Ainsley began spending as much time as possible out of the house; away from her parents. Without school to occupy her, she took to the streets. The city was far more interesting than anything going on around Willow Creek besides, the further from home the better.
Her fate was sealed when Sofia offered to show her the joys of busking.
Using Ainsley's guitar, some old equipment belonging to Sofia with other odds and ends they found; they marked their spot.
Mostly folks just went about their business. Playing basketball, shopping or stopping at the food stalls. One peculiar character, wearing a Hawaiian shirt and socks with his sandals, stopped and was clearly trying to look like he wasn't listening. He reminded Ainsley of the way a cat will actively ignore you, pretending to look elsewhere while the attention is really focused on the spot you occupy to their side. He was still there when Ainsley's phone went off and she stopped playing to check it. Ainsley showed Sofia the Facebook video she'd been tagged in; people fooling their dogs by running away from behind oversized blankets stretched across doorways. The creepy dude just stood there saying nothing. When he finally walked off without a word, the friends concluded that was either attracted to one of them or he wasn't 'all there'. They just didn't know quite which.
After a few months of busking and odd jobs, Ainsley took a deep breath and made a startling announcement. She wanted to move out of home. At closer to twenty than nineteen, she claimed she didn't need her parents permission. She didn't have a regular "job" but she made enough to get by. She'd put aside some savings and some of those apartments were dirt cheap.
"For a reason" Eliza interjected.
"I'll manage" Ainsley shrugged the concerns off.
Addison wanted to know if this meant she'd get her own room.
The decision sparked some tremendous arguments in the Pancakes house. Eliza lost her grip on civility and barely talked to Ainsley for two days. Bob tried to be the voice of reason to them both.
"She's always been independently minded" he pointed out to his wife. "Likely she'll do this without us, so we may as well help as much as we can."
Then, separately, he tried to talk sense to his daughter. "We're just concerned that you've thought this through properly. Wouldn't it be better to get a job first, or even a qualification?"
"I want to pursue my music" she told him "I can do that better if I don't have to spend up to an hour busing into the city. And I don't really need a fancy Arts degree to do it. I've already been promoting myself through YouTube and I have a pub owner who says he'll give me a regular gig."
Bob shuddered at the thought of his little girl in some grimy pub every Friday night.
"We just want you to be safe." Bob sighed, with a feeling of hopelessness.
"It's not that bad Dad." Ainsley put a hand on Bob's shoulder in reassurance. "I'll take you to meet Mark. He's got a cute little Irish pub with a well-behaved, mature clientele. And live music Thursday through Saturday."
Bob shook his head in resignation, then accepted the olive branch being offered. "You'd better" he muttered.
In the end, Mark O'Malley's pub wasn't as dreadful as Bob envisioned. The Pancakes convinced Ainsley to open up just a bit about her exact financial situation and discovered that she was fairly well organised. Ainsley was getting impatient to start apartment hunting and Bob asked her to wait just long enough to consult with Sidney, who was in the business.
Sidney asked Ainsley some of the same questions her parents had been peppering her with.
"I mostly deal with sales, but I'll talk to one of my colleagues who does the rentals for the CBD."
They nutted out a rough budget and Sidney warned "That won't get you much of course, but it may squeeze you into a place downtown."
Which is how Ainsley came to move into the Culpepper building in downtown San Myshuno. She got an old sofa and television out of storage, a second hand stereo and Bob's old queen size bed.
She even took her single bed so she'd have a spare in case Addison or some friend wanted to visit.
Eliza started to come around once the boxes were unpacked.
"I love what you've done with the place."
Before too long, she was up and giving Ainsley a tight hug.
"Now, you stay in touch young lady." she told her eldest "And you're welcome back home anytime."
"Thanks Ma."
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