The Black Swan

Once I was starting to feel like human being, which was as soon as we left the hairdresser, I took back the duties Jenna was so desperately trying to get off her shoulders as soon as I put them there. It wasn’t that much to do. She just needed to keep an eye over the place and get the paperwork done. That was all. Mark was doing the rest. How did I get him to do so much for me after I left his sorry ass? Easy. I told he was able to drink all the booze he wants until somebody throws three handfuls of sand over his coffin.

When I got home, I had only an hour left till the opening. My hair was done so it took at least thirty minutes off the time I needed in order to leave the house. I only had to find something to wear and off I was.

It sounded so fucking easy. Back in my mind. Not quite that easy when my eyes were narrowing over the pile of clothes on my floor. A dress? No. I don’t own a dress, at least that’s not ripped apart. Skirt? That made me giggle. Riding a motorcycle wearing skirt. I should’ve bought a car a long time ago. But wait, I can call the cab. I was so used to Brian always picking me up. That son of a bitch.

With a heavy sigh I took the black denim jeans, a white tank top and a black jacket, with great studs stabbing out of the padding of my shoulders. And of course, a pair of black stilettos. Remember, Ally, wearing shoes like these, you don’t get to drink not even a shot, not even a half shot, only good old water. To think about it, I was so deep in self pity I hadn’t even gone shopping for the opening. And I dared to call myself a woman. A lame excuse for a woman.

Roy called soon after. He couldn’t make it for the opening. His plane had been delayed. That made me sad... for a moment. But then I found a Ben Franklin in my pants.

As the cab pulled up to the Black Swan, my eyes slid over the same outrageous view I happened to see in Miami at the entrance of Vagabond. People were really standing in that death row, waiting to get to the bouncer, who was checking each and every ID. My mind was blown. I picked on the loud basses of Skyfall’s by Adele remix. I recognized it was Jenna playing.

I passed the money to the cab driver as I got out of the vehicle. Was this really happening? The bouncer, a big and very buff guy named Harry, pushed a bunch of girls aside, giving me a nod as I passed him by. In the past he used to work as a firefighter, but his paycheck was ridiculous and not worth the danger. A simple thanks he got most of the time couldn’t feed those two mouths of his children. He gladly came to work for me.

Thanks to my „wonderful” ability of being on time, I was retarding just a half an hour and the place was already pushing to it’s limits. The trashy, vodka craving girls on the dance-floor brought out a smile on me. I wasn’t sure if the other bouncer, Jayden, a rather young fellow, craving the attention of the opposite sex, wasn’t slipping in some underage girls. But oh well, it’s the opening. Let them have fun.

I looked over to the side bars, they were illuminated by dark blue neon lights, I shook my head to the beat, noticing Andrew and Nikki working along at one of the bars. This was the first time I saw them working together. Without any reason, Andrew raised his head to see me walking deeper in the club, he turned away soon after, not being satisfied by not finding what he had hoped for. But what was it what he hoped to see?

I decided to go to the other bar and ask how Leann and Eddie were feeling. As my feet were carrying me towards them, my eyes landed on the dj booth which had been moved a little deeper in the stage and overshadowed by a set of black drums. Why? I didn’t know. Jenna was enjoying herself to the finest, holding a glass of, I believed, our finest scotch up in the air, as her side bangs moved along the beat. She was so into the music, it looked like she didn’t notice anything happening around her.

„Hey,” I found myself a place at the very end of the counter, closer to the stage and boosted myself on my forearms.

„Just a minute,” Leann politely answered, mistaking me for one of the customers, as she went to take a bottle of Grey Goose.

„Pass me Bacardi Oakheart!” Eddy shouted over the crowd, pouring his last drop of the rum in a glass.

„I’m out!” Leann went to the cash register to get some change.

