Hopeless. It described her life perfectly in one word. There was no hope. Her life had sucked from the moment she was born and it probably would until she would die. It was well past 2 in the morning when she walked out into the Nevada night and closed and locked the door of the blue building behind her. With Mel's Diner now locked up, Melissa turned herself around in the direction of her trailer and sighed. Everything about Beatty was hopeless. It was Nevada's last settlement before entering Death Valley and the people here were only too proud too show that. Across from the diner, a huge billboard shouted that the new RV park of the Death Valley Inn had high speed internet and cable tv, listing a couple of tv channels that Melissa had never even heard of. It also boasted a pool, a jacuzzi and a laundromat. Making the rooms in the Inn more luxurious than her trailer, which had none of those.<br/><br/><div class="bbm_float fright" style="float:right;margin:0 0 5px 10px">
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</div>She had been here since her parents had thrown her out. Hitchhiking along with a trucker, she got off at Beatty when she saw the sign for the Gentlemen's club. To her shock and anger she wasn't even considered to work there because 'in order to work here in a bikini, you need to have tits love'. Not having any money to go anywhere else, she walked north along the state route 95 until she came across Mel's Diner. With her last money she bought a coffee and was hired on the spot when the owners told her they needed somebody to work for them. They had failed to mention that they would only pay her a pitance. In fact Melissa was certain that what they were paying her was illegal but never had the saying 'beggars can't be choosers' been more relevant. They even let her stay in the caravan. It didn't have an official address as it wasn't technically in the trailer park but just off the highway.<br/><br/>Since then her life had been Mel's Diner and everything on the south end of Beatty, Nevada. Every week she made the half hour walk to the north of the town to buy some cigarettes. Without money or even a driver's license, she couldn't get out of town either. This was it and it was hopeless. She worked the diner from morning until closing. She could eat and drink whatever she wanted and since her trailer didn't have a flushing toilet, Melissa used the toilet at the diner. At least the night sky was crisp and the highway quiet.<br/><br/>She walked by the Tire Shop that had put Beatty on the state wide news after they had been caught rigging the highway south of the town with nails to cause tire damage. Damage that they could then repair. A lot could be said about the people here but they were at least resourceful. Next was the Desert Inn, probably the most ambitious shack ever to call itself a motel and next was the guy who sold old car bits. Richfield antiques was run by a couple as antique as the stuff they sold. They were stuck in the 1950's and had never left it. It was tragic but at the same time, it probably was a better time than what they'd have now.<br/><br/>Melissa's knee high boots softly crunched the sand as she put her hands the pockets of her hooded vest. Nights in the desert can be pretty chilly. She turned left and right and continued to walk until she got to her trailer. There was no point calling it more than that. One end had a sitting and dining area combined, in the middle there was a kitchen and a shower and at the other end a bedroom. She didn't bother locking it but kept the windows closed to keep the bugs and creepy crawlies out. She swung the door open, found the first drawer in the kitchen and opened it. She took the package of cigarettes and a lighter and went straight out again.<br/><br/>She sat down on the small steps in front of the trailer and lit a cigarette. As she exhaled to the left, she looked up the stars. The night sky looked vast and enormous, like the dreams she had when she was younger. Before she could get more sentimental, she felt a wet nose against her red pantyhose.<br/><br/>"Hey Donnie... you're a good boy aren't you?"<br/><br/>She petted the large dog behind it's ears and cuddled. The dog belonged to the tire shop owner. As shabby as he and his shop looked, Melissa knew he took great care of his dogs and had them treated for fleas and all regularly. She kissed him on the head and let him rest his head on her lap while she finished her cigarette in the silence of the night. As she got up, the dog knew it had to go and wandered off into the night again. Melissa went inside and locked the door before stripping to her underwear and going to bed.<br/><br/>That morning she was up early again. Partly by the noise of the trucks starting on the truck stop car park and partly because of the sun shining in her face. The old worn curtains in the trailer had holes in them the size of Texas. Melissa groaned, got up and stuck her head out of the window to the back of the trailer. There was never enough water on a day to take any meaningful shower so Melissa had decided to safe the water for two or three days. It meant that she could only shower once every two or three days but at least she had enough water to wash her hair. She stripped out of her underwear and got in the shower. The water wouldn't get hot. In fact, most of the times she was lucky if the water got slightly less cold but it was just another discomfort she had learned to deal with. A few minutes later she had washed her hair and the water pressure disappeared again.<br/><br/>Armed with a fresh pair of underwear and tights, she got into a red and black striped tank top and put on her boots again. At the door, she lit another cigarette and then left the shitstain she called home to get back to the other shitstain she called work. It was just past 8 when she passed the tireshop.<br/><br/>"Morning Al."<br/><br/>She greeted the man, who, like every morning, had already declared his shop open by sitting in front of it on a plastic chair smoking a cigar.<br/><br/>"Goodmorning Mel. You look hot and sexy as always. If I wasn't a disgusting old man, I'd tap you."<br/>"Thanks Al, appreciate it!"<br/><br/>As much a hopeless place this was, Melissa had made friends, friends she really cared about. They each had their flaws and limitations but then again, she was rejected at a bikini bar supporting the town of Beatty. If ever there was a flawed and limited person, she was it.<br/><br/>The moment she turned the key of the restaurant, the first truckers left their semi's and made their way to the diner. Inside, she flipped on the lights and set the coffeemachine to prepare it. In the kitchen she fired up the stoves, pulled her apron off the hook and began work.<br/><br/>The day consisted of frying eggs, making coffee, listen to raunchy comments and stay nice and polite. By 3pm the owners, Dave and Donna had showed up. That didn't mean Melissa could relax though. Donna was mostly busy eating and Dave was bragging to the customers about this place as if it was Mandalay Bay in Vegas. Every day was the same and every day was hopeless. Until at around 5:30pm a young woman stepped through the door. Melissa immediately noticed her as she stood out from the usual guests. She wasn't a trucker, at least she didn't look like one and she wasn't a family on a tourist trip. What would bring anybody in their sane mind to this place?<br/>She followed her until she woman sat down at the bar and took off her sunglasses.<br/><br/>"Good afternoon. Can I get you anything?"<br/><br/><i>If you're as smart as you look, you turn around now and leave this place.</i>