It was eleven o'clock at night when Jenna arrived in town after her ten hour bus ride. She wasn't sure this was the best time to be traveling to the city, but she needed to leave home as soon as possible. Jenna had just turned 18, and decided that it was time to leave home and get out on her own. An aspiring actress, she decided the city would be the best place to go. She was a medium tall, thin girl with wavy long, dark brown hair. As she stepped off the bus with nothing but a small suitcase and backpack, the reality of the situation had hit her. "Where am I going to go? I don't even have a hotel booked for the night," she wondered.
Her nervousness was immediately heightened when she saw a group of five or six men, looking quite scary, standing under a lit bus stop. They eyed at her like she was in the window of a candy shop. She tried to avoid eye-contact with them, but the crowd was pushing her towards them. One man began to say something to her with an outstretched arm when all of the sudden she felt a firm grip on her right arm coming from behind. She gasped and turned to find a young woman was holding her.
"Don't worry, I'm safe. Those men will eat you alive," she said in Jenna's ear. "Come on with me, let's get out of here."
Jenna didn't know what was worse, facing those men or having a perfect stranger who seemed a little nicer drag her off to a cab.
"Those guys stand there every night looking for fresh young girls, just like you, coming to the city for the first time. They get them right from the bus and lure them into a life of prostitution. You're lucky I was around, I would hate to see something like that happen to a pretty girl like you," she said with a smile.
Jenna didn't know why, but she smiled back. She was very comforted by this woman, but she was still weary. "Um, thanks, I really appreciate it," she said, "but um, where are you taking me, anyway?"
"Oh, well, you look exhausted. How about some dinner and a good night's rest before you find somewhere more permanent to stay?"
"Wow, that would be great. I am really tired," Jenna replied.
"Great," the woman said, "my name is Veronica, by the way. It's nice to meet you. And, you are..."
"Jenna."
"Cool. Oh, looks like we're here. Let me help you get your things into my place."
As the car pulled in, Jenna whispered a small, "Wow," to herself. This woman lived in a gorgeous small home. It was completely surrounded by woods, with a small path that went up to it. It looked quaint from the outside, but it was actually quite large inside. Jenna sat at the bar in the kitchen while Veronica took her things into what looked like a spare bedroom on the first floor.
"How does a burger sound?" Veronica asked.
"Delicious," Jenna said.
Veronica giggled to herself as she heated up her stove grill. "Delicious," she laughed to herself. "Good answer. Hey, how about a glass of wine? I had a rough day, how about you? I know you aren't 21 yet but, don't worry, I won't tell anyone if you won't, and right now I'm the only person you know here. So what do you think?"
The last time Jenna had drank was at a post-prom party about three weeks ago. Under-age drinking was a serious matter, but Jenna saw no harm in it if she was just staying the night here, besides, it might make the night go less-awkward since she didn't even know this woman. "Yeah, I'll have some. It won't be the first time I've drank under-age," she laughed.
After several glasses of wine, a burger, and some good conversation, Jenna and Veronica were getting along great. After what seemed like hours in her living room, Jenna let out a big stretch.
"Really, thank you so much for keeping me away from those scary men. Who knows where I'd be? Definitely not here, safe with you."
