Clouds Cover the Sun Because they like the warmth

The Barbecue

 Manon woke up late in the morning. The sun's beams had already started to peer through her blinds. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. It was time to start her day. She got up and walked over to her closet. Inside her closet she had a large amount of outfits. Going through her clothes she decided on a gray puffy sleeved shirt, under a white vest with a green gray plaid skirt. She walked over to a dresser as she pulled out a pair of matching tights and laid out all the clothes on her bed before removing her nightgown. She walked back into the bathroom. Turning on the lights she still looked rather tired. She opened the cabinet and pulled a bandage roll out alongside a pair of scissors. She placed them on the counter of the sink as she shut the mirror door. She once again grabbed the scissors and cut the bandages around her stomach. A large gash had been carved into her stomach being sewn in by a needle and thread. A stitch she did herself. Even if the bleeding has subsided with a nasty scab covering right now. Though she knew it would scar later. Then again she had her doubts anyone would ever see it. She wrapped the new bandages around it and taped it over. She nodded before walking back into her room and put on the outfit she had picked out. She walked into the living room, opening the curtains, and blinds. Letting the grand sunlight in. It made her apartment look a bit more alive. She walked back over to cabinets and quickly recalled that she didn't have any food. Going to a grocery store would likely be her best option, or find other options for markets to get food, and ingredients. Another good thing would be to find a job. She only had three thousand dollars to her name, and while it wasn't bad, it wasn't preferable. She walked over to the table and grabbed a newspaper her aunt had left for her on the table. Alongside the jar of cookies. At least some sort of food that could work for the morning. She opened the jar and grabbed one of the homemade cookies as she scanned over the hiring section. Something she would be able to do. Even with just a high school education she could make a substantial living. Something with fashion is what she wanted though unfortunately there seemed to be no such place hiring. Not to mention some place more upscale may not be in her grasp. An office was hiring though she had no experience in finance so that was a no go. A cafe was hiring so she could work there. She was good at baking, and knew how to make coffee, and tea. She took a bite of her cookie as she put the paper aside before looking at another paper, and then another, and then another. By the time she was done with her cookie she had about five different job options. All of them in customer service. With three of them being culinary related. She walked over to her phone. She dialed the number of the cafe from the first paper as she brought the phone to her ear. It rang for a few moments before a woman answered. "Hello, this is Coffee Central. This is Sasha speaking. How may I help you?" "Hi, I'm calling about an available position." Manon said. "Oh wonderful, let me see what time to schedule you for an interview, just one moment" The phone went silent. Aside from the shuffling in the background. Around a minute passed. "Let's see, I have between six am, and ten o'clock p.m on Thursday. And from nine a.m, to five p.m on Friday. What time do you think you can come in for an interview?" Manon thought about it for a moment. She knew that there was an apartment barbecue that evening. There was no way of knowing how late the barbecue would last. Coming in at a later time would probably be best for her, but at the same time she didn't want to go in incredibly late. Especially since she didn't really want to be too far away without light. "I can come in on Thursday at ten a.m." Manon replied. She heard a pen scribble in the background. "Alright and what's your name?" "Marianne Vacher." Manon replied as the pen scribbled. "Alright Marianne we'll see you tomorrow at ten a.m." Manon smiled, feeling hopeful. "Okay, good bye." She said as she placed the phone back on the hook. She would see how well this interview would work out before calling another place. For now it was time to go into town. She would need to acquire groceries, and locate the address of the coffee shop. Thankfully most of the streets were labeled with numbers, and the cafe was on a numbered street. There was also a possibility she could find a grocery store on the way. For now she had to make a grocery list. Perhaps she could see if her aunt, or uncle would be willing to go into town, and help guide her. Though there was one other thing she needed to do that morning. She pulled the phone back off of the hook and dialed an all too familiar number. The phone rang for a few minutes before eventually it picked up. "Hello." An elderly woman said on the other end. "Hi mom." A slight gasp from the other end. "Manon! How are you doing dear? Did the voyage go smoothly? Did the move go okay?" Her mother asked sweetly. Manon was rather happy to hear from her mother after a few days. It was like a small bit of home, away from home. "The move went well, I know I promised I'd call you as soon as I docked, but I was immediately picked up by uncle Claude, and it was rather late." Manon replied. "That's understandable. Overseas journeys are always a pain. I'm glad things went well. I know it's only your first day, but have you made any new friends, or found a job?" Her mother asked. "I have an interview tomorrow, but I haven't had time to make acquaintances yet. Though I do plan to go into town for groceries, and to also locate the address of the place I'll have an interview at." Her mother replied with a hm. "Well don't let me keep you any longer. Go out, and do your things." Her mother said as Manon smiled. "Bye mom, I love you." "Love you too dear, be safe." The phone then hung up. Manon felt her body tense up at the phrase. She looked down at her wrist. Recalling she also had to change the bandage on that as well. She walked back into the bathroom and grabbed the roll and scissors as before rolling her sleeve back while she cut the bandages off. Long sleeves were going to be a slight pain since the weather was warming up. This gash wasn't as big as the one on her stomach. Though compared to it was rather deep. She had felt the knife sink into her flesh. It felt as if it had hit her bone. She had been incredibly lucky it hadn't hit any vital arteries. The thread had her skin pitched as a scab was forming though it was still bleeding. She wrapped it up again. She need not dwell on it. She was away from him. She would be safe from him. He had know idea where she was now. She wouldn't be at her old apartment. She wouldn't be in France, hell she wouldn't even be in Europe. Not to mention New York was a crowded area. Finding her would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. And She would be safe.