„Where are the goddamn waiters?” Usually Eddy was one of the kindest and sweetest guys I happened to know, he didn’t look like one, tho, but tonight pushed him a bit over the edge. I understood him. Time to get to work, Ally. I put the side of my bangs behind my ear, as I stood on my tiptoes to see if they weren’t missing anything else in the bar. Looked like they were lacking on Tequila gold too, and I couldn’t lay my eye on neither of the waiters. I squeezed through the line of people and went around the bar to reach a black opaque glass door. I went down in the stock, surrounded by large shelves of all sort of alcoholic beverages. My hand reached out for two of Bacardi and two Patron’s.

I was back in the loud room in just seconds, placing the bottles on the glass shelves behind their backs. Leann noticed me again.

„Holy shit, Ally, I didn’t notice you.” The wave of her strawberry blond hair fell over her shoulder as she reached for the Patron I had just put there.

„Is everything fine? You don’t need anything?”

„Oh hey little one,” Eddy greeted, trying not to step over me. I moved my way up to the exit of the sidebar, so I wouldn’t mess them that much. Eddy was a big guy, and great at what he did. I fell in love with his Margaritas in an instant the first time I was at Sutra. He made a real fucking good bargain to come work for me. And I gladly gave him what he wanted. „Everything’s fine, just lacking some workforce.”

„What? You’re doing great,” My lips let out a laugh as I waved him off.

„Not us, the other bar,” He pointed towards Nikki and Andrew with his head at the same time attending his customers, which were a group of widely smiling girls. He could see a great frown forming on my face. „The chick is in and out of the bar and the guy seems stoned.”

I wanted to kill someone. One job, they had one job and they can’t even do it right. With a simple nod I left them and went for the dj booth. It took me quite a while, but as soon as I got to the bouncers, who were guarding Jenna like she was the god damn queen of England, everything was fine. I ran up the small side stairs, not really wanting to disturb her ecstasy type of rapture.

„Hey,” She turned to me with an ecstatic smile on her face as she came to hug all the living sense out of me. „This is so fucking awesome, I just can’t get enough of myself.” I knew she was talking of her chance to be in front of the dj system yet again, and I really didn’t want to ruin her happiness, but I had to.

„Put on a playlist, we have to go.”

„What? Why?”

„I need you behind the bar with me.” Her eyes traveled towards Andrew and Nikki, questioning if she was thinking right. I just nodded.

„Okay, just give me a sec.” She bent over, to create a small playlist before she announced she was good to go. Where the fuck was Will? He was supposed to be here, just in case. And this was the case.

One of the bouncers escorted us to the bar, so it would be faster and I saw Andrew all alone there. I took a deep breath, keeping myself from driving a knife through Nikki’s head. Where was she? Although Andrew was a shitty bartender, none could deal with a row that long. And he truly was high.

„J, call Will, I need him here. Now.” I stripped myself off the leather jacket as I went to the cash register, to see a plastic bag with what I supposed to be marijuana. I glanced at Andrew, who didn’t even seem to notice me.

„Why?” She asked dryly. I knew her attitude towards her ex, but nevertheless, she pulled the phone out from the back pocket of her pants. Yeah, that’s a good way to get your phone jogging away from you. Let’s just keep our palm sized smartphones in the back pocket of our pants, while we’re twerking in a club full of kleptomaniacs. Seems very smart to me.

„Playlist in a club? I’ll better listen to his house mixes.” I slid the little plastic bag in the pocket of my jeans. I was planning on catching the wave later and as for Andrew? Hell, he was already on his ninth wave, he was getting even more stoned just over my dead body.

„I wrote him a text, saying you’ll give him a black eye if he’s not here in five.” Just a black eye? Well, aren’t we being modest. Nevertheless, I walked over to take a order from a guy who resembled that guy from Jersey Shore. Some kind of Pauly.. or Paul. Basically the dude who didn’t look like a dude. As I was pouring him the beer, I noticed a flayer carelessly laying on the counter. Jenna had even made flayers? Well, I’ll be damned. Something caught my eye. Under the big Gothic lettering of „The Black Swan” was a phrase- 9.30 PM Surprise performance. My eyes slid over my black, massive wristwatch. 9.24 PM. I had six minutes to... what exactly? Why hadn’t I’ve been informed about some kind of performance. Oh, the Ballet. Right. No. 10.30 PM Ballet special from All-Star Dance Academy. Suddenly I felt the dislike for surprises growing somewhere deep down.

