"Fuck, where are they?!"
Frankie rushed around her studio apartment grabbing her makeup bag, hair styling tools and frantically searching for her favourite earrings. She always wore them when she needed an extra boost of confidence, and after the mishap with her music choice yesterday, which she managed to nail her improvised choreography under the circumstances, the whole experience had shaken her and she wasn't feeling confident about tonight's performance.
She threw the pillows off her bed and searched frantically through all her drawers. She was almost in tears but was careful to control her emotions as tears could seriously ruin her freshly applied makeup, and she hated to reapply, and frankly didn't have the time to do it. It was getting late and if she didn't find her earrings soon she would have to give up and finish getting ready down at the club, she was going to be late for her shift.
Running into the bathroom she searched her cupboard and drawers before gripping the edge of the sink with both hands and looked in the mirror. Her face was pink and worry lines creased across her forehead. Her bright, wavy, cyan hair draped over her shoulders and stopped just above her elbows. Her makeup was subtle but sexy, and just dark enough to stand out on stage, and thankfully had not been ruined yet by her frantic searching.
"Calm down Frankie. Today is just like any other. You can do this. Just breathe." Taking a moment to breathe deeply and calm herself she gave up on the earrings and grabbed what she did have, locking her front door and running out to her little blue car. Being winter she was rugged up in a thick jacket, track pants, fur lined boots and gloves. She couldn't wear a hat as it would ruin her hair but she immediately noticed the chill that hit her face the moment she stepped outside the building.
Fumbling for her keys she had trouble gripping them.
"Fuck" she spat out as she dropped the keys in the gutter. She watched, not breathing, as they precariously balanced on the edge of the drop into the drain. Bending down she removed her glove, wincing at the cold that hit her hand before carefully picking up her keys, ensuring they didn't end up down the drain where she couldn't reach them.
Standing up she released the breath she had been holding, and making sure she didn't drop them again, unlocked her car, throwing her bag on the passenger seat and walking around to climb into the drivers seat. She buckled herself in, and putting the key in the ignition, proceeded to turn the key. The noise that was emitted did not fill her with confidence as she once again tried to get the engine to kick over.
"Come on, come on, I do not need this right now." Taking a deep breath she turned the key once more and let out a resounding shout of joy as the engine roared to life. She pulled out of her spot on the side of the road and drove off into mid afternoon traffic.
Firrreeeee Fiiirrrreeee sang out her phone. Pressing the call accept button on her steering wheel she didn't check who it was.
"Hello?"
"Frankie? Where the hell are you? Your shift starts in twenty minutes!"
"I know, I know, I'm sorry, I've had an absolute shitstorm of a day. I had-"
"I don't care what your excuses are girl, just tell me you are on your way." Frankie winced at Han's harsh tone. He never spoke to his dancers like that, he must be having a really bad day.
"I am on my way."
"Good, you had better have your hair and makeup done, you won't have time to do them when you get here. As soon as you punch in, be in that dressing room, I have some things to discuss before you go on tonight."
The last sliver of sunlight had dipped below the horizon, leaving the city lights as the only source of light outside of Frankie's headlights as she drove through the busy streets. These streets were never empty, even on a weeknight, like tonight when it was at it's slowest, it was still a hive of activity.
