressed and grab the bottle of water and pick up my guitar and my money and leave.

I play until noon, and then walk to the small diner where we planned to eat. I get a table and wait. She comes in five minutes later.
"Hey!"
I say hey back. We talk about her class, and we talk more about paintings.
"Are you going to school?"
I tell her that I didn't have enough money.
"Your parents didn't offer to help?"
I tell her that me and my parents don't really speak to each other. I tell her that the nicest thing they've done for me was buying me my guitar.
"What about scholarships?"
We talk about me not going to school for a few minutes.
"This is going to seem random, but did you go to the senior prom for our school?"
I tell her that I didn't in order to play a concert.
"You skipped out of your prom to play a concert? That's actually pretty cool," she says to me with a smile on her face.
I ask her why she asked.
"No reason, i was just curious."
I smile at her, and she smiles back.
"Have you played any other concert or anything?"
I tell her that I played a few before I left my home.
"You left home? Where are you staying?"
I tell her that I'm crashing at a friend's apartment.
"That was nice of him. So what are your plans? Keep being a street musician?"
I tell her what I want. She smiles at me.
"I think that everyone wants that in life."
I say something dumb, and we both laugh.
"This is really nice."
I tell her it is. We talk about high school and change.
We stay at the diner until she gets a call from someone. When she hangs up, she looks at me.
"That was my friend, I totally forgot that I made plans with her for tonight."
I ask her what they plan on doing.
"Well, I think she wanted to go out to dinner at that new cafe down the street," she says with a laugh. "but I think that i'm full from this. Do you have any plans?"
I tell her that I don't.
"Well... what're you doing later this weekend?"
I tell her nothing.
"Would you like to maybe hang out some more?"
I smile as I tell her I would. She gets up to leave and as she's walking out, she looks back at me and gives me a warm smile.

I walk back home. No one is drinking. It's just the two of them, sitting together on one of the couches, watching a movie.
"How was your day?"
I tell them that it was fantastic.
"Yeah?"
I tell them that I'm going on a date on the weekend, and they smile at each other.
"Looks like things are finally going your way, eh?"
I smile and say yeah. The rest of the night is spent with us talking. They go to sleep and I curl into a ball onto the couch and fall asleep, her smile in my dreams.