„J, what’s included in the surprise performance?” She had to tell me right? I did kind of own the place, after all.

„Well...” She glanced at her LG smartphone, „You’ll find out at exactly this many minutes,” She raised her palm with five stretched fingers. I noticed the white gold diamond ring, and somehow I felt really happy for her, but the happiness started to fade, and she was getting none of the scotch if she’s not going to tell me what the fuck is going on.

„You’re treading on a very thin ice, you know...” I was already mixing a whiskey sour for the redhair, who had been, what it seemed, glued to the Jersey Shore’s side.

„It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you,” She pouted, sticking her lip out and making those sad puppy eyes. The girl knows me for... too many years, and she still thinks that face helps? „Oh come on, don’t be a buzz kill, let me have my fun.” A sentence which starts with ‘don’t be a buzz kill’ and ends with ‘let me have my fun’, leads to something I’m very much going to regret in the nearest future. Please don’t be strippers, please, please don’t be strippers.

„So you’re going to help or what?” I glared at her as I saw the line getting longer. Never in my greatest dreams I had hoped for this grand opening and now I understood we needed at least three bartenders at one bar. But maybe it was just the opening. I really hoped so, I didn’t have exactly the money for broadening.

„Yeah, I just need to do something first...” And off she was. What? What the hell did she have to do? I was kind of dying here and Andrew was not an option. I mean look at him, he’s too fucked to work.

„Andrew?” I shouted over to him, he turned his head rather hesitantly. It didn’t look like he even recognized me. Oh it’s down dude, you’re not smoking anything while you’re working here. That’s final.

The music disappeared and I could’ve bet on my own mother, I looked just as dumb as the rest of the people on the dance floor. The long row of people, who were waiting for their drinks to be done by me, turned their heads to the side of the stage. Oh, this better be good.

„How the fuck are we doing tonight?” It was Matt. He roared out the last word. Jenna’s Matt. Jenna’s Matt was in the middle of the stage and roaring in a microphone. I think my jaw was jammed. I couldn’t close my mouth. The crowd exploded just like they had back in Miami. He raised his sunglasses and looked over the sea of people. „Well... Shit.” He mouthed seeing the whole dance-floor packed. „Gates, come over here... Don’t they look like hungry bunch of motherfuckers?” And there he was. The arrogant son of a gun, dressed in a black leather jacket which emphasized his biceps, wearing the usual black pants and combat boots. The T from Vengeance University was showing under his jacket. He smirked and I believed the half of the audience melted right away. The aviators were shielding his eyes, but I could’ve sworn he winked to someone in the dance-floor.

I believed their roadies brought another pair of mic stands. Jimmy was taking his seat behind the drums, while Zacky and Johnny took their places on the stage.

„I have to say tho, somebody made a real good bargain, to get us here...” Matt sent a significant glance towards the dj booth, where Jenna just raised her hands as if saying- It wasn’t me. What the hell did Jenna do to get them here? I mean, what other people had to give that I didn’t? „This is a first we ever play in a club, but hell, I think we owed that much to the owner after some pretty serious shit we did the other day.” He scratched his head. Oh so he did remember the shattered glass and the broken stools. In that case, I’m waiting for a check.

„Talk for yourself, dude...” Brian’s grin only grew wider as he stepped to his microphone. A bunch of girls were reaching out for him. Why the hell was he grinning? I wanted to kill the guy. All this time he had sent me to rott in hell, but as soon as Jenna asks, he’s down for playing? Fuck him and his logic.

„Okay, I just wanted to say- congratulations Al, this place is even more fucking amazing than I can remember. Okay... let’s play some Beast and the Harlot!” How ironic. Beast and the Harlot. They decided to open the night with that song. I was eying Brian as he went off in this dueling guitars thing with Zack, making an arrogant ass out of himself as he sent a flirty grin to every girl he happened to notice. Who’s the Harlot now, Brian?