Anthony let out a deep sigh. Perhaps this wasn’t the best idea he’d ever had – in fact, he was more and more starting to believe that it might be one of his worst – but he couldn’t go back now. It wasn’t just a matter of money – although he had precious little left after buying the huge lot he was now standing on, if he really wanted to he could probably scrape together enough money to buy a ticket home. No, the money was not the issue. He was tired of the way he was treated at home, like his dreams didn’t matter.
No, he needed a fresh start, far away from his parents. A new home, a new city, where no one would know anything about his parents. As far as the people of Sunset Valley were concerned, he was an orphan who never even knew the identity of his parents.
The lot was gorgeous. Quite large – in fact, much too large for a single youth just starting out. Still, he had fallen in love with it the moment he saw it in the brochure, and decided that he had to have it. This meant he only had $1300 left in his account. Perhaps he could get a tiny little shack for that money? He pondered this for a few moments, but he already knew what he wanted more than anything, and getting it would mean giving up the thought of any sort of house for the moment. Still, it was an easy choice.
The guitar was so gorgeous to Anthony. Purple wood with gold details – had there ever been such a perfect instrument before? Of course, buying the guitar meant the only furniture he could afford was a cheap bed and an equally cheap refrigirator. Still, Anthony felt excited just to have this gorgeous piece of land, and this gorgeous guitar. The other stuff wasn’t quite as gorgeous, but he still found it quite exciting. His mother’s words echoed through his head “Always so exciteable, Tony”, she would say and ruffle his hair, though recently she would then start complaining about the length of his hair, asking when he would get a haircut and a real job.
If he could only have made her understand, perhaps he wouldn’t have had to leave home, Anthony thought. He could’ve lived with his father’s bad temper and reproachful gaze, if he’d only had the support of his mother. However, it was not to be. Picking up the guitar, he hailed a cab.
“Where to?” asked the cabbie.
Anthony gave her a look. Her voice sounded kind of familiar, but her face didn’t. She was kind of plain in many ways, though there was something pleasing about her features. “The Wilsonoff Community Theater,” he replied, then added “please”, in a deliberate effort never to become anything like his own father.
“Very well,” she replied and the trip began. “New in town?” she added as they turned the first corner.
“How’d you guess?”
“Well, the fact that you’re apparently living in a huge empty lot with nothing but a bed and a refrigirator was my first clue, and now you’ve confirmed it.”
They chatted a bit on the way into town, and before Anthony knew it, they had reached their destination.
Finally, he was here. The real reason he’d chosen Sunset Valley over any other place. Anthony could barely contain his excitement as he rushed to the big oak doors, opened them and went inside. He looked around, a bit nervous, but mostly just excited. “Is it true? Will they… I mean, will Continuum of Llama really be using this as their base of operations from now on?” he asked the first person he could find.
“Yeah, that’s right… you a fan?”
“I’m a huge fan! Their biggest fan!” Anthony replied, and at that moment he was convinced this was the truth. “I moved here partly because I heard they’d be going here, and I wanted to be able to see them more… they’re just the best performers, especially live, don’t you think?”
The man grinned slightly, then nodded. “I do think they’re quite good, yes. Hey kid, what’s your name?”
“Anthony,” he replied, then paused slightly. If he didn’t want anyone to be able to trace him back to his parents, he couldn’t very well go by his old surname, could he? He had gone so far to get away from his parents – and there it was, in the back of his head. Just a line from an old nursery rhyme, but it would make as good a surname as any, he supposed. “Anthony Thursday,” he said. Thursday’s child has far to go.
“Very well, mister Thursday,” the man said, although something about the smile on his face made Anthony believe he hadn’t quite bought the lie. “You seem like a decent kid, how’d you like to help spread the word about the band in town? I’ll pay you, though I can’t promise you’ll get glory and riches from doing it…”
Anthony stared at the man, then he couldn’t help but clap his hands in excitement. “I’d love to!”
So, now he had a job. Spreading the word of Continuum of Llama was probably the coolest job ever, though now that he thought about it, he wasn’t actually sure of how to do that. He had just arrived in town, after all, and didn’t know anyone here yet. Still, he could probably find a way. He walked over to the park and stopped by the fountain. Not all that many around, and he wasn’t really sure of how to get their attention, but surely he’d be able to figure something?
Soon, he had an idea. He picked up his guitar and started playing. At first, it didn’t go to well – his father had never let him bring “one of those tacky things into the house”, and it was harder than he first thought. Even so, people stopped to listen, at first just wondering what that infernal sound was, but Anthony still went on. “Hey, have you heard about Continuum of Llama?” he’d ask whenever someone approached him, and found it was quite a good way of striking up conversation. That he was getting better at playing the guitar was also a definite plus.
Playing the card was tiring, and suddenly Anthony realized he hadn’t eaten all day. A family was having a picnic nearby, and he strolled over to them, casually as he could, trying not to look too hungry.
“Hey, aren’t you the guy who played the guitar earlier?”
“That’s me,” he answered with a slightly embarrassed smile.
“Are you hungry? We brought way more than we can eat, so feel free to grab a plate!”
“Don’t mind if I do!” Anthony never really had a problem with taking from others, but it was always preferable if they’d just give things to him. He sat down and listened to the girls as they talked.
He stayed in the park, talking to people and playing his guitar until it was quite dark. Suddenly, he realized just how tired he was. He put away his guitar and yawned. “Time to go home,” he told himself, and couldn’t help but smile at the thought. Even though it wasn’t much yet, he did have a place to call his own, and with time he would make a proper home of it.
“Going back home?” asked the cabbie as he got into the car.
“Yeah, back there, please,” he replied and leaned back against the seat, closing his eyes for just a moment. This time, they didn’t talk, Anthony just relaxed and before he knew it – he was home.
Anthony glanced over at the big house on the next lot. It kind of reminded him of home a little, while still different enough not to make him fear hearing his father’s voice all of a sudden. Some day, it would be nice to live in a house like that again, although right now, he’d be quite happy just to live in a house again. Still, sleeping under the stars would appear to have its own charm, and as he climbed into bed he felt quite happy with what he had accomplished so far today.
(So, that’s the first chapter done. Probably I will speed up time a bit in future chapters, but I wanted to give a thorough presentation of Anthony to start with. His traits are Perfectionist, Exciteable, Virtuoso, Never Nude, and Kleptomaniac… Don’t know if I’ve really worked all of those into the story yet, but I think the fact that he’s Exciteable can’t really have escaped anyone, and you might’ve guessed that he’s also a Virtuoso. According to the rules I had to pick a Virtuoso-LTW (since that’s the only one associated with a certain field of study), and so I picked Rock Star for him. Seemed like the coolest place to start.)
