Sara Blake's Story

“BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!” Click. Sara woke suddenly with the blaring of her alarm, though never truly rose yet. Her hand shot out instinctively to smack the snooze button, the movement a natural reaction developed over so many years. As the girl lay there, a few moments passed as she rolled over, rubbed her eyes, stretched and finally sat up. It was about now that she remembered the fact that she was on a three month vacation, an wished that she’d remember to change the settings on her alarm clock so she wouldn’t have to start so early.

The girl looked around her room through still sleepy eyes. It was an average size room, with the head of her bed pressed against the back wall, overlooked by a window. To the right of the room, situated in the corner was a table with a computer on it and a few books, the shelf itself was just to the right of that again, and her guitar stood on its stand in the right corner closest to the door. A large sliding door was inset on the left side of the room, leading into a large closet. This was the girl’s destination as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and finally stood.

The girl’s steps weren’t soft yet they weren’t loud as she paced across the short distance from her bed to the closet. Opening it, she took just a moment to gather a change of clothes. It was simple, and took her no time before she had shed her pajamas and was now clad in a plain black t-shirt and dark blue jeans. She turned now, her eyes scanning across her room before her gaze fell onto her guitar. There was a note on it that reminded her of a party she was to play at in the winter region, an offer from some strange man who’d stumbled upon her in the woods. She had almost beaten the life out of him when she had seen him playing her guitar. Only after he’d gathered her attention with his invitation did her anger subside, a series of questions following soon after.

"Why the fuck should I care about some party?" Sara had threatened with an air of suspicion.

"Well think about it as you getting paid to play the music you love." the guy responded.

"Do I have to play with others? How much will I get paid?”

"No you can be a solo player, and if I believe its $500 if you’re good, and about $1000 if you’re voted the best player."

"Well you might see me there, but why would you fucking vote on who’s the best?"

"I really hope you can make it and it’s more of a bet between the other performers that they do every year. Truly like tradition between friends."

Sara contemplated this now, still eying the man carefully and doing nothing to hide how she truly felt inside. She quickly started packing up her stuff before finally saying, "Don't expect me to be nice to anyone."

"That’s alright,” chuckled the man, “Just don't go getting into fist fights."

"I'm not promising a fucking thing." she answered coldly as she started to walk away.

Sara ran the previous events through her mind as she stared blankly at the guitar. She sort of wished she hadn’t been so nice to the guy, but what was done is done. She knew she could use some money to buy new strings, as hers were old and worn, and then whatever else she felt like purchasing. Finally the girl picked up her guitar, quickly tuned it and ran her fingers over the strings, playing a simple melody before placing the instrument on its stand and proceeding to her desk.

Opening a drawer Sara pulled out her mp3 player, a small handheld mirror, and a container that harbored her contact lenses. It took her just a few seconds before she had the lenses in, and looking into the mirror, the girl noted that they made her eye color darker than normal. She shrugged and quickly stuffed the mirror and lenses case back in the drawer.

At the window Sara tugged on the cord that controlled the blinds. She was half hoping the weather to be cloudy and cool, but to her despair she found herself looking out at a sunny and warm day. “Fuck,” she said quietly to herself. “That weather report said it would be nice and gloomy… Bastards always get it wrong.”

The girl sighed and turned to her guitar. Quickly she busied herself with packing it away in its large black carrying case, and then continued to place her mp3 and track phone in her pocket. Unlocking and unbolting the door, Sara quickly stepped out, grabbing the portable amp and microphone at the last minute before awkwardly trying to hold it all and use her keys to ensure the door was locked on the way out. Glancing around for a moment, the fact that the house was quiet meant that her mother was off to work and her dad had either gone to an interview, the bar, or the store to procure more drinks. A note reading, “Dinner is in the fridge” reinforced the point.

The girl set down the things she carried on the table and ignored the bowl which held what was to be dinner. She then proceeded to pick out the lettuce, some ham and finally cheese before grabbing the bread from the pantry. With this, she made a sandwich, wrapped it quickly and stuffed it in a brown paper bag. At the last minute she quickly returned to her room for her wallet, then collected all of her materials and went outside.