sneak peak at the new writing.

 Romy sauntered into her bathroom of her apartment. This was what she did every morning. Her life was uneventful. Even with going back to college she felt like there wasn't much going on. The night before she was visiting an old friend. He was having a get together, and she met someone. That didn't turn into much. Just a night of making out. Romy never did more than kissing. That didn't mean she didn't like having sex she just liked knowing the person better. The night of making out wasn't on her mind though. She figured she would see the boy again at some point.

The mirror in her bathroom revealed her tired face. Romy washed it quickly and then put on makeup. She was getting ready for her job at a used book store. It wasn't much, but she liked working there. Her pay wasn't terrible, and her boss was nice. Where she worked before did not have a great record for treating their employees. Romy was just happy that she was able to get a better job when she did. Now she would be able to go back to school and not worry about the price of gas or school books as much.

After putting on makeup she got dressed. That normally consisted of skinny jeans a nice shirt and a beanie. There wasn't much to her wardrobe. She wore what was easy to wear. Maybe that was why guys didn't like her. That didn't bother her. Being alone was something that she was used to. It meant she could do whatever she wanted when she wanted. No one would be their to bother her, but it was still nice to cuddle someone besides her cat.

Romy turned off her TV, slipped on her shoes, turned off the lights, and left. She got in her car and drove to work. The key to the store slipped into the key whole and she opened the door then relocked it. It was a good twenty minutes before the store opened. She always got their that early. That was so she could get the store ready. Romy was there open to close almost everyday. All together that did not leave her much time to do anything else. There wasn't anything else she wanted to do. She lived alone, and didn't care for having a partner to share it with. Most of the time it was just her and her cat Lion. He was named after her favorite animal.

The time came for her to open the shop. There were never very many people who came into the shop, so she was not waiting for any big rush to happen. Through the day she swept and made sure that the used book store was clean. Sometimes someone would come in to buy a book or two, and when the shelves got to a point where she needed to refill them. Romy would do just that. That day something happened that she did not expect to happen. There was a man that was inline. She was looking down at a book that she was reading through. Sometimes Romy didn't look up at the costumers right away when she was checking them out. She looked up at this man at the last minute. He looked like someone she met before, but the last time she saw him she was in a hangover haze. Then his name came into her head. It was Max. His dirty blonde hair looked the same as it did that night. Romy didn't even realize that he shopped at used book stores. She never mentioned it to him that she worked at one either.

“Your total comes to $12.50 anything else for you today?” Romy said.

“You are Romy right?” Max said.

“My contact information is in your phone, so yeah I think I would be the only one with that name.” She said putting his books in a plastic bag.

“I guess that is true. You seem different when you aren't drinking.” Max said.

“That tends to happen yes. I am very much more apathetic in my day to day life.” Romy said.

“Well, that does not seem fun at all.” Max said.

“I guess neither does going to a club with a random girl each night of the week sounds fun to me.” Romy said.

“Have you been checking up on me?” Max said.

“I know people, and they talk. We have some of the same friends remember. I don't go asking about people I just met. If I know the name however I am more likely to listen.” Romy said.

“It is not like you think.” Max said.

“Well I don't think anything. I don't really know you. Also it is almost time for the bookstore to close. You have thirty seconds.” Romy said.

“Fine I am gone. I heard such nice things from Andy, and I guess I really don't see it. Maybe you are only fun when you are drinking.” Max said.

“Alright Max you want fun. I will show you fun. Show me how to unwind. Meet me after my shift on Saturday.” Romy said.

“Fine, but drop the bitch act.” Max said.

“Fair enough.” Romy said.

After Max left Romy locked up the store and unlocked her car. She put the key in and drove away to her cheap little apartment. The owner of the place seemed misguided at best. It was LA so everything cost so much. She wasn't from there though. Romy's birth name was Rosemary Clark, but after she moved to California she decided changing her name to Romy Taylor sounded a lot better when it came to pursuing acting. She knew Max was right that she was boring, and kind of bitchy. Auditions were starting to get to her. At this point she didn't feel like she was good enough to be Romy Taylor. Sometimes she did slam poetry about feeling like a failure. Now she couldn't believe that she agreed to go out to clubs with Max.

She pulled up into her parking space and then walked the long line to her apartment. It wasn't that long, but it seemed like it. There was a party going on in the pool area of the apartment complex. This didn't happen once a week, it was every night. Everyone that lived there were trying to be in the entertainment business or kind of were in some way. It was like that show that was on for a while, but less sad and dramatic. Romy normally avoided the party, and went into her apartment where Lion always greeted her. He was a Siberian cat with orange fur. Lion meowed and purred a lot, but Romy never minded. She was always snuggled up with him when she was home.

The next day came and Romy got ready for the day again. That was normally how her day went. She almost always worked. Romy felt like she couldn't afford not to. Working six days a week was the only way she could make it in LA with out ending up on the street. Acting didn't come through for her, at least not yet. Now she worked almost everyday. She made a little over thirty-thousand dollars a year, but it was California. That was just enough so she wouldn't end up living out of her car. Where she was from in Missouri, that would have been enough to support a small family. Romy almost made as much as her parents with their incomes put together. She stopped speaking to them though.