“God this hits the spot!” Jo said as she sat on a retaining wall behind the diner devouring her omelette. “This was such a good idea!” She raved as her plastic fork scraped again the Styrofoam to-go container that she was eating her omelette out of. ”And to think...” Jo replayed her escape from the dimly lit fairgrounds in her head. ”Aside from saying good morning to Blanch at the front gate I saw no one...” Jo grabbed the bottle of water that sat next to her and took a big drink. ”And the diner only had a couple of women in there. They were all super easy to avoid...” Jo continued gobbling up her omelette as she pictured the diner that had been filled with men who looked like they were part of the fairgrounds’ grounds crew. ”Hopefully the water doesn’t taste bad...” Jo glanced over to her full hydration pack that hung on the handlebars of her bike. She had asked the guy running register in the diner if he could fill it up for her in the back, and once again being beautiful paid off for Jo. ”As much as I hate to admit it, people really do treat beautiful people differently...” Jo knew if she had been Jon, the guy would have likely told Jon no.
As Jo continued blissfully eating her omelette her mind began to wander and memories of her and Piper getting omelettes every Sunday morning at a diner near campus drifted into her head. ”I wish I could get you out of my head...” Jo thought as she pictured a smiling Piper sitting across the table from her in a booth at the little diner. ”You’re an amazing woman... even if you were in and out of my life in a day.” The sting of losing Piper still lingered in Jo’s body, but she knew now wasn’t the time for mourning. With the sun slowly rising Jo knew she needed to hurry up and get on the road.
“Mmmm... that hit the spot.” Jo sat the now empty styrofoam container on the retaining wall next to her and began chugging the rest of her bottle of water. ”Plain water tastes sooo much better than that iced tea.” Jo thought as she took one last gulp of water from the bottle. Gathering up her trash Jo tossed it in a nearby dumpster and returned to her bike. ”How’s this going to work?...” Jo crossed her arms and rubbed her chin as she eyed up her filled hydration pack and her duffle bag. ”I can’t really ride with both can I?..” Jo grabbed the hydration pack off the handle bars and began adjusting the straps to fit her body. With the hydration pack fitting snug yet comfortably on her back, Jo stood there staring at the duffle bag. ”Do I sling it over?.. Could I put my arms through the little handles?.. Damn... How’s this going to work? I can’t get rid of it, because I’ve got zero pockets without it...”
After a couple minutes of trial and error Jo stood there inspecting her work. ”I guess this will do...” She thought as she studied the duffle bag that was now strapped across the handle bars of the bike. Using the duffle bag’s long strap and the chain bike lock, Jo had compressed the duffle bag and secured it to the road bike’s handles. ”So all I need now is a helmet.” Jo looked up at the back of the diner. ”Where could I get a helmet without seeing people?..” Jo’s eyes darted around, expecting a solution to just appear for her. ”Think Jo. Think!” The rising sun was beginning the stress Jo out. The longer she waited to start her journey home the more traffic she was going to have to deal with during her ride. ”I can’t wait any longer. I’ve got to go...” Jo thought as she began walking her bike out from behind the diner.
Walking out in front of the diner Jo eyed up the gym she had spent most of the previous day in. ”I used to be a he, but now I’m a she. All thanks to you.” Jo chuckled in her head as she stared at the building. As Jo’s eyes lingered on the building an idea crept into her head. ”I wonder... Do you have bike racks in the back? The parking lot did extend behind the building.” Jo thought as she started walking her bike over to the gym.
Keeping her eyes on the ground, Jo navigated through the somewhat busy gym parking lot to the back of the building. “Bingo!” Jo whispered as her eyes locked on the bike rack that sat up behind the building. ”And there’s even a bike with a helmet on it!” Jo hurried over to the bike rack and unhooked the helmet that hung on a road bike’s handle bars. ”I really need to stop stealing... But if you’re a member of this posh gym, then you probably can afford a new helmet...” She thought as she hung it to her handle bars. ”Now time to get the hell out of here!” Jo hopped on her bike and hurried out of the parking lot. ”I’ll throw my helmet on a couple blocks from here.” She thought as she rounded the corner onto the side walk.
