|
|
Post by NELL DOE DALE on Sept 13, 2011 20:59:16 GMT -5
 With school in session again, Nell was falling back into her normal work hours. Well, normal for most other people. It was still rather sporadic after summer vacation when she worked whenever she could—which was not so great for her social life—but she was settling back into the motions. Going back to school was rather nice, since all of her friends were forced together so that there wasn’t the difficulty of making plans. Though it was better to hang out when not at the Academy, there were people she met up with that she othewise wouldn’t have seen. She could not include Tai on that list. They worked together and she enjoyed being around him—he was friendly enough, after all, and she liked people. However, she had not planned on bumping into him at school. It was quite a shock, really. She gathered that he most likely was a graduate since he was legally bartending, and she wondered how old he really was. She didn’t have time to make small talk, however, so she supposed that since they had the same shift tonight she could talk with him then.
For now, she went about her business, having arrived a bit early. One thing she enjoyed about bartending was that it never seemed dull to her—there were always new faces, new people, new drinks. Was it what she wanted to do with the rest of her life? No, not really, but it would do for now. In truth, she’d much rather be outside, and in her head she went through the list of occupations that would suit her. Archeologist, marine biologist, Dora the Explorer… That’s not an actual occupation, Nell. Right, well, she supposed that an explorer could actually work if she was more like Jeff Corwin or one of the guys on Animal Planet. Or maybe she just watched too much television when she should be outside. In any case, she liked being outdoors and close to her element. And even though Blackjack was nice—much better than Corrosion, at least—it was still stuffy to her. Perhaps it was the clausterphobia that made her a bit against working indoors all the time, but she would rather not spend the rest of her life here. For now, she found happiness in the small things, like the money she was now making. She didn’t really need her father’s anymore, and she was cooling a bit with her spending. Nell had to wonder sometimes whether the man noticed and if he even cared. She hoped he cared—she was draining his bank account out of bitterness and vengeance. She may have had a little Thunder vindictiveness in her, inherited from the Fuentes family.
It wasn’t too busy, being a weekday, but she still managed to keep herself occupied. Being on her feet for hours was considered a good thing to her—especially since she had to sit down and eat a lot. That’s something else to consider, a job that keeps me active. She needed to keep fit and healthy with her diet, and so that was another thing to throw into consideration when thinking about future jobs. Was it bad to be thinking of other occupations when working? Well, she hoped not. She never slacked off or anything. In fact, she liked to make small talk with the patrons, and not just because it brought in more tips. She was honestly interested in others and their lives. And thankfully, she had yet to meet people like Josh who gave her glares and short, one-word answers.. Maybe not thankfully. I shouldn’t be thinking about my boyfriend in a bad way. She’d met surly customers, certainly, but none of them had so far expressed a desire to shank her—especially not at Blackjack.
|
|
|
|
Post by ruley on Sept 14, 2011 14:22:02 GMT -5
 =- = - =- =- =- =- =- =- =- =- = Tyson had lost track of time. It wasn’t something that happened often but most if not all the times it had happened, he had been buried under a mountain of textbooks and coursework, usually at the local library. Alas, that had been the case this afternoon and he had just left his room having barely had enough time for a shower, shave and a quick brushing of his teeth. Thankfully, he only had to wear a black polo-shirt with some smart pants and his trainers, nothing too restrictive or uncomfortable for the night shift ahead. He pondered how busy this weekday would be with the return to college still looming over everyone’s heads. He knew a lot of his friends had already mentioned they weren’t in a partying mood after the workload they had been given but Tyson seemingly had not choice as it was his job to head out to Blackjack on the weekdays!
But naturally, that made it sound much more fun than it actually was. Don’t take that the wrong way, it’s fun to chat with the fellow bar staff and meet and greet the various random patrons that come and go over the course of the evening but there were some difficult customers and rows over age checks but on the whole, there were worse ways to earn money, now there’s the truth. The bar wasn’t too far away, Tyson flipped out his phone to check the time, feeling a tingle in the palm of his hand as the electrons flowed out of the battery to the screen again. He wasn’t late, yet. He had contemplated sending a text ahead to let them know he’d be later but he’d managed to get ready much faster than he had anticipated so he was glad he hadn’t in the end. The last thing he needed was for his boss to question if it would happen again and suddenly Tyson would loose some of his shifts, or worse.
