The Etiquette of Smoking

Hey, That's Pretty Good

The next day was Saturday, and also my first day of work at the club. I arrived at 8pm sharp with my important documents filled out and signed, which I left in Ethan's office before promptly heading to the employee break room to store my bag. It was dingy, I'll give Gavin that. The club wasn't dirty or anything but it held a sort of depressing vibe to it that was so subtle I almost missed it. The break room was tiny, only containing a set of 6 lockers, a small kitchenette, and one table with 3 cheap plastic chairs. I was assigned locker 4 and given a lock to secure my personal items after Ethan assured me that no one would steal anything...but to lock my stuff anyway and proceeding to shove a theft waiver in my hands that said if anything of mine was stolen, he was not to be held responsible. Nevertheless, I was excited. I stored my small brown leather backpack in the locker and removed my coat to squeeze in there as well. Gavin wasn't so pleased to watch me try on my new uniform that was a couple sizes too small and looked like it could fit a toddler. The black shirt clung to my upper body in a way that made me a little self-conscious. I didn't have a bad figure, but like everyone, I wasn't satisfied with it. The bottom of the shirt ended just above my belly button, which I knew was going to be a problem because I was already pulling it down every few minutes in an effort to stretch it.

I wore my hair down today in an effort to make a great first impression on the customers and my new coworkers. I also put a little extra effort into my makeup which wasn't bad but certainly not good either. I'd been doing my own makeup since high school and I still couldn't perfect winged eyeliner; it was crafted by the devil to toy with me. I adjusted my shirt again, stretching it down in the front and brushing my sweaty palms off on my jeans before closing and locking my locker.

The main room was significantly darker than the break room. The lights overhead were off, but colored lights of blue, pink, and green took its place in lightening up the room. Colors were everywhere: as spot lights for the dance floor, string lights on the walls, and neon signs behind the bar. The bar itself was back lit with a brilliant blue that made the bottles mounted on the wall glow with its hue. The room was loud as some hip-hop beat blared throughout. I knew I had to grab a tray and name tag from behind the bar, as per Ethan's request, but I was also looking forward to introducing myself to my new coworkers as well.

Suddenly a small brunette woman with her breasts bared stepped in front of me and smiled. "Hi! You must be the new hire! I'm Niki!" She stuck her hand out to me for a shake. Although stunned, I gladly accepted her hand and returned her smile.

"I'm Olivia, it's great to meet you." I tried to hide the nervousness from my tone while also maintaining direct eye contact with her. It was kind of difficult not to look down, I'll admit. It was extremely strange seeing a woman's breasts right in front of me.

"It's so great to meet you! Let me know if you need anything, okay?" She smiled one last time before waving and walking past me toward the break room. I stood in place for a minute while my brain rebooted. Alright...temporary hiccup, that's fine, I will get used to it. I took notice that the club was pretty busy, especially for a Saturday night. Ethan had mentioned that business was slow but I suppose the weekends really were the exception.

I moved through the crowd swiftly in the direction of the bar. Bodies collided into mine, making me stumble a little but emerge unharmed. I placed my hands down at the full bar, taking in the number of patrons that stood behind the sitting ones, waiting for their orders to be taken. 1 single bartender paced behind the counter, serving the crowd of awaiting customers. They would certainly need to hire another if they were going to be this busy on the weekends.

The bartender looked to be about my age, I noticed, as he rushed around. He was tall and slender with large glasses that sat on his face and light brown hair that was trimmed short on the sides and left long on the top. He was quick at his work, pulling glasses out from under the counter, adding ice, pouring soda in the glass with a nozzle, lightly dressing the glass with a shot of vodka, and passing it to a customer before moving on to the next drink. I really didn't want to interrupt him so I tried to slide behind the bar as inconspicuously as I could to look for my tray and nametag.