Chapter 6 #2
“I’ve got you two sizes of T-shirt as I don’t know if you like tight tops or baggy tops, so I’ve got you one of each.” He slaps the two T-shirts that are still in their plastic wrap onto the desk, and he scoops up the datapad.
“The thing bit me,” I growl and wiggle my thumb at Luke.
Luke’s face pales, and he rubs a hand across his head. “Ahhh no, I forgot about that… I’m sorry.” With supplication he holds his hands up. “It’s so my fault. My bad, I should have warned you.”
I wave away his apology. “It’s fine.” It really isn’t, but normal people don’t freak out over a small drop of blood.
If I make any more of a fuss, all I’m going to do is raise suspicions and put a target on my back.
He probably already thinks I am a weirdo.
I don’t want him or anyone looking closely at me.
I need to remain invisible, a grey person.
Huh, being grey is hampered by my height and shocking hair colour.
Girls with multicoloured hair are bright and bubbly.
Aren’t they? No one will look further than the smile on my face and the fake vacant look in my eyes.
Smiling and being friendly to my new colleagues will help me blend in.
No one will notice the quiet, friendly girl compared to the quiet girl that nervously skitters about glaring and beating the crap out of people.
Aggressive Tru would stand out. I do not want to be standing out.
While he’s feeling guilty, I can probably get a straight answer out of him. “So Luke.” I lean forward in the chair. “Do you like Tilly?” I can’t help grinning at his dumbfounded look at my change of subject.
“Yes?” he answers with a nervous laugh.
“Good. Tilly is one of the kindest people I know… so be good to her.”
“Has she said anything about me?” Luke asks with an intense look as he leans against the desk.
I grin mischievously and clap my hands. “Maybe… Between you and me, there’s a high chance if you asked her out on a date, she’d say yes.”
Luke’s smile overtakes his entire face, and his blue eyes dance. Miraculously, he forgets all about my faux pas and my weird behaviour. He taps the desk and nods. “Okay, thanks kid. Come on, let me show you the rest.”
I trail after Luke into the club. The main overhead lights are on, and they’re blazingly bright.
The customer side of Night-Shift is impressive.
The same plush carpet that’s in the staff area covers the floor, with a fancy wooden sprung dance floor in the centre that breaks up the space.
I’d been to a couple of clubs before my grandad got sick, with my older friends when I was about fifteen—it’s hard to make sure people are old enough when lots of the clients are unageing—but they were never like this one.
The combination of chrome, glass and leather makes the whole club look ultramodern, and once the main harsh lighting has gone down, I bet the place looks like something from a magazine.
It’s the very definition of an upmarket club.
Yeah, I can’t wait to see what this place looks like when the lights are low and it’s full of customers.
Like the outside, the security inside is just as impressive. Luke points out where the carefully positioned cameras are situated and where the security staff can be located if I need them.
I can see the deliberate use of magic. It is layered into the very fabric of the building.
The multitude of spells cling to the floor, walls, the three bars, and the seating areas.
Some of the spells I recognise. One will keep the floor magically clean—no sticky floor in this club.
I don’t know what the ones around the back of the bars do…
perhaps protection? But I can hazard a guess that whatever that spell is used for, it won’t be pleasant. It gives me goosebumps.
I get introduced to the prep staff who are getting everything ready to open.
Luke allocates me an area to work from and explains my job.
It’s basic clean up. If there is a mess, I clean it.
It’s not rocket science, and it all seems pretty straightforward.
Luckily, I don’t need to touch anything behind the bar or go near those creepy spells.
I interact enough with customers at the café, so as a glass collector, not having to talk to customers is a bonus.
I am going to be happy to mindlessly collect, wash glasses, and throw away the empty bottles in the concealed bins around the venue.
Blend into the background unnoticed while earning a good wage.
The air-conditioning vent above my head blows wisps of my hair around. It’s freezing. I rub my arms, brrrr. My goosebumps have goosebumps.
“When it gets busy, the air-conditioning is a godsend, not so much on setup though. It’s always freezing,” Luke says with a sympathetic smile.
“We tried not having it on, and when we opened, it quickly became like a furnace. It was hell. So we keep it cold a few hours before we open.” He points at the toilets.
“Those are yours. Check them every hour. There’s a maintenance cupboard with everything that you’ll need.
Fill toilet rolls and empty the waste bins.
Just the ladies. You don’t need to go into the gents.
” He claps his hands. “That’s everything.
Normally your shift won’t start until we are open, so”—he flicks his wrist and checks the time—“go have a brew in the staff room. There is stuff in there supplied for everybody’s use…
um, unless it’s got a name on it. You start at nine. ”