We Were Born Sick • Gotham Fanfiction •

XXXIII: With Glitter In Her Hair

"Life, although it may only be an accumulation of anguish, is dear to me, and I will defend it." ― Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

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~(Flashback)~

"You seem pretty far from home. You sure this is the right place?" The cab driver asked as he pulled to a stop near one of the most popular dive bars in Gotham City and eyed the fresh faced teenager as she leaned forward and handed him the fare money.

"This is the spot." Bird nodded, mumbling a "thanks" under her breath as she stepped out and pulled her school bag on her shoulder before ducking into an alley to use the unlocked side entrance.

"Bird!" Fish greeted upon hearing the door open and seeing her youngest employee walk in. The smile quickly fell from her lips as she saw the teenager was dressed in her school uniform.

With a sigh she reminded her, "What have I told you about coming around here in those clothes? It brings all the perverts out."

"Sorry." Bird apologized as she pulled her school bag off and laid it on the bar. She threw her hand up and waved at Butch from across the room before turning back to her boss and excitedly pointing out, "I've got less than a month left of school."

"Then we'll be seeing more of you here?" Fish guessed, watching as Bird started digging through papers in her bag.

Looking back and flashing a smile over her shoulder, Bird nodded, "Where else am I going to go? Hang around Wayne Manor and play chess with my brother?"

As she turned back around, she mumbled, "He always beats me anyway."

"Here." Bird said spinning around and handing a stack of freshly printed flyers to her boss and explained, "I skipped my last class and redesigned the advertisements for masquerade night this Friday. Changed the design and added more colors and glitter."

Taking the large stack of papers from her, Fish looked the new design over with a smile. Lately; the number of patrons at the dive had been dwindling some and so they were planning a number of upcoming events and theme nights to draw more people through the door.

"They're perfect!" She proudly complimented, earning a smile from Bird, until she added, "Maybe too much glitter?"

"I don't think so." Bird argued.

Holding up one of her hands, Fish showed her how just handling the flyers for a minute had left her palm covered in red and gold sparkles.

Looking down to her own hands, Bird saw she was also covered in the glitter and shrugged as she said, "One could argue there is no such thing as too much glitter."

With that Fish raised a brow at her, Bird held her arms out to the side and exclaimed, "It's just so shiny and sparkly."

Not able to hold back a laugh at the teenager, Fish shook her head and then snapped her fingers until two of her employees rushed out from the behind the bar to see what she wanted.

"Get these posters up around town." She ordered as she split the large stack into two smaller ones and handed them over.

Without protest the men headed straight for the doors with the masquerade night posters in hand.

Bird's eyes lit up as she watched them go. It never ceased to amaze her how much power and influence Fish held over everyone at the club. It was nothing short of magical to watch how they all waited and bowed to her every order.

One day, she thought, one day she'd know what holding that kind of power would feel like.

"I have an appointment." Fish announced, waving her finger at Butch who quickly came over with her coat in hand and started to help her put it on, she asked, "Are you staying here for a while?"