Finding Inspiration at Taco Bell

I remember reading an article where J.K. Rowling explained that she got her inspiration for Harry Potter (the character) while on a train. She saw a young boy with dark, mussed up hair and Harry was born. Or something like that. I'm sure I'm paraphrasing badly.  Anyway, I had my own moment of inspiration the other evening when I went to Taco Bell. 

Normally I do the drive-thru when I feel the overwhelming desire for a Nacho Bell Grande, but this time I went in. I had time to kill, a new book in purse, so why not settle in?  There was something very intriguing about the young man who manned the register.

The first thing I noticed was that he was 15 or 16, kind of young, with dark, nearly black hair, in that shaggy cut that's so popular these days.  The second thing I noticed was that he seemed to avoid eye contact. He seemed kind of shy, and, having spend years as a cashier in some form or another, decided to be my cheerful, friendly self and try and engage him a little.  I chatted a little with him until he looked up. The second thing I noticed was that he had very pretty brown eyes that were outlined in black eyeliner, which seemed like such a contradiction from his body language and shy demeanor.

Confession time:  I find men in eyeliner strangely attractive.  Even before Adam Lambert made guy-liner a household term.

 

The third thing I noticed about this young man was the burn scars on his hand. Looking up farther, I saw that his arm was completely covered in skin graft scars. This intriguing boy with the shy smile, shaggy hair and guy-liner had at some point been horribly burned.  My curiosity was instantly piqued.  What happened to him? How did he get burned? Do people tease him or make a point of not noticing the scars? How far do the scars extend? You know, all the things a person thinks when they see that kind of scaring but, hopefully, are too tactful to actually ask a stranger. So instead of asking any of these inappropriate questions, I let my imagination create the answers. 

Now, I've been reading a lot of gay (M/M) romances lately. No, more actually, I've been devouring gay romances lately, in massive quantities. You know I love a good romance, but the added challenges of building a same-sex relationship give the genre a completely new dynamic for me. 

The combination of my recent book obsession and the shy, burned boy in guy-liner was too much for me.  During my brief stay at the lobby of the Taco Bell, I plotted an entire novel in my mind (a contemporary YA with a young, scarred and introverted main character, struggling to understand his sexuality, and understanding that some emotional scars are more painful and harder to heal than those on the outside). And this story wants out--forget that I've got another story planned for NaNo that I need to focus on.  Sheesh.

I'll probably never write the story that came to my mind that evening. Mostly because I don't think I could accurately, honestly and with sensitivity, portray the emotions and internal conflict of a young gay man, especially one facing so many other challenges.  But, by God, it's a story I'd love to read.

I love how the most random things can inspire us, and that a slight deviation in my normal behavior ultimately led to awesome inspiration. 

What's inspired you recently?