As he turned the last corner, Blackjack now in full view, he couldn’t help but contemplate what had happened earlier, bumping into Nell back at the academy was defiantly something unexpected as he knew she wasn’t in his grade. So, was she underage? Serving illegally? That was the last thing he needed, for the bar to be investigated for such a thing would leave him out of work for a while. He walked in the back, greeting various staff members as he went before he hung his jacket up in the back as she checked his watch. Bang on time, at least according to his own devices. Tyson hoped they weren’t running slow as he emerged from the back to behind the bar where Nell was already serving customers. ”Beat me here again I see!” Tyson joked as he checked the till before starting his shift, only making eye contact with Nell after completing the task. It might be seen as a delay tactic, which it sort of was, but Tyson was still wrestling with how to bring up the topic of why he saw Nell in the academy earlier that day.
=- =- =- =- =- =- =- =- =- =- =
Notes: Hiya :3
|
|
|
|
Post by NELL DOE DALE on Sept 14, 2011 16:15:04 GMT -5
Nell always had some fear in everything she did. It came with being an illegal alien, she guessed. There was always the onipresent feeling of the government eyes—or in other words, her paranoia. Which is why she guessed bartending wasn’t the best occupation. But upon moving downtown, it was the best she could do. And it was something she was good at. Customer service skills were exceptional, and she could pull off flair bartending when the occasion called for it. Still, she considered herself an adult for all intents and purposes. She’d pretty much raised herself, kicking off from her father’s attempts at nurturing, and she was living on her own without parental supervision. Except that León was trying to be a father again, and if he knew about her occupation, then it would just give him another reason to be up her ass all the time. He may have been her biological father, but it all stopped there. She wasn’t about to let him take control of her life—she just didn’t want to listen to him go on about her job when she already had to deal with him on a daily basis. He wouldn’t let her live the arrest down, even though it’s been months.
Hearing Tyson, she turned to cast him a smile while shaking a martini, but noticed that his attention was not on her. Had he even suspected anything at the Academy? He went there, but she was pretty sure he was at least nineteen, but she could pass for that anyway, right? She didn’t have height on her side—hello five-foot-two, five-foot-four in the heels she wore tonight—but there were tricks that every girl should know to make her look more like a woman. Besides, she wasn’t too far off, so it wasn’t like she looked incredibly young. Her birthday was this month and she’d be turning eighteen. Then she’d graduate high school at the end of the year, and after that… Prison. No, not prison, the trial. She couldn’t let herself think negatively like that, she couldn’t think of the worst possibility.
After she served the customer, she quickly peered over at Tyson again. ”Oh, you know, I’m just amazing.” she said with a lighthearted roll of her eyes. She liked being either on time or early, especially when she felt bad about lying for a job. Then, thoughts of bringing up the Academy swirled in her head and she considered how she should go about doing it. She could lie. Say she was a graduate, that she was nineteen. But she was a very terrible liar, which is why she usually fell onto the safety net of an answer that is ‘it’s complicated’. Besides, he could eventually find out. Maybe Tai even forgot about it. No, that’s stupid. Just in case, she didn’t want to bring it up. ”So how has your day been?” Good, pleasantries would avoid a more pressing subject. Nell didn’t want to lose this job, and she was afraid that something like this would happen. Corrosion was safer—no one cared there. But this was the crème de la crème in Maple Hollow. ”I don’t think it’ll be too busy tonight.” Which was unfortunate when it came to tips and the such. But she never looked on the downside—at least it wasn’t Corossion. And at least we aren’t talking about school. She almost wanted him to bring it up just to get over the anxiety she felt. But no, she just kept prattling. ”Enjoy the lack of sweat stains.” Less customers, less running around all the time, less unattractive marks under your armpits. Keeping conversation easy and light was a specialty of Nell’s.
