August 9th 1997

Hannah shifted in her seat to lay on her other side. She had slept the whole time she'd been on that plane. Angus expected as much. After all, she had been running from a hotdog wielding a giant wooden whisk the day before.

Angus walked to the back of the plane for the umpteenth time. He'd check on her every once in a while, ready to talk to her once she woke up. But not yet. The man sighed as he thought of how much trouble this girl could get herself into. Granted it was a funny predicament to watch, but a bit difficult to solve.

The group had just finished the concert in Belgium and they'd head for the airport that night for Ireland. But first they wanted to get a quick dinner since this would have been their fourth night skipping a meal. The only open place around was a small hot dog shack. A teenager leaned over the counter waiting for her shift to be over. Blonde braids hung around her shoulders and she had headphones on.

Foil and cans littered the make do parking lot. Any talking the group had done was cut short when a clang rang out from the left side of the building. A metal trash can had fallen, or rather, had been shoved over by some old man sleeping in an identical one nearby. The man couldn't fit completely in the bin due to his large hotdog costume. A broken sign with chipped paint lay directly under his overhanging fingertips.

Hannah had wanted to practice her people skills so she volunteered to order once they got inside. Fifteen minutes before they had to head back to the airport. The girl at the counter ignored Hannah's presence as she nodded along to the music that was inaudible to the rest of the world.

"Um, excuse me," Hannah said palming the little silver bell. Two eyes darted over to see a hand repeatedly hitting the ringer. Once Hannah was sure she had caught her attention, she pulled her hand away. The girl took her headphones off and shut off the radio. Her stoic expression was replaced with a weary smile.

"How can I help you?" She clearly didn't want to be there. She was American, which made sense for where she was working. Hannah donned a smile of her own.

While Hannah ordered, the band stayed back a little. They were short on time and couldn't stop to chat if the girl recognized them. Angus viewed the room they were in. It was clean enough, the tables were wiped. But the same couldn't be said for the undersides. A clown clock hung on the wall. Fourteen minutes. Angus jumped when a hand touched his shoulder.

"Jesus, Mal!"

"What? Takes a truck to the balls to get your attention," Malcolm laughed. He pointed to the opposite wall. "Found a jukebox over there, we're in it."

Angus put his hands in his pockets. "One song?" Malcolm shrugged.

"Maybe...four?"

"Pretty good," Angus laughed. "That sure puts the bread on the table doesn't it?"

"Sure as hell beats diggin' for dimes. Speakin' a which, who's payin'?"

The brothers glanced around the room. Everyone was doing their own thing. "I guess we are," Angus smiled.

"Ah, that's great," Malcolm smiled back. "Hey, you see that guy out there takin' a rest in the trash?"

"Yeah."

"I seen him before. He used to sell sunglasses at a merchant store before they shut the place down for fraud."

"He a friend of yours?" Angus joked.

"Maybe once or twice he gave me an eye when I didn't buy anything," Malcolm laughed. He crossed his fingers. "You could say we're like this now."

"He gives you the eye, just give him the finger. What were you doin' in there anyway?"

"Before the whole scandal went down they had these gumball machines in the back. I'd go back there and just spend a line of quarters."

"Well if you're gonna get gumballs you coulda gotten sunglasses," Angus shrugged.

"I didn't need no stinkin' sunglasses, it was cloudy all the time there. He wants business, shoulda sold gloves."

"It's hotdogs now," Angus giggled. "Or whatever's in that can of his."

"Yeah, he's livin' large." The brothers kept laughing to themselves trying not to call attention. The noise eventually died down. "Yeah, but I feel bad for this girl. Saw a car out front, blankets and food boxes crammed inside."

"You think she lives here?"

"Think she lives in her car and this is her work. Poor kid, doesn't look older than Hannah."

"Younger even," Angus noted. "Should help her out. Not much we can do right now, but...should be somethin'."

