In Two Years

Chapter 6: The Bar

I'm starting my first shift tonight at the bar just outside of campus. I was one of the bartenders last year. It was fun, for the most part, and the pay is good for a full-time college student when all of the tips add up.

I worked at my dad's restaurant during the summers in high school. I would always pour the coffee since I wasn't old enough to serve alcohol. Working in a bar is just like it, but instead of pouring coffee to give people energy, I'm making drinks that slur people's words and make them stumble out like they just got railed.

I'm working with a girl named Scarlett tonight. I met her last year working at the same bar, and we had a blast together. She graduated this past spring, but she's getting her master's in education, so I get to keep bugging her for a little longer.

Thursdays are the wild card of the week. Sometimes they are just as busy as the weekends if nobody has class on Fridays.

The bar has not been too packed tonight which gives me relief. A group of girls has been sitting at the end of the bar. I've been chatting with them since they got in. They are all graduating this year, which makes me feel bittersweet for them.

One is going off to grad school, the other is moving in with her boyfriend out of the state, and the last girl is moving to Greece for a modeling opportunity. It makes me think about where I am going. Even though I'm following my passion, I still get scared if I will get anywhere with it.

If I don't figure out a career plan by the time of graduation, I will have to work with my mom at my dad's restaurant. He always wanted us to have a family business, but before he obtained the restaurant, my sister and I already had dreams of our own. He always supported our dreams, and for that, I am so grateful. He did want me to take pictures of his restaurant when the renovations were finished. The pictures are still hanging up on the walls of the restaurant.

A group of guys walk in and sit at the opposite end of the bar. There is a football game playing on the TVs. I look closer at the group of guys and see a familiar face. It's Riley, of course. I hope he's not stalking me and showing his face wherever I go.

The group of girls I've been chatting with left the bar. The petite one had a little too much to drink, so another had to pick her up. They joked about how it was her first time drinking since she had turned 21. The girls would tease her about being a rule follower.

The more drinks I gave them, the more stories they told me. One of them found herself in the back of a police car after she was caught underage drinking. Another one of them would sneak out of her bedroom all throughout high school to go to parties. But the youngest one had never done anything illegal, not even a petty crime. She probably wasn't aware of how much of a lightweight she was. She reminds me of myself, although I'm definitely not as innocent as her.

Riley's group is way too invested in the game on the tv to even care about ordering any drinks. I get bored of waiting, so I start cleaning some of the glasses.

"Hey, stranger." Riley walks over to me.

"What are you stalking me now?"

"Yes. I think your work is the perfect place to start. The next stop will be your apartment."

"You're definitely not a professional or else you wouldn't be telling me your plan."

"You are my first... what do you call it? Stalkee."

"For somebody who just moved here, you have found yourself a lot of people." My awkward ass feels the need to change the subject.

"I chat with anybody that intrigues me."