She looked out at the crowd in front of her. Already people were talking with each other. Eating barbecued meats, and vegetables. She really could see her aunt had not been lying. Even when in town she had come across many people with odd features. People who managed to fly around with wings. Not only that but some of them were levitating without anything to help them fly. A few people just look like voids. While others had a few other oddities. Though one trait was in common with all of them. They were all incredibly tall. Like taller than an average person. Manon was not a short person by any means, but it was still odd seeing several people being taller than her. Yet she did not mind. She remained on the outer edges. A few other people were just hanging out though Manon did not mind. She did want to approach someone, yet she also felt fearful to do so. Though someone approached her instead. It was a pale woman with brown eyes, spiky black hair cut short before her shoulders. Her outfit was not something Manon would expect of a woman around the time. A black halter top that was left untucked from a pair of dark blue jeans with a hole in the knee, and platform boots making her all the more taller. Though not by much as Manon was at eye level with her shoulders. Though what really caught Manon's eyes was the amount of feathers on her body. Her shoulders were covered in red, yellow, and orange feathers. A few feathers were even strewn in her hair, and some were on her wrists. Lastly a large pair of wings were amongst her back. Ending about half way down her calves. "Hey. I'm Daniella. Are you new to the neighborhood?" The woman asked. Manon was a little uneasy. Even though the woman hadn't done anything to provoke the distrust she still felt oddly suspicious of her. "Uhm, yeah, My names Manon." "Nice to meet you Manon. So how are you liking New York so far?" "It's been good. I have a job interview tomorrow." Daniela nodded. "Where did you apply to?" "A cafe." Manon replied, she did not want to admit which cafe after what happened with him. Daniela's jaw dropped as she scoffed. Though it came across more fake than actually annoyed. "I would apply for that as well if I did not get paid as well as I do." Manon raised a brow. It felt like an odd thing to say. Not to mention it sounded rather rude. Yet Manon was curious. "What do you mean by that?" Daniela leaned her head back, and let out a groan. "My work sucks. I have no idea why I even went into finance when I liked working in customer service, surprisingly. My manager is a pain in the ass. Part of the reason I think the boss pays so much is because he knows any employee would quit on the whim with some of the supervisors." Manon nodded along and explained a lot. "Well I hope you get the job." Manon smiled. "Thanks." She spent almost the entire evening talking with Daniella. Though she also talked with some of her other neighbors. A lot of them were rather nice, and made her feel a bit more comfortable in her new home, and while her suspicions were still there it was rather nice. She slept comfortably that night. Now excited for her job interview.