The pigeons outnumber the people. They swoop around the streets, stealing food from the blurs of passersbys, who are always too distracted by the thoughts of where they need to be, and what they need to do to even notice. Here the pavements are grey, hundreds of feet walk over them, rushing around like mad men. The buildings tower like giants, sounds of car horns blare every now and again. The city is a vast, intricate, labyrinth of noisy, streets and alleys. Mother's drag their whining children, business men haul around their heavy briefcases, middle aged women hunt down the best bargains, this city has it all.
But no one ever stops to hear the busker sing. I stand here with just a guitar. No one ever listens, they drop their pennies in my guitar case as they pass, I offer them a smile but they don't notice. Their too busy in their own world.
This is the usual pattern, but today was different.
It was a cold winters morning, I stood there with a coffee in one hand and my phone in the other. I placed both items down and set up ready to play. Next to me, leaning against the wooden bench was my guitar. It was an ordinary brown, wooden, acoustic guitar. It's heavy wood was satisfying in the hand and it's tones were rich and full. I started strumming my guitar and began singing.
When I finished my 5th song I could hear the faint sound of clapping, it was mostly drowned out by the noises of passersbys. I spot a group of teenagers around my age, all boys except one. One boy stood out as he offered me a friendly smile and a small almost missable wave. I smiled back.
The boy was perfection in coffee hues; his hair and eyes were the colour of dark roasted beans but his skin was all latte. He had that shy look about him teens often get when they've grown too much too fast, like they aren't really sure about being a man just yet. He was skinny, you could tell by the way his clothes clung to his tall body. Everything is about him is symmetrical, most obviously his cheekbones, but it extends to the way he smiles and holds his body.
Stood beside him was a thin, pale girl with bright ocean blue eyes. She was distracted, talking to one of the other boys. Under her eyes layed freckles, spread across her face like stars in a constellation. She had a slightly turned up button nose, much like that of a Disney Princess. Her most defining feature was definitely her bright autumn hair. It was cut short which suited her face perfectly. Her Auburn hair shone brightly in the sunlight. I stared at her in awe and envy.
The girl started to walk towards me, my heart started beating rapidly and uncontrollably, this had never happened before. I didn't want to embarrass myself Infront of the group. Oh please don't say something's stupid.
She places £50 in my guitar case.
"Fucking hell thank you so much" I say leaping towards her and engulfing her in a hug " that's more than I earn in a week".
She smiles as I let go, "such a talented person deserves to be rewarded" she glanced back at the group and then return her gaze to me. "I'm Sophia, that curly haired boy that was staring at you earlier, that's Finn. Thats jaeden, Jeremy, chosen, and Wyatt. Oh and that little boy? Yeah that's jack" she radiated confidence as she spoke, I was jealous of how naturally she spoke to me, a complete stranger.
"Oh uh hi, I'm Vee"
"Vee?" She said confused. I get it, my name's kinda odd. Not something you hear everyday. My mum wanted me to be unique, stand out in a crowd. I end up doing the opposite.
"Short for Venus" I explained to the red head.
"Oh cool name, it's really pretty" I just smiled at her, she was so nice. I'm still unaware why she is talking to me, as bad as it sounds. "Wanna join us? Unless you've got other things to do"
I look at my feet as I move them around, "uhhmmm" I just met these people, I'm not known for making friends. This will be really awkward. Sophie seems nice though. That Finn guy too. It would be nice to get to know them. It wouldn't kill me to go out of my comfort zone once in a while. If it's bad then I can just make an excuse and leave, I'll never see them again. What's the worst that could happen, I can only think of good outcomes. They'll hate you. No they won't. I'm not that bad. You'll mess this up like you always do. Shut up. Fine do it, you'll regret it. "Just give me a sec to pack up my stuff and put it in my car I'll be back in 10?" I ask offering a smile.
She returns it, "yeah great" I give her a quick wave and proceed to pack up.
