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"I didn't think it was possible to be THIS uncomfortable," I moaned. I didn't know exactly what time it was, but the sun was just starting to rise. Six AM? Maybe seven? Not that it mattered. What mattered was, I had spent an entire night in a trashcan (not sleeping; the rats made sure of that), and I was still in London.
This sucked. This really, really sucked. And what was more, I was very hungry. But, how to go about dealing with this? I had spent all my money the previous day on the dress (which I had removed and set aside previous to the trashcan escapades). I reached for my wallet. Maybe there was a little bit left....
It was stuffed full of bills once again. Now, why couldn't this sort of thing happen to me in New York?
Climbing out of the can, I stretched in a fruitless effort to work the kinks out of my back. I supposed this could be worse, in one way or another. At least I had money, which meant breakfast. Dressed only in a slip, I shivered and grabbed the dress, slipping it over my head. Then I grabbed the corset and stuffed it into the trash can. There was no way in hell I was ever gonna wear that again.
For lack of a better option, I approached the Red Rat with trepidation. It seemed to be open, but I had no idea if it would be serving anything except alcohol, and it was too early to get drunk. Ah well, carpe diem....
Entering nerviously, I looked around the now deserted bar. Well, not exactly deserted. There was still one or two people passed out on the floor, and from the rhythmic thumps coming from overhead, I could safely assume that there were one or two people in bed upstairs. But there was one concious person in the room....
Lucy stood behind the bar, cleaning glasses. When she looked up, she smiled at me. "Well, 'ello! Wasn't spectin' to see ya 'ere."
Oh, good God.
It was obvious that whoever was in charge (it's wasn't me, *that's* for damn sure) wanted me to get a little more comfortable with the main characters. Whether I liked it or not. Well, no use post-poning the inevitable.
I sat down on a bar stool. "Ah, hello. Do you serve breakfast?"
She smiled. "Not usually, but I'll manage sumpthin'." She grabbed a skillet from under the bar (where did she find that?) and put it on the most ancient stove I had ever seen. "Thanks, by tha way, for warnin' me 'bout tha' Mr. 'yde last night."
Oh, so *that's* why she was being so nice to me. "Well, you're welcome. I really didn't do anything."
"Sure ya did! Saved me arse, ya did." Smiling again, she grabbed a few eggs from under the bar (what the hell was under there?!?). "What woulja like ta eat?"
"Um...fried eggs would be nice, I suppose." I was having a little trouble understanding Lucy's thick accent, which was considerably different from my slight Bronx accent. "Thanks."
"Not a problem, dearie." After getting the eggs started, she leaned forward over the bar and put her hands on her knuckles. "So wha's ya name?"
Damn. What had I said it was? Think think think....oh, yes. "Anna Collins." At any moment, a Rent character would show up, with my luck.
"Nice ta meecha, Anna. Where're ya from?"
Shit, The Powers That Be really weren't going to make this easy, were they? Wait... why lie at all? "I'm from New York in the United States, actually."
Lucy raised an eyebrow. "America? Really? What're ya doin' 'ere?"
"Ah, I'm not really sure," I said truthfully. "Just, um, waitin' to see what happens."
"Oh," Lucy nodded knowingly. "Yeah, tha' sounds 'bout loike me, too."
God bless ambiguity.
"Any'ow, yer eggs'r done." She handed me a plate, with that perpetual smile on her face. The "eggs" on the plate were a little frightening, but I hadn't eaten anything in over a day, so I wasn't picky. I grabbed a salt shaker, poured on as much as possible, and shoveled it into my mouth and swallowed before I had a chance to taste it. "Where're ya stayin'?"
Hmm. "No where, really. I was at Jekyll's for awhile," I mused with a sardonic grin.
Lucy looked up sharply and I realized, too late, my mistake. "Docta' 'enry Jekyll? On 'arley Street?"
Oh, God. This wasn't good. "Um, yeah," I said hesitantly.
"Oh, so ya know 'im too!" Lucy just lit up. It didn't take a genius to tell she was head over heels in love with him. I felt a pang of pity. "Isn' 'e nice?"
I smiled slightly. "Nice looking, maybe. And from what I saw, he's got a helluva ass."
Lucy blushed slighty. I raised an eyebrow. A whore who blushed? Was I missing something?
Feeling awkward, I pulled an unidentifiable bill out of my wallet, set it on the bar, and got up. "Anyway, thanks for the breakfast. Good luck with everything." I walked out as quickly as possible.
Ok....now what did I do? I had to get back to Jenn's basement *somehow*.... But I was clueless.
Well, I began with Jekyll's lab. Maybe that was where to start. Feeling somewhat determined, I started off in the general direction of Harley Street. Hopefully, I wouldn't get lost.