Sidewalk Musicians

[brian_campo]

Around the time of the holidays, it was common to come across musicians on the city sidewalks. They brought guitars, harmonicas, violins, any instrument small enough to be hauled outdoors and played for tourists, who tossed cash and coin into upturned hats or plush, upholstered cases. Tonight, a clever trio of flutists had stationed themselves near a hot chocolate street vendor, where people enjoying their drinks might be tempted to sit and listen for a while.

Brian sat on a low, concrete wall and listened. His butt was cold and numb. His hands warmed themselves on a Styrofoam cup. It was his work break, and he was claustrophobic enough to take this short walk from Tracks and listen. He knew one of the musicians, a girl named Kacy who was in the music program at UNLV.

He blew on his chapping hands and turned his head to watch the oncoming foot traffic. His coat was pulled up around his neck, but he hadn’t brought a hat and his ears were freezing. The steam from the hot chocolate made his nose threaten to run. He was thinking about getting another tattoo, and his mind drifted to that idea.

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[brian_campo]

Brian set his cup on the wall and rubbed his palms together to generate heat. Across the crowd of people standing in the plaza, he spotted a familiar face. It was Julianna, the woman from the Watchers' Council. He got ready to wave, but then he caught himself. Was it okay to approach her, or would Valerie say he should keep to himself? The rules were still a little foreign to him, and since he had screwed up royally a few times, he was trying to think before acting.

He caught her eye.

"Alright, I'm not just gonna sit here and be an asshole," he muttered to himself. He got up and started weaving past the people, including a pair of identically dressed twins in green pea coats. Ever since The Shining, twins had given him the creeps.

"Hey," he said, raising his cup to her as he approached.