"Enjoy the music festival! Make some memories for a lifetime!"
Marcy waved at the bus driver and stepped off the bus. The dull roar of the city, long gone into the distance, Marcy now found herself in the country. Fields of green and skies of blue met her eyes.
As did the throngs of young men and women.
The first music festival after lockdown ended. She could hear the screams of happiness, the bubbling joy threatening to explode all around her. The large metal bus that brought her here from the city now departed. She watched as her bus mates scattered, finding friends and family among the large crowd.
She shuffled over a few day drunk men and women. To feel the warm air blowing through her skin again. To hear people talking and laughing. She closed her eyes and smiled, sending a message back in time to herself a year ago. Stating it would be okay, she would get through this.
A man bumped into her. She opened her eyes and dodged the rest. At twenty-three, her slender frame would be smashed by any number of large men and women towering over her. Her soft brown hair grew down to her lower back, but even that was not much of a feat as she only stood five foot four. She made up for it, however, with soft curves that caught the attention of most everyone she passed. Her tight, revealing clothing helped as well. Marcy wanted to make up for lost time. And, judging by the amount of sins she saw scattered around her in plain sight, so did most everyone here.
She adjusted her backpack, fitting the small pup tent and a few things she needed. Despite her small frame, Marcy could lift. And so, carrying what she needed for a weekend of music and freedom proved no big task for her.
She walked past the main line of people waiting to get tickets or enter the festival grounds. She clutched her paper in her hand stating which space of the large, open field was hers. Wooden stakes jutted out with spray painted numbers on them. She followed it, looking for A22.
A21 had a large tent set up, a small fire pit, and rustling from inside the tent. She looked next to it.
She saw a large man, shirtless, passed out on her plot. Beer cans strewn around him, he snored loudly. Two more men lay in fetal positions around him, with more beer cans all over.
Marcy put her hands on her hips and glared.
"Hey," she said, kicking the large man in the foot. "Move. This is my campground."
The man did not budge.
"Hey, I said move!" she said, rocking his sweaty body. The man grunted, rolled over, and started to snore once more.
"Goddamnit," she said, wiping her hands on her cutoff jean shorts.
"Having trouble?"
She looked over to see a man a few years older, also shirtless. Except he had a finely toned body and thick, shoulder length hair. With piercing blue eyes. A giggle followed and a woman a few inches shorter than him, but still taller than Marcy, emerged. She wore a loose sundress that barely covered her ample breasts and thick thighs. She had long, curly blonde hair and pale blue eyes.
"Uh, yeah," Marcy said, stunned by the sheer beauty of these two, "This is supposed to be my campsite."
The man looked over at the men lying on the ground. "Doesn't look like it's going to be until they move."
Marcy folded her arms. "Find me a stick large enough and I'll move them."
The woman giggled again. Such a soft, sing-song like giggle. "You're a fiery one."
Marcy's expression softened, unable to stay angry looking at the smiling, happy woman. "Yeah, I guess."
"Well, as much as I would like to see them move," the man said, "How about a counteroffer. You can stay on our plot until things cool down. They'll probably move on by evening. You stop by when you're ready this evening and pick up your things. You can leave them in our tent."
Marcy felt relief, as the straps of her pack started to dig into her skin. "Oh, thank you. That would save me hauling this around for the rest of the afternoon."
"Not a problem. I'm Tyler, by the way. This is my partner, Lauren."
He stuck out his hand. Big hand. She shook it, noticing his firm grip. "I'm Marcy."
"Oooh, I like your name," Lauren said. Her eyes went wide and a smile broke out on her lips. "That's a great name."
"Hah, thanks," Marcy said, walking to the tent. Lauren held open the flap leading in. Marcy found an empty spot and placed her bag down. A large tent that smelled faintly of vanilla and lavender. She shrugged, feeling two sets of eyes on her body. She turned and saw Tyler and Lauren smiling at her.
"Okay, well we're off to the festival ourselves. We'll be back around suppertime, no real acts I want to see and I want to try out this little portable fire pit," Tyler said, giving the fire pit a little kick.
Marcy nodded. "I'll see you then."
Giving one more disgusted look to the passed out drunks, Marcy smiled and waved at her saviors and left to lose herself in the crowd of people ahead of her.
***
Evening brought a thin, cold wind across the field. Some stars poked out of the darkening sky, dazzling Marcy. She forgot how much she missed the country.
And having fun.
She was tired. Beat. A year's worth of pent up energy unleashed in those few hours. So much music. Dancing. Laughing. She felt used up in the greatest possible way.
She trudged back to the campsite, finding the field eerily quiet. The main stage acts had most everyone still on the festival grounds. So, even with the sky darkening, Marcy found it easy to find her campsite.
When she did, she fumed. The men were gone, but now a giant tent stood in their place. She cracked her knuckles, ready to tear it down and hurl it far away.
"Why don't you come over here before you do something that may start a fight?"
Tyler's voice cut through her anger. Smooth, deep, but with enough force that it got her attention. She looked over to see him, shirtless, holding up a beer can by the fire.
Marcy sighed. She walked over and accepted the frosty can. She held it to her forehead and sat down on a lawn chair offered by Tyler.
"Lauren's just getting high, she'll be back shortly. You look like you had fun."
Marcy cracked open the beer. "Thank you. And yes. I can't believe my friends didn't want to come. We used to, before the world went to hell."
"They didn't want to come?"
"Nah, but I didn't want to miss it. I'm here to let loose. Have fun. Enjoy life. My god, we really forgot how to enjoy life these past years. I'm not leaving until I have a time I'll never forget."
Tyler's eyes twinkled in the fire. "Oh?"
Marcy knew that look. She cleared her throat. "Well, you know what I mean."
