The lost son ~John Frusciante and Josh Klinghoffer

88. Shine on, you crazy diamond

I'm sorry guys, I just started a new job and I'm out of ideas for this story, so enjoy this little filler chapter. Love ya!
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"What can I get you?"
"Whiskey on ice, please."
"An unusual choice for a lady..."
"Yeah, I know. I'm not the type to be sipping sex on the beach or margarita."
"What's your name?"
"Megan."
"There you go, Megan. Have a great night."
"Thank you..."
"I'm Jack. It's nice to meet you."
"You're new here."
"It's my third night."
"I like you, Jack. There's something about you... I can't put my finger on it."
I chuckled and smiled.
"Well, enjoy your drink, Megan."
"I will, thank you, Jack."
I wiped my hands on the black apron tired around my waist and started to collect empty glasses from the bar.
"Can we get 3 mojitos?" A girl asked.
She was sitting at the bar with 2 friends.
"Sure, that'll be 30 pounds." I replied and started preparing the drinks.
I juggled the bottle of rum before pouring the alcohol into the shaker.
"Wow, you're good at this." Another girl complemented me.
"Thanks, I broke like 3 bottles before I learnt that trick." I replied and smiled at her.
"You're American?" The third girl asked.
"Yeah, I'm from LA."
"Then what are you doing here? I'd never leave if I was living in Los Angeles."
"I guess I was just bored with my life and wanted to try something new."
"And do you like it here?"
"Sure, London's awesome. I love pretty much everything about it, except for the weather."
"The weather sucks ass." The girl said.
I chuckled and served their drinks.
"What's your name?" The first girl asked.
"I'm Jack."
"Well, it's the best mojito I've ever tested, Jack the bartender."
"I'm glad to hear that." I said and noticed that my friend had just arrived to start his shift.
"Hey, Jack, clean the tables and you're done for tonight." Oscar told me.
"Thanks, I was waiting for you to come. I'm exhausted." I said.
"You had the worst shift of the night, people are gonna start leaving soon." Oscar said.
"Why? It's ten to midnight." I asked.
"Yep, this means our band is gonna play in 10 minutes."
"What band?"
"Oh God, Mary never told you about the band? Long story short, boss hired a group of local junkies to play live music on the weekends and they're absolutely awful. But he doesn't know how to go about firing them so..."
"They can't be that bad!" I said.
"I bet you 20 pounds you're not gonna be here 15 minutes into the concert." Oscar said.
"Okay, bet. I've heard a lot of awful music in my life." I told him.
I cleaned the empty tables and changed into my regular clothes. I then ordered a beer and sat in an empty booth.
"Do you mind if we join you?" The group of girls I had served earlier asked me.
"Sure, have a sit. I'm just waiting for the concert to start. I placed a bet with my friend that I'll be able to listen to them playing for more than 15 minutes." I said.
The girls started laughing hysterically.
"They're awful. Good luck." One of them told me.

"Good evening everybody! We're the Rock Kings! Make some noice!" The singer yelled.
"The Rock Kings?" I laughed.
"How do you like the British version of Axl Rose?" A girl asked me.
The singer was an overweight guy in his 40s who had long curly red hair, was wearing a red bandana on his head and was clearly missing a couple of his front teeth.
I started laughing but quickly stopped when I heard the guitarist totally butcher the intro to Sweet Child O' Mine.
"Why the hell would anyone hire them?" I said to the girls.
"The legend says they play for free beers." One of them said.
"You know what? You were right, I can't stand it. I guess I'm gonna go now." I said and stood up.
"Yeah, we were about to go to a club now anyways..." One girl told me and look at the others who quickly nodded.
I walked up to Oscar and handed him the money.
"Here's your 20, I'm outta here." I said.
Oscar laughed and put the money into his pocket.

I walked out of the club and noticed the three girls smoking cigarettes. I tried to ignore them and walk past them while staring down at my phone but it didn't work.
"Jack! Are you going home?" One of them asked.
They were walking in the same direction as me. Great.
"Yeah, I'm so tired after today's shift. And I've gotta work tomorrow."
"We hoped you'd go clubbing with us..."
"I'm sorry but clubbing is really not my thing. Oh, this is actually the street I live on. It was so nice to meet you, I hope to see you in the bar again sometime." I said.
"You're our favorite bartender." One of the girls told me.
I laughed and hugged the three girls before I entered the door to my house.