I left my pen and notebook back at the room. I didn't want to carry around a bunch of things with me while I explored more of the town. Although I did grab a spare key for the room so I could let myself back in. Finishing my bacon, I dressed in a fresh t-shirt and headed out. Stelle was still in the tub. 

The hotel was quiet. A few families in swimsuits headed for the pool. A couple maids pushing carts down the hall. Emptiness. An empty elevator. A nearly empty lobby. Outside the sun was bright and already warm. I breathed in the fresh air and looked around. Same as it was when we got here. Bit of traffic and old cars crawling this way and that. There was a man down the street a little ways handing out flyers for something but I couldn't see for what. Someone rode their bicycle past me, ringing the bell. I jumped at the noise and jumped again at the sudden blast of honking horns. 

I wasn't exactly used to city ambiance. 

Nor was I used to the sheer amount of feathered hair. I wasn't sure how famous Farrah Fawcett was outside of America but she must have had some kind of influence in most of the western world. The men usually had long hair but it wasn't styled at all. Almost everyone wore their pants up to their necks. Well, I preferred high waisted over low waisted anyway. 

I also couldn't help but notice the amount of phone booths in the city. So many phone booths had been taken down where I lived in 2024 since people had use of their cell phones. Which was silly. I mean, think about it! What if you're stuck in a place with no cell service? Wouldn't it be nice to have a payphone on hand? Surely people still carried around spare change! 

Speaking of spare change I felt around in my pocket and felt the coins and notes jangle around. I wasn't planning on buying anything but just in case...

Surrounded by all this vintage 1970's atmosphere in the flesh, the giddy feeling was starting to hit me again. I put it behind me in favor of following my favorite band on tour (which was a whole other giddy feeling). The sights and the sounds that only the luckiest people got to experience....and I was here....witnessing it as it was happening!

Some kids jumped rope on the sidewalk and some ran out of a candy store, their arms full of goodies. I took a peek inside, seeing a shelf lined with Smarties. My eyes widened, my heart raced. A friend of mine gave me some once. I wanted more. But I'd wait. There could be something more important that needed my financial attention.

But what could be more important than candy?

I skipped along and came across a barber shop with the door held open by an old brown stool. Inside I could hear 'Barbara Ann' by the Beach Boys playing on a radio. There was a deli around the corner and the door was closed, no music playing. Inside a man in a white apron was chopping up bits of meat and wrapping them in paper. I crossed the street and watched the street signs, keeping track of where I was and where I had been. 

There was a small bank nearby. At least, the brick exterior made me think it was a bank. Lots of banks where I came from had bricks. There were hardly any windows and it would look suspicious if I tried looking inside. So I scurried along and almost ran into a bicycle rack. A bike might be a good idea. I could cover more ground that way. But....an embarrassing secret of mine is...I never learned how to ride one.

So that idea was out.

There was a newspaper stand guarded by an old man, some people handing over their morning change for a copy of the morning news. News never fascinated me at home but this was 1978! I had to know what was going on! I handed over the coins I owed and took a copy. A real authentic newspaper...not some online article. Black and white photos and headlines....I made sure no one was watching and took a sniff. Have you ever smelled fresh paper? Or a new book? Flipping it open I saw something about politics and inflation. Names I didn't recognize and ads for car lots. Someone was selling terrier puppies and I wanted one. Somebody else was reviewing a new fast food business and called it "a meaty opportunity". I searched around for anything music related or pertaining to the world of rock and roll. 

Nothing. Just traffic updates and some weather predictions. I folded the paper up and kept it around, thinking it'd be a great souvenir. That is, if I was allowed to take anything back with me. A sudden paralyzing thought raced through my entire body.

What if I was swept back to 2024 without my notebook? What if I left it behind and without warning got taken back home without it? I'd have nothing! No notes, no story! My Wattpad fanfiction would be a complete bust!

Not to mention all the clothes we had bought. Would I still get to keep them? I didn't have anything to put them in, they were sort of sitting in piles on Stelle's couch. I crossed my arms over my body and took deep, calming breaths.

Whatever sent me here must have done so for a reason. Was it to write a lousy Wattpad fic? Didn't seem likely. But why send me back in time only to rip me away with no purpose? No thought? Why wrench me away from my comfortable home and send me to another country in another time all by myself? 

Someone next to me was reading his own copy of the newspaper and eating a hot dog with mustard. He turned to leave, a drop of mustard slipping off the dog and onto my shoe. I sighed. Lovely. Shaking the mustard off, I carried my paper across the next street. I saw what looked to be a bar on my right and some kind of strip club across from it. Strip clubs fascinated me. The whole club scene in general fascinated me. I grew up a Christian and good Christian girls don't attend such things. And while I kept up in my faith as best as I could, despite recent months sending me into a spiral of questions and disbelief, I was still curious about "worldly" things. I just wanted to take a tiny peek. 

Then again, seeing people remove their clothes wasn't exactly my idea of fun. Perhaps a tamer club would be more my thing. And I found just the place down the street. 

An under 18 club! Perfect!

In America they were under 21 clubs but in Australia, with the lower drinking age, they were even more exclusive. And they confused me. How did they work exactly? Was anyone over the age of eighteen thrown out on the streets? What did they serve for drinks? Were there kids getting splashed on apple juice, passed out in the corners? Snorting lines of pixie sticks in the booths? And how young were you allowed to be to gain entry? Did mothers bring their one year olds inside and have to leave them? Did pregnant women stand in the doorways? 

