What The Hell Was That? 4.1

Chapter 4

"You never win any games you don't play." - Mark Cuban

It has been exactly one week since she started working. Lexie sat on a park bench counting her money. It was the same bench she sat at when Kaylee found her, when Kaylee hired her. She remembered that night clearly, not knowing where to go, what to do next, starving. She smiled, feeling grateful for the woman that gave her a job, Kaylee saved her. She looked at the money she was holding, it isn't much but she was really happy, this is the first money she ever made on her own. "Good job Alex, told you you can do it." She patted herself on the back. "Who would've thought."

"Cha-Ching!" Jana sang behind her.

Lexie jumped in surprise, gripping her bag and money tightly. "Oh my god Jana! I almost had a heart attack!"

Jana laughed as she sat beside Lexie, eyeing her bag. "Wow, I love your bag. Is that real? It looks real!"

Lexie laughed nervously, getting up. "Let's go. I can't wait to get some new clothes!"

Jana stood and they both made their way to town. She promised Lexie she would go shopping with her for clothes. Lexie really needed it, Jen taught her about the laundry shop near the bar, but even with all her clothes finally clean, she had limited items she could wear in the bar. Of course her first own money will be spent on clothing, Lexie laughed at herself a little.

Jana first took Lexie to a thrift shop. Lexie walked around the shop, looking at all the clothes hanging around the shop. This was her first thrift shop, she's been experiencing a lot of firsts lately, she felt like she really is changing. At first she wasn't completely happy about shopping at a thrift shop, why would she want to wear someone's old clothes? But after looking around, she learned to appreciate the charm of the shop.

There were a lot of descent clothes, and they're really cheap. She walked around, touching each rows of hanged clothes. In the end she was able to get 4 new whole outfits and still had a bit of money left. She wanted to take Jana to lunch but Jana insisted on paying, saying Lexie could pay her back once she have saved enough. Lexie made a mental note to buy something really nice for Jana once she got back on her feet.

After lunch, Jana and Lexie went their separate ways. They haven't slept yet and Lexie was feeling really guilty for keeping Jana out that long. On the way to the bar she dropped by the laundry shop to get her new old-clothes washed, already excited to wear them. She smiled as she expertly pressed the buttons to get her purchase laundered. She felt so proud of herself, wasn't it just a few days ago when she didn't even know where to put the detergent, now look at her. She felt strong, independent, she's figuring things out, and the best part is she's doing it on her own. In a few weeks she thinks she would be able to rent a small place, at least she could finally have a descent shower. Lexie found a way to take a bath at the bar, she found a large pail in the storage area and after cleaning it thoroughly she found out she could just stand in there and pour water on her. She could just mop out the excess water, it isn't ideal but at least she gets to clean herself. She sat dreaming of warm showers as she waited for her clothes to be ready.

Stuffing her freshly laundered clothes in her bag she left the shop. She was a few blocks away from the bar when she saw something at the corner of her eyes. "SIM CARDS FOR SALE." She turned to face the shop and slowly walked towards it. She stared at the shop for a few minutes, debating whether to enter or not.

"Do I even need it?" She asked herself. It's been almost 10 days since she threw out her old sim, she haven't look at her phone since then. She remembered throwing the sim out of the bus window, thinking that they could trace her with it. Still not satisfied, she reset her phone, logged off everything she could log off, and turned the phone off. They won't be able to find me now could they? She was still scared to turn it on. Lexie found it amusing to realize she didn't actually need her phone as much, back in the day she wouldn't have last a day without looking at it.

She shook her head, turned around, and continued walking to the bar. She decided she didn't need it, at least not yet. Plus, she didn't have that much money left and she was reluctant to spend it for this. It's different now, she had to learn how to budget, she has to know her priorities.

She was so happy she was practically skipping when she got to the bar, then after digging around her bag she didn't feel so happy anymore.

"Oh no, where could it be?" She dumped everything in her bag on the ground, looking carefully. "Kaylee's gonna kill me." 'No, Nathan is gonna kill me.' she thought. Nathan's face popped up in her mind, Nathan looking smug and disappointed at the same time.

Lexie searched her entire bag over 10 times, went back to the laundry shop but found nothing. In the end, she sat on the ground by the entrance, defeated. She looked at the time, still 3 hours before 5. There's nothing else to do but to wait. She leaned her head on the door, mentally berating herself for being so careless.