She'd never been to the USA before this trip. She'd never had enough money to make it out of Europe, but it hadn't bothered her. Everything in due time, and maybe she wouldn't have left Europe in her lifetime with that attitude, but so what? Leone was french to her soul. She could have stayed in Paris her whole life and it would have been awesome. However, here she was, sitting in a cheap hostel in New York with her travel companions. A stereo was playing songs by [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8caxnyi1h9Q]Babylon Circus[/url] in the background, as they talked, drank and smoked. An opportunity had arisen for her to make the journey to this city of opportunities in particular. 

"If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere", her friends had told her when trying to convince her why she should come with them on their search for fame yet again. Leone had repeatedly stated she didn't have the money even if she'd have loved to come with them, and that there was no way she'd get it in time for the planned date of departure. In the end, the group had agreed to pay whatever Leone couldn't herself, because her unique and newfound talent could most certainly come in handy. To them it was a party trick that should be exploited, and to be fair, that's what it mostly was to Leone as well, but she kept wondering what the true nature behind it was. She'd kind of become a female version of that guy from the Police Academy, except it wasn't a movie, and she'd done it without any form of practice. 

They'd arrived in the city yesterday afternoon, after spending around eight hours on a plane. It wasn't her first time traveling by flying, but it was the longest time she'd ever spent on a single plane trip. Her group consisted of ten people including herself, four girls and six guys. There was just two people who she'd not met before coming on this trip. The group was only spending the first couple of nights in the hostel, before they could move into whatever flat or studio they were renting cheap from someone's relative while they were out of town for a few months. Leone was still feeling strangely tired even though she'd slept like a log the previous night. 

Jeane offered her a pack of cigarettes, but she turned down his offer. It might be fine for some of them to smoke. She'd only done it once for the experience, as she needed strong lungs to play her instrument. It might be fine for guitarrists and the like, but to her it was unprofessional. You'd see these superstars play live, and they had so much energy on stage she had to doubt any of them regularly touched any of it. She could understand some of the heavier drugs though, as they boosted energy and creativity. 

Leone finished her beer, stood up and grabbed her saxophone case, before telling her friends that she was going for a walk and would be back soon enough. She strode out of the room without anyone objecting or coming with her. She wanted a chance to fully take in New York with her senses, but also have a look around for street musicians and good spots to play. They'd come here to make it big, yet she anticipated many wonderful moments just playing for the new yorkers on the busy streets. She'd read stories about people who'd been discovered that way too, but she didn't know how much truth it was to them. She wanted to believe though, and if anyone should be discovered while playing on a street corner it should be her. It was what she'd spent a lot of her career as a musician doing after all. Sometimes she'd had more serious gigs too. The joy she felt when playing was too great for her to sit around and wait for those though.

After wandering the bustling streets for about an hour, she wondered how she'd get back to her hostel. Thankfully, she had her phone with her, but her friends wouldn't know New York much better than her, not that they actually responded when she tried calling and texting them. Leone had lost herself in the sounds and movements of an unknown city much bigger than her. She put her saxophone case down on the pavement in front of a staircase, prepared her saxophone and then begun playing. She could spend the time waiting for her friends to miss her by enjoying herself, and entertaining the passing crowd. 

Leone soon forgot that she was lost. She drew the attention of some of the passerbys, received a few tips and watched people move to the beat of her sax. By the time she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, she'd almost gotten ten dollars in change. There was a napkin among the change too, and on it [b]Central Park, 9 PM[/b] was written with red lipstick. It was strange, but it wasn't like she had anything planned for the evening. She talked with her friends on the phone, and they decided to meet at a restaurant which should be fairly easy to find. 

When the clock neared 9 PM that night, Leone had found her way to Central Park, after asking for directions more times than she'd like to admit. She had no idea who could have left the napkin either, so she had to assume they'd approach her.