[IC] The Starving Artist

[EasilyAmused]

Fate is another term for the bridges of life, destiny is the end of your path and your journey is the road you take. The words from the book the young girl was reading echoed through her mind as her leg bounced gently in the seat of the car dealership. While the blonde read away in her book, the conversation happening in the management office was a rather unexpected one; “Boss, she has zero credit but can pay for the car in cash up front. I can’t turn her away.” The sales man said gripping the keys to the jeep in his hand.

“But she’s 21, how does she have that much money?” The manager asked staring at the blonde girl who proceeded to turn the page in her book without giving anyone else notice.

“Who cares?! She can pay for it; she’s paying full sticker price! She didn’t even try to bargain with me.”

“Where’s she going? She looks like an L.A. nut.”

“She’s moving to Andersville. Greg give me the title, I’m making this sale.” The sales man demanded to his boss holding out his free hand. The boss who had seemed reluctant throughout the whole conversation handed him the title. “Sorry to keep you waiting Miss Collins.” The sales man said quickly as he approached the blonde.

Amanda’s eyes flicked upwards as she slid her bookmark into her book and closed it. “It’s alright, gave me some time to catch up on some reading. Is everything okay?” She asked timidly as she looked passed the sales man and to the direction of the manager’s office.

“Everything’s fine. We just need you to sign a few papers and the jeep is yours.”

“Fantastic!” The blonde said springing up from the seat with new-found excitement and following the sales man to his desk. Within fifteen minutes she was in possession of her new jet black jeep and started towards her new home town.

Andersville California was a small town of less than 1,000 people; the town didn’t have too much to it. A grocery store, a diner, a coffee shop, a salon, a bowling alley, a park, 2 schools and a church; it was just what Amanda needed to get away from the rat race that is Los Angeles but it’s close enough that if she needed to return she could drive the four hours to get there.

Driving with the top down, the blonde pulled into the driveway of her new home and let out a long sigh, the movers had already brought her things and she needed to unpack but it didn’t matter. Climbing out of the jeep the blonde in the white sundress pulled the ‘For Sale’ sign from the yard and carried it inside with a skip in her step.

She spent a few hours unpacking before deciding to walk into town. A quick stop in the convenience store got her some ice cream and, enjoying the bright sun shining day, Amanda took herself to the park. Humming to herself she licked her ice cream feeling like a child once again as she walked through the gorgeous park taking in the fresh air and the bright sunlight reflecting off of her tan skin.

Sighing softly she turned in her sandals to find a beautifully painted gazebo with some people gathered around it… what’s going on? Tilting her head to one side, Amanda ventured forward enjoying her ice cream and curious on what was causing the crowd.

[dudeinsuits]

"And that," The young man spoke loudly so every one could hear him, "Is why fishing, in Australia, is a bad idea." He paused before continuing to let the people to chuckle at the joke. The crowed had grown much larger than he had ever thought it would have, there had to be atleast 30 people gathered around him, throwing loose change and cash into the beat up hat on the ground.

As the murmuring of the crowed died down the man continued, "Thank you all for joining me today! Let me tell you, its nice to not be arrested for gathering a crowed for once, I used to tell a joke about a bomb, and I /guess/ that can look bad when you have a large crowed around you...Kind...just blows up...and you have to explain you arnt a cult leader...But It has taught me, I can absolutely rock a cult. Thank you again!" He gave a small bow and a wink to the crowed as the clapped.

The man took a seat on the edge of the fence around his makeshift home and a few people in the crowed came up to ask questions.

"Who are you?" A man in a tucked in polo shirt asked

"Oh, did you drop by twords the end? My name is Winstin, spelled with an "I"...Yeah, can't ever find any tourist trinkets with my name spelled right." he joke at the men, who didn't seem to get the joke, "But yeah, Winstin Moody, just kinda wandered into this town earlier today and started my little act, what did you think?"

The Q&A when on for a but longer until Winstin told the man and his pals that he needed to go get some food before it got too late and the group gladly let him go after a few hand shakes.

Now left alone to count his money, "This place is neat, not too many people, but a bit back water..." He slipped the cash into his wallet and undid his bowtie before getting ready to go find a place to eat before settling down for the evening.

[EasilyAmused]

Amanda finished her ice cream during the man’s routine between her laugher. Throwing the stick into the trash can she couldn’t help but applaud with the rest of the crowd as he said he good byes. He was pretty good; it was hard to believe he was putting on a free show in the park. Smart move to get your name out there though but, being so close to L.A. why would he be in this small town? Maybe he’s a local trying to get his material down before he tried it out at the big city. Then again she didn’t understand the whole talent industry; that was her father’s cup of tea not hers.

Pulling her small strapped purse from her shoulder she opened it up, looking for some form of cash to give him. Sadly enough, she didn’t have any. She gave all the cash she was carrying to purchase the car and the rest of her money was on her crowd. Her full lips dropped into a frown when she realized this. Well this wasn’t right, she enjoyed his talent and he deserved compensation for it.

