Chapter 2
Stacy? Jess thought to herself as she walked out to the street to unchain her bike. That's an unusual name for a guy. Oh well, as fine looking as he is, he could be called Trixie or Moe for all I care! Wow…wonder how many more like him are running around here?
Lost in thought, Jess started to pedal up the street, then realized after a couple of blocks that she was still going northward, not south like the manager had said to. As she rolled to a stop and turned around, her gaze was captured by an arresting sight – a huge pier that extended several hundred feet out into the ocean, crowned down its length with several large buildings and amusement park rides. But there was something off about the place – with a closer look it became apparent that none of the rides were in motion and the buildings were derelict. In fact, the whole pier seemed to be falling apart by degrees. Each wave that rolled in caused loose pilings to sway and groan loudly enough for Jess to hear over the rushing surf. There was a definite aura of gloom and rejection looming over the area and yet Jess felt pulled toward the place. Back home she'd sometimes bike around the run-down industrial areas of Southeast Philly and imagine the old factories in full hum decades ago. Staring at this old, rotting pier, she could almost hear the shrieks of the children and the music of the rides wafting to her across the sand.
She stood and took in the sight for several minutes, then took in the sight around her. Most of the apartments and buildings looked very run-down, all fading paint and chipped stucco, some with broken-down cars parked haphazardly out front. She remembered that Mr. Clark had said this was a bad area and decided to go back toward the southside where the neighborhood and job prospects both improved. With one lingering glance over her shoulder at the hulking pier, she turned her bike around and began to pedal.
Two hours and seven restaurants later, she had gotten nowhere with her search. Everyone gave her the same story as Mr Clark: Sorry, too slow to hire right now. She decided on the spot to expand her search to retail stores even though all her past experience was in food service. How hard could it be to run a register anyway? She began working her way back north along Pacific Avenue, stopping at any likely-looking shops and boutiques, filling out applications and talking to people in charge on the rare occasions that they were in the store. By 3pm, she was across the street from the Venice Noodle Company again, exhausted and sweating despite the 62F temperature. Time to head for home. As she steered her bike across the street, she saw the restaurant's side door open and the cute blonde surfer guy – Stacy, if she heard the manager right – walk out, stripping off his now heavily-stained apron and pulling his hair free of its mussy ponytail. Jess stopped behind a parked van and peeked around the side at the young man as he stretched langorously and checked his watch. Waiting for someone? Less than a minute later, a Ford Falcon pulled into the lot and stopped next to Stacy, who promptly climbed into the car. Jess strained to see the driver as the car backed out and was dismayed to note it was a girl around her own age with light brown hair to her shoulders and a very cute profile. Ten seconds later the car was heading northward on the avenue. Jess shrugged and rode off in the opposite direction.
Back at home, her mother tried to console her for not finding work: "Like I said, my income from the movie studio is going to be quite substantial, and it's going to be steady too, for once. Why don't you just concentrate on your studies for a little while, Jess?"
Jess sighed. "I don't want to feel like a mooch, Mom. And I think I'm going to need to save up for a car. Everything's a lot more spread out here and the public transport seems kind of…well…nonexistent!"
"I've seen that for myself. Well, at least the college is an easy bike ride away. Just make do for now and we'll see if we can get you something serviceable by your 18th birthday maybe? That's three months away, not long at all. Ok?" her mom reassured her.
"Ok, if none of these stores call me back then I'll hold out," Jess promised.
"Smart girl. So did you see anything comparable to the diners back home?" her mom asked hopefully.
"Noo, they were all just regular restaurants but some of them were pretty nice, I guess."
"So what do you say to dinner out tonight? You must be as tired of sandwiches as I am."
Jess worked up a bright smile for her mom. "Sure. The first place I went to this morning was good, maybe we can go there."