I simply had to find out! I could probably get in due to looking younger than I really was. I didn't want to be a full grown creep sneaking into a supposed kids' club but I had to explore! I had to know what went on! I crept up to the club I found called The Bird's Nest. It was such a cute name. But it could also have meant it was full of shit.

The doors were locked with a sign on the front window. Closed until seven that night. Well, humph! Now what was I supposed to do? 

**********

I popped a couple of Smarties in my mouth and went looking for the barber shop. If I couldn't attend a club just yet I figured I may as well try out for more jobs and earn a bit more money. I finished the Smarties before they melted in the hot sun and threw the box away. The shop's door was still open and the radio still played. Only it was someone talking instead of music. A couple brief mentions of America's Vietnam war aftermath and I tuned it out. 

I came here to have fun, damn it.

Inside was a small woman with what I believed to be blue hair...perhaps it was silver...giving a man a haircut. She glanced up at me once before nodding toward some chairs. "Over there," she said, her Aussie accent strong. "Got a few before you, though." I looked at the chairs and saw a couple of people reading magazines or...taking a nap?

"Actually I was wondering if I...might be able to have a job," I said. "A small one."

"What for?" she asked, still cutting. 

I wasn't quite sure how to answer that. "For...money?"

"You one of those teens looking for a summer job?" she asked. Before I could answer she nodded towards a broom leaning up against the wall. "Sweep up after me," she said. "Clean up rubbish, sweep the hair, spray the windows."

She continued to cut the man's hair who looked nervous. His eyes widened at the extra large locks that fell off his head onto the floor. I tucked in my lips trying not to giggle and grabbed the broom. 

Finally the woman pulled off the apron and shouted "NEXT!" at the man who was sleeping. The previous guy looked in the mirror and ran a hand through his practical buzz cut. His shoulders slumped and he left some money on the counter before leaving. I raced in with my broom and cleared away the fallen hair just like she asked. 

There wasn't much rubbish-I mean trash lying around. Just a few gum wrappers. And...chewed gum...I never understood why people left their gum in random places. Is it that hard to spit it back in the wrapper and throw it away?? Come on!!

I grabbed a few tissues and started scraping at the wads. They were stuck on good and proper and I was careful to not get any on my fingernails in case the tissues tore. That would have been disastrous. I probably looked pretty silly underneath all these chairs. 

After scraping the gum away I stood up and saw the man leaving the shop, more hair surrounding the chair he had been sitting in. The blue haired woman looked at me with her hands on her hips. And she called out "NEXT!" to a woman who set down her magazine.

The radio kept playing and it finally resumed its music. Some rock song I didn't recognize. I was surprised this woman had the station set to where it was. I expected she was more interested in...well, I didn't exactly know. Something less...loud or abrasive. I swept up the hair and dumped it all in the trash that was threatening to overflow. There was only one more customer left but it wouldn't last any more than that. And I could see a couple more people headed for the door. 

"If it gets too full just pull the bag out and toss it in the dump," the woman said fixing the apron around the woman's neck. "Watch out for the flies."

Flies?

**********

I met the flies. 

I lugged the heavy bag outside to the back of the shop and opened the dumpster lid. Inside was an enormous mound of hair. It could have been a rejected Sesame Street Muppet for all I knew. I covered my nose. A dead Muppet from the smell of it.

I threw the bag in and a swarm of bothered flies came spilling out of it. I swatted a few of them away and ran from the rest. Out of breath and scared to death, I slammed the shop door closed behind me and picked up the broom. "Always worse when summer starts," the woman said with a knowing smile on her face. I'll bet she was glad she didn't have to do it today. 

Customers of all kinds came in. One was a child who wouldn't stop screaming for ice cream. Another was a fellow old lady with hair dyed so blonde it was turning green. She and the beautician gabbed and talked about their lives. I was sure they knew each other and were good friends when I overheard them introduce themselves. 

Just as the sun started to set the woman waved goodbye to the last customer and flipped the Open sign to Closed. Opening her register she started counting money. Rather than have her catch me watching I kept to myself and pretended not to notice. I swept up the last of the hair and picked up the spray bottle and rag and got to work on the windows. They were small and I could reach the tops. They squeaked and whistled when I put the rag on them. 

After one last squeak I stepped back from my work and jumped when I felt a hand tap my shoulder. The blue haired woman held out a stack of notes. "It ain't much," she said holding it out. "But today was a decent day for customers and..." She looked around her shop and nodded approvingly. "You earned it."

I beamed and took the money, thanking her. It'd be rude to count it in front of her so I cleaned up my workspace, grabbed my newspaper, and headed for the door. 

"Any time you need a job, door's always open," she called after me, gathering her things.

I slipped outside into the dry, Aussie evening heat and stood at the side of a building, watching for any snoops. I counted the money and got another ten dollars for my work. I had about five left in my pocket so I shoved it all together and hid it away from prying eyes. My stomach roared just like at the record store and I looked around for a place to eat something. 

Stelle's room service sounded great right about now. But I wasn't done with my day out. I meandered down the street looking for the perfect place to have a quick bite.