Not meaning to ease drop, she overheard the small Q&A and caught his name before hearing the end of it. Oh okay, so he was going to use some of his earnings to get something to eat. Mentally shrugging to herself, she approached him with a bright warm smile showing her straight white teeth across her glossy lips as she put her small purse across her body once again. “Hello,” She began. “That was really funny, well done. I, I don’t have any cash to give you but I’d like to treat you to dinner. Does that sound like a fair compromise for viewing your show?”

[dudeinsuits]

The girl had caught in off guard with her /hello/ and he jumped a bit before letting himself speak, "Funny? Show? I just thought I was ranting about the world and people just kept dropping money," He joked, "Thank you for enjoying it." He said throwing his money hat into the corner of the gezibo, "As for dinner, didn't your folks ever tell you not to take a comedian to dinner?" He said with a small smile.

"I'm Winstin, and sure, why not?" He disregarded is last comment realizing the joke would have likely failed, "Before anything, can I know your name?" He asked noting the girl didn't look like she was from around here, she looked a bit...Big city. He quickly thought of a way to find out, "What's good around here?" He asked before she could answer his last question.

[EasilyAmused]

His joke about just ranting to people and they kept giving him money made her giggle. Her blue eyes sparkling with joy as she did so; she loved to laugh. Her father’s job was stressful to a point but ever since he started to work with comedians, he’s learned to relax and for that, she was grateful. “They didn’t teach me that but they did teach me not to talk to strangers. However a stranger who can make me laugh shouldn’t be a stranger anymore.” Her voice was bright, bubbly and happy. Boy; she was glad to be out of the city!

“You know, I’m not sure. I saw a diner down the road a bit but there doesn’t seem to be much other than that here.” She said with a nod looking in the direction where she had seen the diner as if trying to picture the road and find something else. Her gaze moved back to him and gave him another cheeky grin showing her dimples, “I’m Amanda. Shall we explore the little town and find a place to eat since we both don’t quite know our way around?”

[dudeinsuits]

"Well, as the person whom I presume is the town tour guide, lead on!" He joked, "Just lemme get my things, don't wanna leave them out in the open!" He walked to his duffle bag and threw a few things in it before zipping it up. Before he turned back to the girl he re tied his bowtie and did a quick turn to face her, "So, after you." He said with his belonging in tow. The bad seemed to be stuffed so full that the zipper might break at any time and had many stitches and lots of tape all along the side, holding it together. It was very much so the opposite of how Winstin dressed, but he found it a bit funny.

[EasilyAmused]

It was interesting to see a man carrying what looked like his home on his back and as Amanda turned away from him her eyes went wide. Oh my god, was he homeless? Nah… come in, he dressed nicely; how is that possible. Maybe he just has a lot of stuff he takes with him to and from his little shows. And he probably doesn’t make that much as a struggling comedian so his travel bag is not put together well. He doesn’t act like a homeless man, he certainly doesn’t dress like one and the bow tie is cool.

Her face relaxed as he fell into step with her and the two began to exit the park and start towards the local diner. “So you don’t see like much of a local either Winstin, where are you from?” The birds chirped around them in the warm spring afternoon welcoming the fresh new life being birthed into the world. Spring was always a magical time of year and nothing about this town screamed L.A. and that, that was something Amanda knew she would grow to love!

[dudeinsuits]

Winstin walked along side the girl, making sure nothing fell out of his bag, "Oh me? Long story." He said with a chuckle, trying to avoid the question. His home life growing up was something he rarely spoke about. "What about you? You look more, big city, not so much small town." He said noting her outfit and the way she acted. She had the big city walk to her, the kind that said she could do anything.

[EasilyAmused]

"Well," Amanda began with a giggle to her voice. "Good thing we have a meal to share your story with." A nod rose and fell her head as they walked out of the park and into the town. The sun shined down on the streets and gave them a calm and relaxing feel. Nothing about this town reminded her of L.A. and for that she was completely grateful.

It was in the mists of her day dreaming that she realized he had asked he had asked her a question. "Oh me?" Surprised that he would ask about her she lifted her small shoulders in a shrug. "I was born and raised in L.A. Certainly not somewhere I wanted to live the rest of my life. The air is horrible, a good amount of people are rude and most of the food is all healthy vegan stuff unless you want to pay fifty dollars for a piece of meat the size of my palm." At that she showed him the size of her palm.

Despite the rather big presence that she gave off, Amanda was surprisingly small. Her hands danty and delicate with velvet soft looking skin. Not to mention she stopped at Winstin's shoulders when it came to height, she was small but boy she gave off the sense of an undeniably big personality. "It's so nice to be somewhere with a lot less---" Her hand closed and fell to her side as her brown scrunched together looking for the proper wording. "Hoopla." She said with a nod as they entered Main Street and found the diner. "Do they say 'hoopla' around here?" Her questioning gaze moved to him as if seeking the answers on his face.