Malcolm tapped his fingers on a lopsided chair. "Could tip her? I mean, I don't know how much to give, this ain't a super restaurant."

Angus nodded his head in consideration. "And no matter what, she's gonna need more than what we give her. But-" He shrugged. "Better than nothin', I don't want her livin' off cobwebs."

Hannah reached into her pocket and pulled out just enough to cover the food. The girl took it gratefully. Hannah noticed her nametag said Shelly.

"It might take a while, but you're welcome to have a seat right over there," Shelly said pointing to the chairs. Hannah nodded.

"Thank you." Without another word Shelly disappeared to the backroom most likely to cook the food herself. Hannah made her way over to the group. "She does everything herself here, that's not fair."

"We know, she lives in her car out front," Malcolm said nodding his head over. "We're gonna tip her somethin' when she comes back. How much did you pay her?"

"Thirteen ninety three."

"Okay, she's gotta have more..." Malcolm reached for his wallet and pulled out a twenty dollar note. "It ain't much."

"Still better than nothin'." Angus grabbed it and paired it with his ten. Eight minutes passed before Shelly came back out with their food in a brown paper bag. Hannah and Angus went back up to the counter. When the girl looked up and saw who else was there, her mouth hung open.

"Oh, I-I didn't see you there," she squeaked. Angus smiled.

"Hey love." Shelly put a hand over her mouth and started half laughing half crying.

"Have you always been there?" Her voice came out muffled.

"Yeah, just waitin' in back. This is for you." He handed her the money and her laughter was now completely crying.

"Aw hey now, don't cry," Malcolm smiled as he came up. He went behind the counter to give her a hug. Shelly laid her head on his shoulder completely bewildered. This was not on her horoscope that morning.

"I'm sorry," she choked out. "I just-I knew there were other people I just didn't know-" Hannah smiled at the scene in front of her. This was the kind of evening Shelly deserved. One by one the band hugged the sobbing girl. "Oh my God, I've always been a fan and-oh my God..."

"Now I know this isn't a lot, but we want you to keep every last bit of it," Angus told her. Shelly nodded and went in to hug him again. After they parted, Shelly went back behind the counter.

"I'm sorry," she said wiping her eyes. "I was not expecting this. Never in a million-" She drew a shaky breath. "Never in a million years." A couple laughs came out and she pushed her braids back.

"Don't be sorry. It ain't a ball workin' your ass off for nothin' in return. Pardon my words," Angus said earning another laugh.

"How long have you been here?" Hannah asked.

"How long have I worked here, or...lived here?"

"Both," Hannah answered after a minute. Shelly wiped her hands on a rag.

"Lived in a car my whole life. Parents couldn't pay the way and they eventually died. Took it upon myself to get a job and here I am. Car's out front, and I do my laundry out back."

"That's awful," Malcolm said frowning.

"It's a place, that's all I can ask for."

"What about the fellow in your garbage out there?" Angus asked.

"He's a drunk bastard. I'm sorry, I just- he came here looking for work when I was already working and he does nothing. Just drank all the time while I, as you said, worked my ass off." Angus smiled. "Boss finally gave him a job holding a sign. Jason who usually works the nightshift told me, 'he's gonna pass out and leave you the rest,' and he was right."

As Malcolm retold his remembrance of the man, Hannah got an idea. What better way to be a friend than to help her with something? Moving something, cleaning, anything. Shelly just got finished explaining why she was in Belgium when Hannah spoke up.

"Do you need help with anything?"

"It's okay, you really don't-"

"No, no. I want to help." Shelly sighed.

"I have my uniforms to wash but I don't want you to do it."

"It's no problem, you guys can talk and I'll help you get your work done sooner." Shelly shook her head. "Come on, let me help."

"They're in the back outside. In a pot of water. There's a big wooden whisk thing to stir them with. And watch out for Smith. He's the man out there."

"Sure thing." Hannah headed outside when Shelly stopped her.

