Surviving my Scholarship

Paradise

             A cold breeze flew down the tight alleyway and I pulled my jacket closer to my body. My silver heels clicked as I jumped over a mud puddle and turned towards the employee entrance. As I turned the corner, I touched the device around my ear. Similar to an old hearing aid in appearance, this new high tech gadget held your eyewear.

                My visor, a thick, rectangular plastic that went from ear to ear, generated across my eyes. Me, I could see everything. The outside world saw silver with rainbow border. I nodded at the guard as I slipped my hand on the scanner to the left of the door.

        "Vivi, you're working today," the guard questioned with his New Orleans flare. He held the door for me.

        "Boss called me in," I replied. "Unexpected VIP thing, I think." I smiled as I stumbled into the girl's changing area. A few girls screamed as the cold hit their exposed skin. The guard laughed and shut the door again.

        I tried not to look as I passed by girls changing. A few stopped to glare at me as if I caused the cold weather. I kept my head down. I don't know why they bothered getting dressed. They practically wore nothing anyways.  I bumped into one of the dancers and her heels clicked annoyed at me. I slowly glanced up to see Paradise defiantly staring at me.  I blushed when I realized, she wasn't wearing a top.

        We were all named after drinks. My pervert of a boss thought drink names and short skirts was the way to run a business. Paradise is gin, apricot brandy, and orange juice in a 2:1:1 ratio with a splash of lemon juice. My mind instantly recited it when I looked in her angry peach colored eyes. The lemon juice sure was right. Talk about one bitter female.

        Me? I was Vanilla Iced Vodka. Most people just called me ViVi here. The girls liked to tease the underage by changing their nicknames. The girls liked to call me ......

        "Vanilla Virgin," she mocked as if on cue. "Help me find my rhinestone top, will you? I'm on next." I nodded as I looked at her feet again. I turned the corner and sure enough there it was in the hands of the curtain caller, Tony. He frowned at me and handed it over without much argument.

        "Vivi," he mumbled. "You look nice today." He looked down at his feet moving them around a bit. I rolled my eyes as I walked behind the dressing room barrier and threw Paradise her top. I slide past a few other girls and slipped off my tan jacket placing it gently in my locker along with my satchel. Angel Face sat near my locker. She held out a tube of red lipstick and I groaned as she did my makeup.

        "Yo, Skeet come look at 'er will ya so she can go out on da floor," Angel Face yelled in her New Yorker confidence. Skeet peeked out of his glassed in office and nodded. " Ight hun, you  cover AMI, (short for Apple Martini), as 'er thing is in the VIP section. You do Section B." I nodded and she tapped my head like a puppy. "Sell my booze."