"I always do. Have a good one, see ya." Dave winks at me as he starts walking the other direction toward his car in the parking lot behind the building. I sigh, collecting my thoughts as I walk up 1st Street towards my apartment. Today was one of the many typical hot days of California in the middle of spring. It was almost 8 at night but people were still out and about as if it were noon. I passed by Cafés that were full of people gathering to meet friends and family for a sweet late night coffee. The smell of glazed donuts flew past me carried by a gust of wind and my mouth watered at the delicious concoction of sugar. I hadn't had dinner yet but I definitely wasn't going to cave into that addiction only to satisfy my stomach for maybe a half hour. I pass by the little café and the swarm of people, making my way to the lonely street of Thomas. Every time I get to this street, it is always disserted. It's as if it has a invisible wall that keeps everyone from staying for long periods of time. I liked Thomas street for that exact reason because it was almost exactly like me. Not in the way that I pushed people away but I always seem to be more content when I'm alone and in my own head. My mom used to say that it wasn't good for me to always want to be alone, but to me it was normal because I was an only child with two parents that worked all their lives. I got used to depending on myself to do things and that I should never rely on others because they will most always disappoint in the end. I'm not saying that I don't have friends because I definitely do, even if it is just two. I don't need a million friends in my life to be satisfied with myself and I certainly don't need a man either. That is one of the many things that my friends and I disagree on, and it seems to be me that they always desperately need to find another half for. I keep telling them that I am focusing on my job and I need to be focused on that and that alone, but they seem to end up with the same conclusion. Alison Barker needs love in her life. Both Sarah and Cassandra have serious relationships and because I don't, they think I will eventually go crazy and they "don't want that for their best friend." And I have love in my life, it's called being a police officer. I know, no one in love with just their job is ever content with the rest of their life, but I do enjoy my job and I don't need a man to make it better. I didn't come to California to find a man, I came here to follow my dream to be a police officer and I am proudly living that dream, no matter how frustrating it is right now. I get to my apartment room in record time of 15 minutes and put my key into the hole of the knob unlocking my door and entering. I am welcomed by the contrasting cold air of the place, once again reminding me that I need to get my heater fixed again. Other than a few essentials needing repair, the place was not bad for it's rent. I live here alone so I don't have anyone nagging me about everything, which is a blessing and a curse at the moment. I drop the keys into the fruit bowl on my center table after locking the door behind me and kicking my shoes off, letting them land aimlessly in different directions. I head straight to my fridge which consists right now of just two yogurts, leftover chicken from last night and a breakfast salad. I save the salad for tomorrow and grab the chicken closing the fridge door with the end of my foot as I open the container and fill myself with a good amount of cold chicken before throwing the bones in the garbage. I set the now empty container in the dirty sink and sigh at the mess, making a mental note to make sure to do the dishes before going out to lunch with my friends. I brush my teeth and put on my comfy pajamas and flop onto the bed with a groan. It is Friday and I have a whole weekend to relax and get my mind back in the game before Monday rolls around and I have to start all over again. I lean over and switch the lamp off and curl up in my blankets, falling asleep with the happy thoughts of the relaxing weekend ahead of me.
The sun rose with a smile on its face, with all its shining glory of morning treasures. The grey curtains failed to block out the ray of light that seemed to break through the fabric with ease. I frown into my pillow, announcing my daily groaning complaints to the sun waking me up and it responded with even more of its unreflecting power. After what seems like an hour, I drag myself out of the bed, sliding on my slippers and led myself to the kitchen. My body carried me to the fridge by muscle memory and I grabbed the breakfast salad and shut the door. The salads I get from the store came in a plastic cup with a lid. It has fruits, yogurt and granola in it and I mixed it until it was blended to my satisfaction. Today is planned to be a relaxing, get out with my friends, going and doing girly stuff kind of day. I haven't gone out and done "girly stuff" since I was a pre-teen so this won't be anything less than interesting. As I finish my breakfast, I try to bypass the sink mounted with dishes, but my conscious stopped me. They seemed to glare at me with a livid stare like it was asking why I had waited even this long to do them and I sighed, opening the dish washer and started putting them away, wondering how an object can make me feel so guilty about my own busy life. When I'm done with the judgmental dishes, I clean up the rest of the kitchen just to settle my peace of mind. I clean my apartment now that I'm in the mood and by that time, I'm fully awake and ready for todays events. I check my phone on my desk and I notice that I missed a call from Sarah. I tap the 'call back' button and wait for the receiving number to answer.
"Hey! I called you earlier, where were you?" Sarah has always been a very energetic enthusiastic person from the day I met her in college, and she seems to still be able to take me aback at how fast the words flew out of her.
"Hey, yeah sorry. I was cleaning up the place, it was pretty bad. I'm done now, what's up?"
