Shay sat alone at a table inside Starbucks and peacefully sipped the macchiato that she had actually bought with her own money this time. Her own money. She felt totally grown up today. Recently she had promised herself to stop mooching off of her friends so much, and Dani was most often her victim. Shay didn't want her to get annoyed. After all, she knew Dani was trying her best to save for a house. Who was Shay to keep her from that goal? Of course, it was such a habit for Shay to ask for money for small things that she never noticed when she was doing it anymore. She reminded herself that she'd tell Dani to refuse whenever she asked for some change. Besides, Shay had a job now, at the local Victoria's Secret store. Plus a future career in tattooing. It was time to grow the hell up.
Another thing she mooched off of Dani and her other friends was a place to sleep. Shay was pretty much homeless, but she usually slept in a ratty little motel in the heart of the city. It was all she could really afford. Dani's apartment was just...so much cleaner than her motel room. Her couch might've actually been more comfortable than the saggy, lumpy motel room bed. If she didn't spend the night at Dani's, it would be Maria's. If not Maria's, then Shay was probably spending the night with some guy or girl she met at one of her favorite clubs. They were always a lot more attractive the night before.
Shay resolved that she'd make an effort to clean her motel room, and maybe even buy some blankets to make her bed more comfortable. She wanted to make it a place where she could actually stand to live, because who knew when she'd have enough money for an actual living space?
Once she finished her apprenticeship at the cute little tattoo studio Je t'aime Tatouages, hopefully they'd give her the job and she'd be golden. But that was another year or so down the road, so meanwhile Victoria's Secret was her main source of income. She knew she was good at working there. Shay could tell anyone about any bra in the whole store and folded panties like a boss. She worked five days a week from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM and was always on time, even if she had gone out the night before. It wasn't boring, so she felt that she was in an okay position job-wise at the moment.
Shay snapped out of her life contemplation as her cell phone buzzed on the table. Maria had messaged her about the concert that she'd heard about from everyone today. A young, local band was taking flight, and Shay had already decided that she'd go and support them. She loved music and liked to support local bands, plus having a good time was always a bonus. Supposedly her friends were going, so she'd meet up with them there tonight.