Part 2

After the tourist season, Carmen found a cheap fishing rod abandoned in the trailer park.  Like the chilly bin and camping chair, she took it for her own.  Sometimes one mans junk is another mans treasure.  Or in this case, potential food source.  Unfortunately Carmen had little luck with fishing, she was also somewhat squeamish, but on those rare occasions when she did manage to catch a meal she felt a great sense of accomplishment.

Carmen's friendships with both Luna and Johnny progressed to the point where they would hang out after school.  Carmen secretly dreaded the times when the activity of choice for the afternoon was "Let's go grab a bite".  At Hogan's, Carmen stayed away from the more expensive pizza and burger options opting for a sandwich instead.  Luna's friend, Yuki, regularly joined them.  Yuki had brightly coloured hair and was into music and computers.  Mostly, Carmen worried about probing questions and the impossible necessity of inviting her schoolmates to come around her place.  She found herself making a lot of excuses.

Because, she didn't even have access to her own toilet.  It was awful when she'd wake busting in the night and have to find a spot to squat in the (scarce) bush.

Once Carmen did gather the courage to invite Johnny to her campsite, she found out something amazing.  Johnny was a runaway, of sorts, too.  He'd been living rough almost as long as Carmen.  Turned out he was the love child of the powerful Nancy Landgrabb and when the truth about his parentage had come to light Geoffrey and the Landgrabb reputation couldn't stand the shame.  After a fight Johnny's parents had bundled him out onto the streets, effectively disowning him.  They fed some cock-and-bull story to the local media to cover his disappearance and Johnny's wicked brother (well, half-brother as it turned out) Malcom, secretly rubbed his hands together in glee at not having to share the vast Landgrabb fortune with a sibling.  Malcom was the one who helped keep alive a rumor that Johnny had left home to pursue a career as a stand-up comic, against their parents wishes.

"Really?" Carmen asked, part horrified but also amused "Was that the best he could come up with?"

"Actually, I did tell Malcom once that I want to be an entertainer."  Johnny confessed.  "Though I'm more a musician than a comedian."

"Oh" Carmen exclaimed, going quiet.  Then she just looked at Johnny with a smile, smitten all over again.

"Hey, that cloud looks like a bear" Johnny pointed, changing the subject.

Christmas and New Year's came.  Luckily the desert climate stayed moderate enough for some comfort, even in the winter months.  Carmen shuddered at the thought of dealing with snow.  As the holidays approached, Carmen didn't have a lot of spare cash for gifts.  But she had acquired a fake ID and a sporadic income.  Using the internet at the library, Carmen created an alias.  She'd respond to local odd-job postings; packing boxes, moving furniture, takeout runs, gardening help.  The sorts of things that cash-strapped students sometimes do.

Carmen convinced Johnny to join her at the bar for New Year's Eve.

"Come on" she cajoled "It'll be so crowded, no one will notice anything."

Johnny, younger than Carmen by just over a year and far better known, was less certain.  Eventually he gave in.

"Alright, but just for a little while.  And you have to let me buy you a drink."  Johnny's expression changed "It might be a Coke mind, but still" he said with a grin.

"Deal" Carmen agreed.

In the event, Johnny left early.  Carmen lost track of him sometime between ten thirty and quarter past eleven.  Instead, she found herself sitting next to a blonde stranger.  The atmosphere in the bar got a little loud as midnight approached and everyone cheered as the television did the final countdown.  They sang a rousing chorus of 'Auld Lang Syne'.  Carmen thought, happily, that this was the year she would finish school and become a legal adult.  Then, exhausted, she rode her way slowly back to her tent.

As the cold weather continued, Carmen relied more often on the warmth of her campfire.  She learned the hard way about which logs would and wouldn't burn well.  Her education cost her, as one tree's branches caused clouds of horrendous black smoke.  Another time, one log went up in spectacular fashion and Carmen danced around nervously, before the flames settled again.