"Oh okay, well me and Cassie are-"
" Cassie and I" I say interrupting. I could hear her groaning in response before fixing her grammar.
"I mean.. Cassie and I were wondering where you wanted to go for lunch?"
"uh, I don't care. Whatever you guys want to do.." Usually I am a very in control person in how I want everything but with my friends, I just let them do whatever. The only reason I like being in control is because I want to prove myself to others but I don't really need to prove myself to two girls who knew me even before I was an officer.
"Of course you don't silly, you wouldn't be you if you did.. okay well how 'bout the new Shari's that opened up last week? Yeah? Okay awesome, see you at 11! Love ya hun!" And with that conclusion, Sarah hung up without another word. I didn't even get to put in my own vote, which I don't really mind cause I'm pretty much okay with any restaurant they choose. I set my phone back down after checking the time. 9:50. Okay, that gives me exactly enough time to get ready and be there by 10:55. I head to the bathroom, starting the shower and while it warmed up, I walked out and turned the television onto the science channel where Mythbusters was playing. I smile at the episode playing, the one where they test and bust myths of action movie theories. I walk back to the shower just as it gets warm, getting undressed and climbing in. I have seen all of the Mythbusters episodes at least twice and to other people, I seem to think I know everything now that I know the myths. They say I ruin their childhood dreams because I crush their unrealistic beliefs with my facts about science. It's not my fault that other people have intangible connection to fictional creations. I roll my eyes at the thought as I finish washing my hair, turning off the shower and getting out, drying myself off. After that, I did all my other needed routine things and then headed to my dresser. We are going out to lunch and then to the mall I think. Knowing where we were going did not help my wardrobe options, especially when the choices are slim to begin with. Maybe I do need to go shopping... I went with the best I had and grabbed a pair of clean blue skinny jeans and a simple but cute black V-neck shirt. Just then, I checked the time on my clock above my dresser and it said I had about 10 minutes to beat the noon traffic. I rush, checking the mirror one last time and I frowned in the mirror at my expression. What? You can't blame a girl for trying to look good for potential eye candy around town. I may not want to have any but I can damn sure enjoy the view, and make sure I'm not a revolting figure to look at either. I glance at myself one last time before nodding, finding my heeled boots and grabbing my purse and my keys on the way out, making sure to lock up. My dad used to be a police officer as well and I grew up with him teaching me to "always look, and always lock." Because of my dad, I'm a very perceptive person who always knows her surroundings. My friends hate it and love it, depending on the situation. Sometimes, I'm overly aware of everyone around us which doesn't make anything fun. But there was this one time where I noticed that a guy had been following my friends and I for about 3 blocks and I re-routed us to take him off course and he eventually stopped. Later that week, the news came out with an arrest warrant for the same guy for sexual assault and robbery which my co-officer soon arrested shortly after. That was a time my friends were truly grateful for my over paranoia. When I'm outside, I immediately see my black 68 Mustang across the street next to a small island with an oak tree. I still do a double take when I see it, and realize that it's mine. The bureau gave it to me as a gift, I think they thought it was crappy and that it would break down sooner or later. Honestly, for the shape it's in, it has been going strong. Yes, It has some issues but once I get enough money in my bank, I'm going to fix the beauty up to it's full glory. But for now, I have to deal with the squeak of the door hinge as I get in and the smell of the stained seats. As I start up the engine, I ease off the brakes, which is another thing that needs repairing. I pull onto the fairly bare road, and head to Shari's. As I stop at a red light, a women with a baby stroller walks across the street. She looks lost in her own thoughts but still has that baby glow to her, and I could plainly see the big rock on her left hand. The women looked so content with her life, seeming to have all her ducks in a row and happy with it. A strange sense of longing came over me but was gone as soon as it arrived. Even when I was younger I never particularly wanted or liked kids but for some reason, something changed in the last few months when I got the job. Of course, I don't want kids right now but it's not a firm no anymore and I don't know if it's because I'm becoming more of an adult and accepting my role in society or if it's just that I miss the feeling of family all together. I haven't seen my family since I moved to California for the job and I'm not sure if I really want to visit any time soon. My mom was not very thrilled with the idea of me becoming a cop and we didn't exactly leave on the best terms because of it. I pulled into the parking lot of Shari's and parked close to the entrance, where I could easily get to and see. I waited there for about 5 minutes until I saw Sarah and Cassie walking up to the side of the entrance. As pure usual, Sarah was wearing a short skirt with a low top that had a cute little flower on it. She was wearing high heals that looked like it will kill her feet in seconds and a big red lip stick smile on her face as she saw me get out. Cassie on the other hand was close to what I was wearing but instead of jeans, was wearing shorts. Her short brown hair was being held up by her sunglasses on her head and she smiled too as she saw me. I got out of my car and walked up to them, hugging them both in greeting.