"Thank you," she whispered.

The moon and streetlights let Hannah find the pot of water Shelly had talked about. A whisk-like object was leaning against the building. It was heavy, and wobbled when picked up. Hannah set it in the water and stirred the laundry. A smell lingered and that and whatever else was laying around did not help keep the clothes clean.

The rim of the pot kept catching onto the whisk resulting in a loud noise. Hannah readjusted her position and knocked over a tower of boxes behind her. Now the pot and spoon didn't matter so much compared to the sound the crash made. There was nothing in the boxes thankfully, and Hannah guessed they were for drying.

She hurried to pick up her mess and go back to her work. Another sound came a few meters away. One of metal against concrete. A man in a hotdog suit stumbled in her direction. His eyes were half closed and he hadn't shaved in weeks. A beer bottle was locked in his fingers.

Hannah kept still as the man's eyes flickered to focus on the girl. Great. She already woke up Smith. "You s'posed to be back here?" he droned.

"Uh, I'm helping a friend." She cringed when he took a drink from his bottle.

"I don't like strangers."

"Neither do I. But-but I'm not a stranger to Shelly, I'm helping her with her laun-"

"Shelly. That gal's name ain't Shelly." Another drink. "It's Miranda. That's a borrowed uniform. From someone who used to work here." Another drink. "Named Shelly."

"Oh. I didn't realize. We won't stay for long, we've got somewhere to be."

"We?" Another long drink. "Why don't you be on your way then?"

"We're just-" Hannah stopped short as the man let out a high pitched cackle. He just stood there laughing maniacally. The girl decided she'd had enough of Freakshow and would let Shirandelly finish. Just explain that Smith was a weirdo and get out of there. Putting the whisk away with a pounding heart, she went back to the door and found that it was locked. The only way back in was through the front. And the only way to get to the front from this place was past the Santa Claus hotdog.

He moved in front of her whenever she tried walking around him. She ended up slamming a box on his head and making a run for it. Smith removed the box, grabbed the whisk, and let out some form of a drunken war cry.

Back inside, the girl and the band had settled down to talk. The clown clock on the wall read 8:15. It was way past the time they were supposed to be at the airport. But they didn't care. There were several flights. But only one Shelly.

Or was it Miranda?

Eventually Brian stood up. "Lads, I've just come up with an idea. And it's a good one."

"What is it?" Malcolm asked as they watched their friend grab a napkin.

"You got a pen around here love?" The girl stood up and walked over to the counter. She returned with a pen. Brian accepted it and wrote his name on two napkins. "Here. Sign your name on both."

"What's this for?" Phil asked.

"Now we don't normally do this on purpose, drives us up the wall. But we're givin' you somethin' to sell. And the other one is for you to keep," Brian explained. The girl's eyes began to water again.

After a number of thank yous and tight hugs exchanged, the group had turned to leave. A loud cry came from outside and Hannah burst into the building. She ran up to Angus and he held her still.

"What happened?"

"What was that?" Malcolm asked. Another cry sounded.

"You woke up Smith didn't you?" the girl laughed. "I forgot to mention, he's crazy when he's drunk."

"Doesn't surprise me," Malcolm mumbled with a smile.

"Be careful on your way out and-thank you all again."

The group made it out the front door and a few more feet when Smith jumped out and came at Hannah. The whisk was held above his head and he lowered it to spin it in his hands. Hannah took off and the guys had to chase after them.

Angus had to cover his face when he laughed so he wouldn't wake Hannah up. That story had it all, that was for sure. They ate their hotdogs on the plane due to lack of time. Despite being cold, it was worth it. The staff wasn't at all happy with the unprofessional timing and they got lectured. But that was alright with them.

Hannah's eyes fluttered open to see Angus kneeling down in front of her. His hands were grasping a tea mug but he reached one out to brush the hair out of her face. "Mornin' lovely."