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Dream Drifter
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Lester put his hand on her hip, reminding himself that he was already being far more subtle than she was. Yohana responded by taking his wrist and pulling his entire arm around her stomach, then scooting back. This was more comfortable for both of them.
He could hear Artholli being spoken throughout the crowd after the meeting was over - these people were really fanatical about the Artholli way of life. It was not a good way of life, and Lester suspected that most of them were ignorant of that, but it still made him homesick. The whiteness of Luta Nol and the surrounding wilderness couldn't compare to the lush highland greenery of his home.
Yohana and Lester held hands on the way back to the bus station, drawing dour looks from the policemen that had gathered outside of the park. Once they passed, Lester asked her, "Why didn't we get arrested?"
"We didn't do anything wrong," said Yohana.
"You were... what? All that stuff about bringing down the establishment and equality and all that rot?"
"We are free to speak within the law," she said, "and that is why we are pursuing legislation for the change we want. We are lawyers, Lis-tair."
"In Artholl you'd all be beaten and carted to a salt mine," he said.
Yohana giggled, swatting him in the arm, "So silly!"
"Yeah, heh," said Lester, "real silly."
A rounded, tin-colored bus pulled up to the station, and the two of them climbed aboard. She paid fare for both of them without a second thought. The route brought them to a highway around the outside of the city, onto an overpass bridge that left the skyscrapers behind. The neighborhood where Yohana lived had no buildings that were exceptionally tall, and consisted mostly of project housing. The bus had to stop at a guarded gate for clearance. Lester looked out the window as the bus chugged by, averting his gaze at the moment he saw four kootje smoking on a street corner. One of them had a shotgun over his shoulder, and gave him a mean look.
Yohana's apartment was near the middle of her block, the plaster chipped and the paint peeling. One of her windows was broken with a paper bag taped over the hole. Lester watched her leave, his heart skipping a beat at the look she gave him on the way out the door. It was an innocent smile, and he adored it beyond control.
The bus brought him back downtown after leaving a second checkpoint gate out of Yohana's neighborhood. Three stops later was his motel with Leo. Even it looked a bit better than Yohana's place. Leo was sitting on the floor with a guitar in his lap and a notebook on the floor.
"Hey," said Leo, only looking up long enough to see who was walking in without knocking. "How was your date?"
"Bonkers," Lester replied. "What're you into?"
"Writing some new music," he said.
"I think I'll hit the mat."
"You don't want to go get a drink?" said Leo, setting the guitar against the wall and closing his lyrics.
"We've got no money," said Lester, sitting down on the frameless mattress. "Or if we did, it's all gone to drinks and room fare."
"Gina said she had found a cheaper place for us," said Leo.
"Cheaper? Doesn't that mean it's worse?" Lester asked in a completely candid tone, as things worked differently in Artholl.
"Dunno, really."
"Let's do a few shows," said Lester, lying down and pulling the blanket over him. "Once we get paid, it'll get easier."
Thanks for waiting. The Shouters will now resume. Where will the story proceed from here?
Choose a Shouter, and we'll get to...
A. recording the first record
B. cutting to the first show
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