Wake and Bake, the Breakfast of Champions

Joanne Jefferson was woken up by the sound of a garbage truck rolling by her apartment building. Her chocolate brown eyes were bloodshot and filled with sleep. She looked around her small, shabby bedroom. Clothes were strewn across the floor in messy piles, her dresser was filled with make up and hair products, old rock 'n' roll posters hung on the wall from the previous owner, and her windows were covered by a black sheet she found in a thrift store. She sat up on her futon, rubbing her eyes. She reached over to her night stand, pulling a cigarette out of the pack, and lighting it. She took a few puffs before getting out of bed and walking out of her bedroom to the kitchen.

Joanne and her best friend, Mimi Marquez, lived in an industrial size loft on the corner of Avenue D. They lived on the sixteenth floor, one floor beneath the very top. Joanne and Mimi managed to keep up with the rent by working at the Cat Scratch Club, a local popular strip club. Mimi worked as an S&M dancer and Joanne actually stripped, but, never took off her panties since alcohol was served and they were required to keep them. But, Joanne always gave such a good performance that she didn't need to take them off. Before Joanne befriended Mimi she had been homeless, turning tricks just to have enough money to eat. But, one night, a john was roughing her up in the alley since she refused to give him a blow job for free when Mimi came and kicked him repeatedly in the crotch with her spiked heel. After that, they were friends for life. Mimi had her boss hire Joanne and, now that she was making money, she could help Mimi pay the rent on her apartment. But, there was a bad side to working at the Cat Scratch. Drug dealers were some of the biggest clients, so, every kind of drug known to man was flowing freely. At first, Joanne didn't use anything. But, Mimi convinced her to use cocaine and weed. And, suddenly, she was hooked. She would give free lap dances and sometimes more just to score some coke and weed.

She wasn't always like this, if you could believe that. At one point, Joanne was the prim and proper daughter of Samuel and Ana Jefferson. She attended private school, took part in school plays and student council, volunteered at retirement homes, the works. But, when she hit her junior year of high school, her mother walked in on her and her best friend, Bridget Adams, in a heated make out session. Ana was furious, but, Joanne thought it was a good time to come clean, so, she admitted she was a lesbian. Bridget was sent home and the next day, Joanne had recieved word that Bridget's parents' were sending her to boarding school due to "family issues." Joanne cried harder than ever before. The same night she heard the love of her life/best friend was leaving, Samuel and Ana had told Joanne that she had a choice to make. Either she retracts what she admitted earlier or leave the house for good. Joanne refused to deny who she was, so, her parents kicked her out. She hasn't seen them in six years.

When she reached the kitchen, she saw Mimi sitting on the counter, eating Fruit Loops out of the box and reading the Village Voice. Joanne took one last drag of her cigarette before dropping it in a half empty can of Coke that sat forgotten on the counter. Mimi wrinkled her nose. "Ash flavored Coke. Yum."

Joanne smiled, shaking her head. "Shut up," she opened the refrigerator. There was a carton of milk, a half eaten apple, two strawberry yogurts, beer, Coke, and a container of sweet and sour chicken they shared last night for dinner. She grabbed one of the yogurts and checked the expiration date. Seeing that it was safe to eat, Joanne grabbed a plastic spoon of the draw and began to eat. "How did you sleep last night? Did you get sick a lot? Did you take your AZT?"

Mimi rolled her eyes, "I slept fine. I didn't get sick, thank God, and yes mom I took my AZT." AZT is a medicine that was created to slow down the spread of HIV. Mimi was born HIV positive rather have contacted it during her life. Her mother, Sonya, got the disease from Mimi's father, yet she did not take the proper medicine during her pregnancy to prevent Mimi from getting it. Though usually the two women did not have a lot of money on a daily basis, Joanne always made sure that Mimi got and took her medicine when she needed to.

Joanne lightly nudged Mimi's leg. "Hey, I'm just trying to keep you as healthy as possible. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"I know. Thank you, Joey," Mimi kissed her cheek, hoping down from the counter, and putting the box of cereal back in the cabinet, "Are you still coming with me to hang out with Angel?" Angel Dumott Schunard was a young gay drag queen/street percussionist the girls met one night on their way back from work. Angel was standing up to a skin head who had been bothering him when he was trying to drum on the street corner. They were going to walk past them, but, they stopped when they heard Angel say, "I'm more of a man than you'll ever be and more of a woman than you'll ever be with." The girls had burst out laughing, going to Angel's side and taking her away from the man. Angel had thanked them for their helped and even bought them a late dinner at the Life Cafe, a popular bohemian restaurant. They got along so well; Angel was sweet, insightful, and gave great fashion and make up tips.

"Where are you guys going?"

"Angel found this great shop in SoHo; they practically give stuff away. We're going to find her a new dress and some tops for me. You in?" Joanne thought about it for a minute.

"Hmmm, watching you guys try on clothes while I try not to die of boredom? No thanks."

Mimi rolled her eyes, lightly punching her shoulder, "Fine, stay here and be boring. You're still coming to dinner at Life, right?"

"Duh, where else would I go?" Mimi smiled and started going to her room so she could get ready, "Don't spend all your money on the same top in different colors!" Mimi turned around and flipped her of. Joanne shot her an air kiss. As soon as Mimi's door closed, Joanne went to the top of the refrigerator and brought down the bread box. While most people used it to keep their bread fresh, Joanne used it as one of her stash spots. She pulled out a freshly rolled joint and put the box back. She went to the living room window, where the the fire escape was, opened it and climbed onto it. Joanne pulled her yellow Zippo light from her bra and lit the joint, inhaling deeply, loving the feeling of the smoke filling her lungs.

'Ahh,' she thought, 'much better.'