Chapter 2: The Stoic Bartender

Quinn wakes up abruptly to the dream she previously had. It was displaying what she had gone through but it was not important, she needed to get to work if not her boss would never let her hear the end of it. She jumps up from her messy bed and sluggishly drags her feet towards the bathroom, scratching the back of her long curly black locks. She gives the Earth an unruly Yawn.

She grabs her brush, her toothpaste and looks at her miserable features in the small bathroom mirror that hung on the wall loosely. There were bags around her eyes and she could feel her hair thinning out. All the stress was not doing any good for her but she had no other choice. She will have to work to earn a living and if she does not work then there's no food. She still has the toothbrush in her mouth and the brush goes in a circular motion, cleaning her teeth properly before spitting out the icky residue that had gathered in her mouth. With a little water, rinsing thoroughly, she spits once more and takes off her clothes weekly to have a cold shower; she needed to be early. Her shift started in the morning and ended at midnight.

Quinn was a bartender for a very popular strip club, but she never really spoke to anyone, all she did was serve drinks watch people get tossed around sexually, and go home. And her favorite part was always going home.

Today would be no different from any of the other days. She would go to the bar, serve a couple of drinks to cringe-worthy men and women. She would watch her co-workers strip and earn 10 times more than she would earn in an hour and then she would go home to sleep and repeat. Why was her life so miserable?

She steps out of the bathroom with a small towel around her form, she does not pay attention to the trail of water she was leaving behind as she slowly took steps to her bedroom. She dropped the towel on the rack somewhere far away and she looked for the best clothes she could wear today. They had a uniform but she was allowed to wear Casuals until she got to the club to change. She decides to slip on a loose green top and some baggy jeans pairing it with a really old but expensive bag. She slipped her phone and other necessities into the bag and she's out, locking her apartment behind her.

Strolling to work at 6 a.m. was not what she bargained for but like she said she really didn't have any choice. She gets to the large Building and she could still see the neon lights flashing from the inside. The club was always open 24/7 and funny enough there were always people 24/7 and it made her wonder if these men and women actually had lives or they would just prefer to live in the strip club instead. She Mumbles to herself before walking into the expansive building, the smell of alcohol and cigarette choking the sleep out of her.

Her body quickly adjust and she goes to her usual spot after she has changed into her work attire; a white collared shirt with some black pants and a black waistcoat to go. Her hair was put in a neat bun and when she sights the first customer she smiles,

"Good morning and I'm happy you've come to The Euphoria strip club. How may I be of service to you?" She puts on that customer care recording tone and flashes a smile she has been practicing for 3 years now.

"I would like some time with you. Would you be able to give me that?" The man shoots a lewd joke at her and she is not impressed but instead, she still forces a smile and asks him if he would like anything to drink. He eventually settles for some vodka and she serves him up until he sees a beautiful stripper and goes to have a dance with her, spraying his life earnings on a naked girl who could do a bunch of tricks.

She hisses under her breath and waits for people to start pouring in to get their drinks.

"Finally You Came!! I thought I would never go home!!" her replacement who was on her shift before she arrived begins to pack her things to go rest up at home. Quinn doesn't say anything but she just nods and Focuses on mixing drinks as she usually does, "you know it will not hurt you to lighten up a bit." she proves her point and Quinn only gives her a hard stare,

"You do not pay for my words so you cannot get them out of me. It is best to go back home and get some rest," she gives her quickest response and her substitute leaves her to do her work. It was only a matter of time before the strippers went on a break which was from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. giving them time to recuperate and count all the mad cash they had made from basically ripping men off by dancing in underwear. And that time came, the women were giggling and laughing and planning on how to spend their money while Quinn just watched them in all boredom,

"Oh my God, this is so much money!!! this is enough to get me that Louis bag that I've been dreaming of!!" one of the strippers fantasizes and the others are busy counting their cash that it was their life, "how much did you get Cindy?" she turns to a best friend who was almost done counting hers,

"Babes!!! I just hit $2000!!!!" Cindy jumps for joy and she is done counting her money, "I can finally pay for Tony's treatment," she begins to shed tears and all of them congratulate her. Quinn rolls her eyes to the Other Side of the Moon and Focuses on a nearly Empty glass of leftover alcohol that was sitting on her counter, she takes it in her hands and begins to turn the liquid by a circular movements of the glass cup, "I swear I have never been so happy before in my entire life!!!" she quickly wiped her tears away and put on a bold face,

"Well you deserve it Cindy, you worked hard last night and to be honest you even deserve more than this." Linda takes out $100 and adds it to her money, "I honestly pray Tony gets better and hopefully you would have that wedding of your dreams very soon," the girls get emotional and hug it out while this causes Quinn to yawn in boredom. They are still at her with sharp gazes as she drilled her index finger into her left nostril,

"You don't have to be an ass Quinn, the least you can do is celebrate with Cindy since she'll be able to pay for Tony's treatment now." Charlotte bashes her lackadaisical attitude but they've always known her to be somebody who didn't really care.

The mysterious bartender does not say anything but she keeps focusing on the repetitive circular motion of the drink that was in the glass, they ignore her and continue to talk about whatever they wanted to talk about. All she just wanted was the shift to end and then she would be back home in the comfort of her bed.

Sooner or later it is afternoon and the women are forced back to the pole and doing their funny dancing and all she had to do was to cater to the alcohol needs of most of the customers. She was a fan of mixing, she would always call herself the best mixologist but not outwardly, in her head, and most of her customers agreed with it as they often gave her generous tips to take care of herself with.

She hopes to the gods that her shift would end quickly, and it will be done and dusted with but when she hears a familiar chuckle she could not help the groan that escaped her lips,

"You guys are doing a good job. I see some people already earning a lot of money." another tall and handsome man in pants walks in with his hands in his pockets. All the strippers wave and greet him, always hoping to get on the good side of their boss. And as usual Quinn did not care but she began to care when he started walking in her Direction,

"Oh no, here he comes." she murmurs to herself before putting on that practiced smile she always perfects each time, "good afternoon boss may I interest you in a drink or two?"