This coffee tasted like shit. Whoever made it probably used stale water from a puddle on the street. You know how the smell of coffee is comforting and relaxing in the morning? Well, this putrid concoction smelled like it hated you and loathed the fact that you counted on it to wake yourself up a bit. A lazy coffee that hates it's job as much as Mel hated her waitress gig back in the days. After some thought, she decided to take another empathic sip and sympathize with her coffee. After all, they did have that in common but this was a long time ago for her.
It was 9:30 in the morning, her head was throbbing from the lack of sleep, but she was relaxed albeit somewhat scruffy. Sleeping on a bus is surprisingly comfortable, tugging along, occasionally waking up and peeking through the window to see the world flying by and maybe get a slight idea of where you are, then drifting back to sleep.
It was another day waking up somewhere new. She was hungry but she always enjoyed taking the time to have a read and shake the sleep off her brain before venturing out and getting a feel of the place.
She could hear people unloading equipment from the luggage compartment which made the bus bounce slightly. The anthill always wakes up before the queen does.
Mel's guitar was leaning on the wall next to her small amp and a couple stacked up touring crates. She was glad that they had an actual bus this time, and even though it was a sorry excuse for a vehicle, she could bring her guitar along with the tiny amp to play and write some material.
They were four people traveling together, but Aaron and Chad were already out there, probably smoking weed while unloading their stuff and having breakfast inside the venue or at some nearby restaurant. She could hear Richard, the tour manager, chatting on the phone with someone at the front of the bus. She had her bunk at the back while the guys were all sleeping in the front section, which she liked. The front and back sections were only separated by a curtain but that was all the privacy she needed to be comfortable.
"Hey Melany! Can I come in?"
It was Richard, yelling through the curtain.
"I'm naked" she responded unconvincingly.
"Awesome!"
He pushed the curtain aside and walked in, coffee in hand, bagel in the other, fully aware that she wasn't nude.
She peeled her eyes up from the magazine she was reading to look at him while taking another friendly sip of her hateful coffee.
"What if I was really naked?" she asked?
"Then you would have simply said "no" when I asked you if I could come in and I would've stayed out" He responded, ripping a bite off of his bagel and having a taste of his coffee, resulting in a disgusted grin and a legible, but silent "fuck".
He swallowed and continued. "So anyways, I just hung up with the sound guy for tonight, and we have two more P.A. crates available. We're placing the stuff right now, where do you want them?" he asked.
She raised an eyebrow at the crumbs of bread that Richard was dropping all over the floor then looked back at him before asking "Are we still using the two of our own?"
"Yeah" he answered, picking up some bread off the floor, holding his bagel in his mouth.
After taking a moment to think, she replied "At least put another one in front of me so I have two of them. It should cover up Chad's drumkit pretty well and we won't have to put them so loud that they feedback all the time like last night"
"Good, I think Aaron might want a monitor halfway between you and him cause he likes to walk around a bit so we'll use another one there" he concluded.
"Alright see you later, I gotta go find some bass strings for him, be on stage for sound checking at 3PM."
"Fine, I guess I'll be awake by then" she chuckled back at him.
Richard walked out and exited the bus, leaving her alone.
***
After her orgasm had died down, she slowly pulled the vibrator out and wiped her juices off of it with a cloth before putting it back in her purse. It felt perfect as usual. She always enjoyed a good orgasm before starting her day to appreciate her body and jump start her senses.
She pulled her pants back up and finished the article she was reading before grabbing her guitar, trying to add another verse to a song she started writing a couple days ago. The road was inspiring to her, mixing excitement with melancholy and the unknown, usually a good recipe for dreamy lyrics...
She looked at the clock, it was now 11:45.
She stepped out of her pyjamas and got rid of her sky blue tank top, throwing it over her head while visually scanning the area for clean underwear, which was becoming scarce at this point in the tour. 5 more days and she would be back home...She finally found black bikini briefs and awkwardly slipped them on, almost tripping and falling down. Then she digged out a dark blue bra and decided it was going to be perfect and put it on, gently cupping her small breasts. She grabbed a pair of skinny light blue jeans and a black tunic top from the pile of clothes laying on the floor and put them on standing in front of the mirror. She didn't look too tired. Her round, dark curious eyes were fully lit up and although her light brown hair was a mess, she just straightened it up some with a brush and snapped it back in a pony tail. She took a last satisfied glance at the mirror and jumped in her blue Gazelles before throwing on a grey zip up hoodie and stepping out of the bus.
She would take a shower later but for now, the only thing on her mind was food...
The sun assaulted her eyes and head and she felt dizzy for half a second. It was sunny but the wind was deliciously chilling. Putting on her sunglasses, she proceeded to walk down the street in search of a restaurant where she could have breakfast and friendlier coffee, leaving the rumbling bus and the smell of diesel fuel behind.
A few blocks later, Mel spotted and entered the "Breadfast Cafe" where the smell of a good morning was all she found...and needed. The place was deserted except for a couple people nursing their tepid mugs and reading the newspaper.
She took a circular look around to find a seat near a window and sat down on a bench. The place was clean and cozy with a retro feel to it. It was brightly lit with green glass lamps over the tables but still maintained a calm aura.
She took her hoodie off and put it next to her on the bench, resting her elbow on the table and holding her chin in the palm of her hand, looking outside through the window.
The tour had been great overall but after three weeks she was starting to miss her friends and feel lonely. Her relationship with her two bandmates was good but quite distant : they were never very close friends but did enjoy eachother's company. Musically speaking, the writing process was mostly smooth and the performances were solid and well received.
After a few minutes, a waitress came over.
"I'll have two eggs with toasts and a coffee please."
"Excellent, I'll go get your coffee right away and come back with your eggs" the waitress responded enthusiastically. She had a musical tone to her voice, traveling through words like a nursery rhyme melody.
Mel replied with a large, beautiful smile and gave a friendly nod.
***
She was finally enjoying a coffee for the first time today. She looked up in satisfaction and leaned back in the bench laughing to herself when she noticed a man sitting across the room, looking at her with an amused look on his face.
Never looking away, he got up and walked to her table. He was tall and had scruffy blond hair and a week old beard. He was wearing jeans and had a black shirt with what seemed to be a band logo on it.
"So what did they put it this coffee?" he said, smiling.
"Probably nothing out of the ordinary, but this first one I had today was terrible so..." she responded laughing, a bit embarrassed. She had an expressive face that brought looks and people to her.
"Yeah, I can understand that...Still, your reaction was just priceless I had to come say hi." he said with a deep voice. "I'm getting a refill to see if it'll trigger a buzz like yours, see you around."
She laughed as he started to walk away but she looked at him over her shoulder and shouted :
"Hey what's that band on your shirt?"
He stopped and turned around : "Garage rock from Philadelphia, sounds like a cross between The Who and Sex Pistols if you can imagine that. Can I go get my coffee now?" he joked back at her.
