Valiant

Chapter II

Jaslyn's POV:
School is never good so I don't understand why people always ask "how was school" you already know the answer, school was a nightmare. You would think that they would ask something of your interest. Like "what's happening in supernatural" or even better don't ask at all.

School always puts me in a bad mood, especially on a Monday because I have work at 5:30. I work at a rather well known night club just a few blocks from my place, the pay is great. I work as a bar-tender serving drinks as I turned eighteen three and a half months ago. Now don't get me wrong, I don't hate work, I have and fantastic employer, Emily Lance, and I have known her since I was only a child, she is an American middle ages woman with two girls, Jamie who is seven and Spencer who is twelve. She also has a big golden Labrador, Max. They have been living in the house next to us for fourteen years now, my mum told me when I was much younger that she has moved from America to be with her husband, but the weird thing is that not once have I seen a male in that house, apart from Max of course.

Emily is very kind and easy going, a pleasure to work with. I was lucky to know her, she gave me the bar job straight away, she worked with me for my first three shifts so that I could learn how business worked around the place.

The club was known as The Rouge and is probably one of the most well known and wide spread through Newcastle. During the day it look just like very other building along the street, red brick walls, dark oak wooden double doors, three storeys each has two windows on either side of the door. All the buildings on the street were joined separated by a single brick wall, it didn't look fancy it just looked like everything else, but buy night the club was lit up, with a bouncer out the front security guards strolling around the perimeter. There was a big fluro sign mounted to the top story showing the words The Rouge.

On the first floor there was seating, bathrooms, a mini kiosk/bistro, that room was always filled with laughter and chatter. The room was lit with wall mounted lights that were a reddish orange easy listening music played from the over head speakers to set the mood but the bass from two floors up could be heard.

On the second floor was mostly just the staff quarters, a small kitchen occupied one corner of the large room while a bathroom occupied another. A lounge area with a coffee table was placed in the middle of the room. A T.V was on a small desk opposite the lounges and lockers were next to the door which opened to a platform, either side was the staircase leaning up and down.

On the third floor was the bar and dance floor. The bar was mostly made of wood but the top was glass. Blue, purple and pink fluro lights hung from the edge of the bar. Black cushioned bar stools were attached to the floor around the outside of the bar. Inside the bar were shelves of glasses to the left and to the right were various types of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

Directly in front of the bar was a dance floor lit up by once again fluro  lights. After six o'clock this place just come alive. The whole place closes at eleven pm on Monday through to Thursday and two AM Friday  and Saturday. On a Sunday it closes at ten PM.

It is now four thirty and I need to start thinking about getting ready for work. I close my laptop after pausing supernatural and I head downstairs to feed Muscles his dinner. The moment my foot hits the bottom step I hear Muscles come leaping through the dog door attached to the screen sliding door, which he has managed to bust off its rollers many, many times now. We think he still believes he is as small as he use to be when we first got him. When he was only a few months old he would bolt through the house and jump through the dog door, but now when he does it he hits the top of it and the door comes out of its rails. He would also play this hiding game where he would go under the dinning table chairs, lay down and just look at you. Once you were looking at him he would stand up and run to his bed, but now that he is much bigger when he stands up he lifts the whole chair with him and as he runs the chair sits on his back. So if we don't keep putting all the chairs back they end up all over the bloody house.

Muscles comes running towards me as I attempt to walk into the kitchen, wagging his tail happily he follows me in with a bark. I open with fridge to find any left overs and Muscles sticks his head in between the fridge door and my leg so that he can help me look, last time he was 'looking' he stole a carrot from the bottom shelf.

"Get away" I say as I pull out a dish of week old beef chow mien from the third shelf. I close the fridge door and head outside with Muscles in pursuit.

He seemed pretty happy with his meal, he comes running back inside after licking his bowl until it shined. I was now sitting at the dinning table eating Vegemite toast, waiting for mum to come through the door. It was almost five, she should be home soon. Muscles put his head on my thigh and gave me his most adorable puppy dog eyes, I know my mum hates it when I feed muscles at the dinner table but I just couldn't resist. I took one last bite of my toast and asked Muscles to sit which he did instantly, I threw the toast to him and he jumped up to catch the whole thing in his mouth. Just at that moment my mum walked through the door, I didn't even hear the car pull up at the drive way.

"Jaslyn, how many times do I have to tell you not to feed the dog at the dinner table" Great not even a minute and she is already pissed off with me.

"Mum I'm sorry" I couldn't say I didn't mean to you wouldn't believe me for a second but if i didn't think of something fast she was going to take this to a whole new level. My mum dumped her bag down on the kitchen bench and turned to look at me.

"You disgust me" Here we go, I needed to come up with some excuse before she over exaggerated. "I have been at work all day and what do you do? Sit up in your room and eat up all our money" I should know by now back chatting was not an option with my mum. My mum is a journalist so I get long days in a office can get on your nerves. Most days she comes home a bit grumpy but that's it but then you have these days when something may have gone wrong at work, maybe her article didn't make it to the paper, although that's very rare she is quick a good journalist.

"You know mum I do attend high school, you know where I am forced to be taught things that really don't have any value but you know I go because that's what you want"  I couldn't keep my thoughts in my head.

"You ungrateful little cow, you know I hope that when you have a daughter she treats you how you treat me" she just glares at me as if challenging me to say something back.

"What like the fucking queen?" I, once again can't hold my tongue. I am literally just digging myself a grave here.

"No, love. Like a piece of fucking shit. I do everything around this house you are never home, off gallivanting around the city with your friends, for all I know you are sleeping around with anyone and everyone. You are a disgrace." I can feel the blood in my veins start to boil.

"Just because dad left you because you couldn't keep your legs together doesn't mean I am going to end up like you, with divorces and break ups left, right and centre." Everything was silent, I had hit home with that one, I instantly regretted saying it as I could see the pain in my mothers eyes. I couldn't stand it, Muscles at left the room to go and hide under the mulberry tree, my mother wouldn't even make eye contact with me, she just stood there trying to hold herself together. I couldn't just stand here. I picked up my bag and phone and walked off out the door, I was already ten minutes late to work.

Note: This book has been edited by myself, although I would love for someone else of more knowledge to go over it once more.