It was so crowded at the station that Taylor took her hand to lead her through the crowd toward a row of silver and black pay phones. He shuffled around in various pockets to produce a phone number written on a piece of napkin. Holding the phone between his shoulder and face, he dialed the number. He was still, listening to the dial tone for what seemed like forever. Despite the crowd, Aria could hear him leave a message. “Hey, it’s Taylor. I’m in LA! I brought a friend with me. I’m gonna call you back in a little bit because you didn’t pick up. We could really use some help around the city. Do you know anywhere that we could stay the night? OK, call you back soon.”

Taylor repositioned the telephone receiver in its holster and looked at her with a slightly embarrassed look, as if disappointed with himself that she was now in the position of waiting with him and not knowing exactly what to do. Aria pretended to just barely come up with enough money to go half in with Taylor on a packet of corn nuts and strawberry Pop Tarts from the vending machine. They sat down to eat in the waiting area of the station and exchanged observations about the other people and their initial impressions of the city.

Taylor tried six more times over the next five hours to reach his friend. He left upbeat, eager messages each time. Aria began to wonder whether this friend of his was truly a friend or whether, like everyone else in his life, she was just someone with whom he had conjured an imaginary sense of closeness. The sun had now set on the infant hours of their time in this new life, so, having resolved to try calling again in the morning, they set out walking.

Both of them felt daunted by the newness of this place. The more familiar you are with a place, the easier it is to navigate yourself through it. They were learning the hard way just what parts of familiarity they had taken for granted. Not wanting Aria to be targeted for the curfew violation they had heard applied in LA to any unaccompanied minor, they spent only short times in plain view of the cars passing by.