|
|
|
|
Post by ruley on Sept 18, 2011 15:00:57 GMT -5
=- = - =- =- =- =- =- =- =- =- = Tyson had been at Blackjack for a while, seen staff members come and go, often in very quick succession. Nell was relatively new here and whilst they had engaged in fleeting conversation here and there, they usually shared busy shifts which meant there was little time for chit chat. Thankfully however, their boss wasn’t exactly breathing down their necks tonight so he pondered if he could afford to loosen up. He poured himself some tap water and took a sip, putting the glass to one side out of the way of everybody else. The cold liquid was a welcome relief in the somewhat warm environment of behind the bar. You would think that with all these refrigerators back here it would be a little cooler but ironically it was much warmer because the refrigerators were designed to keep their insides cool, their outsides get hot because of the motors on the back of them.
Tyson let out a chuckle as he tied his half aprin around his waist. ”Oh, naturally.” He said in jest as he shot a coy smile at Nell. Sure, he was being a little flirty, but he’d earned it after such a stressful day. ”Well, in all honesty.” He began, biting his lower lip as the opportunity arose to make some witty remark about running into Nell’s identical twin slipped by. ”Pretty crap on the whole, too much work. What about you?” His British accent easily distinguishable amongst the background conversations and mediocre music. Tyson hadn’t heard of the bad the establishment had chose to play, that usually meant it was something he wouldn’t like. Unfortunately, he didn’t have much choice in the matte as he wasn’t the one choosing the music for the bar. Tyson simply nodded in agreement and chuckled slightly at Nell’s remark. ”Good thing too, this is my last clean shirt!” He said, laughing afterwards somewhat under his breath. He had no real idea of what Nell’s sense of humour was; she might be into retro comedy or be perfectly amused by today’s stand up comedians.
=- =- =- =- =- =- =- =- =- =- =
Notes: sorry /ill ):
|
|
|
|
Post by NELL DOE DALE on Sept 18, 2011 20:30:50 GMT -5
Nell was half-expecting Tyson to make comment about their meeting when he spoke of his day. A part of her really wanted him to, and the other part didn’t know how she would even respond to it. I don’t even have to say what grade I’m in or even my element. Did he even wonder what eleement she was in? She didn’t think she came off as a Fire or Thunder. And then another thought occurred to her. What if he recognized her name from the war? She was quite infamous those months that she was being targeted by Thunder. And what if he was Thunder himself? She couldn’t tell—he had some traits of Water, but it was likely he could be of the affiliation that harbored a grudge about the war they’d lost. ”I’m sorry to hear that,” she said honestly. ”Hopefully everything will calm for you. As a matter of fact, I’m sure it will. You know, because I’m so awesome I can tell these things.” Nell always regretted to hear when others had a tough time and there was always the gut instinct to try and help in some way. But that probably wouldn’t be possible—she couldn’t undo the day, after all. She was about to make a comment about school starting up again, but froze. Too close.
After serving a few more drinks, she decided to go for it. She had a feeling she may be more suspicious in not bringing it up, and she’d look like she had something to hide. Which she did. Catch-22, brilliant. The Academy wasn’t something that should be spoken of in front of non-elementals, but the word was vague enough to fly. In her usual cheery voice, Nell said, ”School starting up again is kicking everyone’s butt. Uhm…you’re in college, right?” That took balls, Nell, congratulations. There was no way to take it back after she’d said it, though, so she let it hang in the air between them. She may have dug a hole for herself, but she decided not to pussy out and take the ‘oh, nevermind’ road. ”I’ve been great actually. Life’s pretty decent.” She was lying through her teeth—life was pretty crap as of right now thanks to one woman. But Nell was always ‘great’ or ‘peachy keen’ and she’d be damned before she told someone else that her life wasn’t as well put together as she made it seem. She laughed at his response, saying playfully, ”Go and do some laundry, cochino!” Blushing a bit, she shook her head after the word, taking a break in conversation to actually do her job. Her father was infecting her mind, he really was—she never used Spanglish as much before she did now. Hopefully Tyson would understand. She knew from his accent that he was British. Nell had only met one other Brit, and it was that Altair chick that had picked her as a punching bag…and then Josh came along and that was that.
|
|
