Madison realized there was something else
she hadn’t thought about. How long would she drive tonight. She figured just
until she was too tired to drive. She knew that wouldn’t be any time soon since
her nerves and thoughts would keep her up for hours after this.
***
3
hours had passed and Madison had heard her stomach moan on several different
occasions. She decided to pull over at a nearby coffee shop to get something to
keep her awake.
Madison
grabbed her computer and locked her car. Once she was inside the coffee shop,
she sat down at a book and opened her computer. Scrolling through her email,
she found several replies from publishers in New York, agreeing to schedule
some appointments with her about her books.
Madison
was ecstatic. Her plan was going to work after all! For a reward for her
triumph, Madison allowed her brain to wander as she went to the coffee shop
counter and ordered a tall coffee.
First,
she wondered in what area she would rent an apartment. Surely somewhere near a
library and a coffee shop for reading and writing. Most definitely in a good
neighborhood. Also, she would like something near a place of transport like a
subway.
Madison
took her coffee back to her booth and took three large swigs. Then her stomach
flipped. What about college?
She
had always planned on going to college no matter what. She had sure learned a
lot at her creative arts high school, so how much more would there be to learn
at a college? She pulled out her notebook and made a note to research some good
colleges in New York that specialized in the creative arts.
In
case she didn’t get any books published right off the bat, she thought, she
would probably have to get a job. A waitress would be the most likely of the
choices. Madison thought she could stomach it for just a few months.
Madison
gathered her things and got back into her car. She still had a long journey
ahead of her, and it was already 3:00 in the morning. She agreed to herself
that she would drive just 2 more hours before she would pull over at a hotel to
spend the night.
***
Three
hours had passed and Madison still hadn’t pulled over at a hotel. She was half
way through Pennsylvania when she realized what time it was and how much more convenient
it would have been to have taken a plane. Of coarse, that would have cost her
much more money.
She
spotted a decent looking hotel on the side of the road and pulled over
drowsily.
Slinging
her bags over her shoulder, she trudged over to the hotel entrance. When she
got to the counter, she was greeted by a middle-aged woman with bags under her
eyes.
“What
were you doing, driving so late like this? A little girl like you should be at
home in bed by this hour.” The woman’s voice was made loud and harsh by her
thick New Jersey accent, even though her words were meant to be kind and
inviting.
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