The first 48 hours (Solo)

The first 48 hours

In her first 48 hours in New York, Lenna had woken up in the middle of a bar fight, fled a fire, and made a friend. She had become the Burger Queen, though her reign had been brief. She had slept in a hotel, showered and went shopping for clothes with her new friend. And after that, she had explored New York City. Tried the clown’s burgers and found them inferior to the king’s. Then she had located the apartment on the mysterious ID in her purse. The mysterious apartment.

Lenna had made the mysterious apartment her home, and explored its depths... then went to sleep, late. That had been day 1.

The next morning, she had been rudely awakened. Her place had been raided. She had fought, and escaped. Her clothes had been lost, but she had gained two wallets and many cards of credit, as well as cash. She had left yet another friend (or temporary ally, at least), and gone to do something else.

She had researched. Made inquiries, made calls. Reached dead ends. No Cortez. No Eliana. 2020, not 2008z She had left the library, and turned over a new page in her life.

The first words of the page were street churros. Regrettable.

It had been 9AM. Her wardrobe became a concern. SUPER had taken her clothes from her. If she was to be in the city long, she would need more than just what was on her back, and SUPER aid in her designs. She needed clothes, they would buy her clothes. They would pay her back.

The first person to fall victim to her revenge shopping spree at the thrift store was the SUPER agent, Kyle Tannenbaum. F*^k you, Kyle.

Kyle replaces the orange hoodie the SUPER ninja had shredded. Kyle replaces the pants his dumb broken nose had stained. Lenna got a leather jacket and black combat boots and t-shirts and more. She bought a brown canvas duffel bag to keep it all in, and made her way to the checkout line. But she was stopped.

A nice middle-aged woman had barred her way. Bracing for conflict, she had been surprised by kindness instead. The woman had asked if it was windy outside, and had let her know the state of her hair.

In her haste to escape the apartment and live her life, she had neglected her physical appearance. In the mirror, she looked harried. She probably smelled, too.

In spite of the smell and the harried appearance, the woman had told Lenna how beautiful she was and how she reminded her of her own daughter. Smiling, she had told Lenna how, when her own daughter was having a bad hair day, she pulled her hair back in a ponytail to make it all more manageable. And here was a rack of ribbons look at that! She would look so pretty with a bow, the woman had said, and steal all the boys hearts. At the time, Lenna had not cared about boyhearts. But she had valued practicality, and this seemed serviceable.

A bow for her hair. To help it keep in place. Cost was no issue, thanks Kyle. Hope your nose hurts.

”Thank you, that is a good idea. I am color blind. Can you please help me find one that looks nice and is not orange?” she had asked.

“Of course, dearie.” The woman had said.

She had looked got a minute, then come back with one she said went with Lenna’s eyes. “Sky blue,” shed said.


Lenna said she liked blue.

The woman showed her the ribbon and how to tie up her hair.

Before she left the thrift shop establishment, Lenna had asked the woman where she could go for good safe short term storage in the city. The woman had told her. Lenna’s next stop was the subway station.

Actually, her next stop was the convenience store outside the subway. Then, she ate Panda Express . It was pretty good, panda. She had pointed and ordered, without reading what she got. It tasted like spicy chicken! No wonder they were nearly extinct. Thanks, Bob Mann. She ate panda on his dime.

A locker was obtained. In the station bathroom, Lenna got out her essentials. She cleaned herself up. Washed her hair in the sink with her small bottle of shampoo. Dried said hair at the hand drier, got changed. Lenna put on a new pair of jeans, combat boots, a new t-shirt, and a black leather jacket. Brushed her hair. Brushed her teeth to rid herself of panda breath.

She put her old clothes away in the duffel bag, and put the hair ribbon in her purse. Then, Lenna gathered up all her things, and stashed what she would not immediately need within the storage locker. They just barely fit. It was a little after 11:00AM when Lenna left the station.

New York City was vast. There was much ground to cover. Anyone who enjoyed such exploration would have been proud of her efforts and tenacity. After some time, she came to an odd scene on a nearly empty street.

A boy was messing with the interior of a vehicle. What had Eliana called it? The English word was hot wiring. Her sister had always meant to teach her the skill. Well, there would be none of that now. Lenna straightened herself up, and prepared to take her life into her hands.

It was a new day. New life. New Lenna. He had yet to have noticed her, so Lenna took a moment. She checked her breath, checked her hair, and checked to see that her deodorant was working correctly. Then, she approached the boy.

Perhaps, he would teach her the trick of the hot wiring? Perhaps she could learn from him, and move on. Or perhaps, to paraphrase the film Casablanca, this could be the beginning of a beautiful alliance. Perhaps, he was even kind of cute. And perhaps she was the Queen of Sheba. She could ‘perhaps’ until she was blue in the face, but it would make no difference.

Lenna went to meet the boy. It was about noon. And that was basically how she had spent the duration of her first 48 hours.