A small girl, around sixteen, walks into the hotel and sits at the bar, ordering a hot chocolate. She shivers, drawing her cloak tighter around her, and makes sure that her hood covers her frost-bitten face.
I'm never what I like I'm double sided And I just can't hide I kind of like it When I make you cry 'Cause I'm twisted up, twisted up Inside
Adam shrugged on his shirt, emblazoned with the words "The Royal" in white thread on the pocket, and, buttoning it up, he headed down the stairs to serve the customer who had just arrived. It was cool that his dad owned a hotel and all, but unfortunately it did mean that he had to do those awful Saturday night shifts on the bar on normal pay...
He spotted a girl sitting alone at the bar, and headed over to her. "Hey there," he began, and she jumped, startled by his sudden arrival on the other side of the counter. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," he apologised. "Can I help you, ma'am?" He had been brought up to always be polite. "You look a little cold there, miss, if you don't mind my saying. Here-" Adam reached under the bar and fetched out his leather jacket. "You can wrap this around your shoulders if you like."
He passed it over to her and she huddled inside it, nodding her thanks gratefully. She didn't show her face, Adam noticed, but when she took the jacket her hands were long and slender, the fingers moving gracefully. A natural lady, he mused.
"And here's a brandy, to warm you up. On the house," he added, as she reached with trembling fingers towards a small bag beneath her cloak. He wasn't sure why, but something about the girl made her very endearing to him; he just wanted to take care of her, to protect her.
He shook his head ruefully. Stop dreaming, Adam, he told himself sternly. You mustn't get involved with the customers. And anyway, you don't even know the girl. But something inside of him made him keep one eye on her, as she sat huddled at the bar sipping her brandy, and he smiled contentedly.
"What we're trying to do is to write cricket bats, so that when we throw up an idea and give it a little knock, it might...travel."
Tightening the leather jacket the bartender had given her, the girl smiles, not sure if he could even see that. The brandy he'd poured for her is perfect, warming her from the inside out, and she begins to wonder if this happens to every one of his customers or if she is one of few.
She feels his gaze on her and glances up, smiling as he looks away as if he hadn't been watching at all.
"Do...um...Do you usualy have many customers?" She asks, her voice small but strong.
I'm never what I like I'm double sided And I just can't hide I kind of like it When I make you cry 'Cause I'm twisted up, twisted up Inside
The girl drank, hesitantly at first then taking longer gulps, and it warmed Adam to see that she was already looking more wholesome than when she came in, only moments ago. He thought he saw the corners of her delicate lips turn up slightly, involuntarly, before she could sweep her hair over her face. He noticed her watching to see if he had noticed, so he pretended not to have seen. After all, he thought, it wouldn't do to upset her.
The girl asked him if he ha many customers, so he leaned over the bar and replied, "Not too many, if I'm honest." He gave a rueful shrug. "Customers have been drying up of late, too tell you the truth. It gets pretty busy in here on holidays, but otherwise, it's pretty exclusive."
A thought struck him, as he looked at the slightly bedraggled girl opposite. "Umm... do you need transport home? Not that I want you to leave," he added hurriedly, not wanting to seem unfriendly. "Not now, but later, when you're done." He watched the silent girl, and added, "You could wait out the storm here, if you like. I mean, there's plenty of room and everything..." He saw a strange, wistful look come over the girl, and paused.
"But, what am I saying? You don't even know me from Adam! Which, coincidentally, happens to be my name. What's yours?" Adam enquired, as he topped up the glass of his new acquaintance and poured himself the same.
"What we're trying to do is to write cricket bats, so that when we throw up an idea and give it a little knock, it might...travel."
A girl walks over to the bar and sits down, pulling her short work unifrm down over her legs. "Um, can i get some sake over here?" she calls to the bartender.
Listen up! The future is bulletproof! The aftermath is secondary! It's time to do it now and do it loud! Killjoys, make some noise!
Adam excused himself for a moment to attend to the waiting girl. She looked cold, in that short skirt and all. "Here's your change, miss, and if you feel the cold there's a blazing fire so don't be shy."
He turned back to the first girl, and smiled apologetically at her. "Sorry, business and all. Lizzie, huh? That's a great name- makes me think of orchids, and auroras. And you would? Cool!" Adam grinned, knowing it was insane to be this happy that a girl he had met not more than a few minutes or so ago- he had lost track of time, to be honest- would be staying a while longer. But he couldn't help it.
He took a sip of the drink to steady himself, and continued. "So, Lizzie, what brings you out on a night like tonight? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to- I've no right to pry, I know."
He sighed, worried that he was being too inquisitive. Perhaps he should ease off and let the girl enjoy a moment of respite, he wondered. But then, she didn't seem to mind. He smiled to himself, and settled companionably opposite his new acquitance- maybe even friend, he thought happily.
"What we're trying to do is to write cricket bats, so that when we throw up an idea and give it a little knock, it might...travel."
Vincenzo opens the door of the bar and sweeps in imperiously, surveying the three people already present: two girls, one in a short skirt, the other holding a cup, and a barman, engaged in conversation with the girl holding the cups. Wrapping his black trench coat around himself tighter, Vincenzo sat down by the girl with the short skirt. He pulled his broad-brimmed hat lower down his eyes, not wanting to be recognized. He was, after all, on business. "Barman" said Vincenzo. "A beer, please"
Adam sidled down the bar to attend to the newcomer, a shady-looking man in a long black coat and broad hat. "One beer, sir," he smiled, genially. He made a point of being friendly with all his customers, no matter how unusual. Sometimes more than others, though, his conscience smirked, throwing to the front of his mind a picture of Lizzie, smiling at him. He suppressed a smile, and stepped back to watch her, as she leaned casually on the bar, looking quite at home.
She caught his glance and smiled, her whole face seeming to Adam to light up. "Sorry," he murmured, embarrassed that she had seen him looking. She shook her head to dismiss his apology, and he gave his crooked smile in return. His face almost split in two, however, when he saw her blushing as she smiled at him.
"What we're trying to do is to write cricket bats, so that when we throw up an idea and give it a little knock, it might...travel."
Lizzie smiles at Adam's grin, blushing slightly. Something about him makes her feel comfortable, assured. She wonders if she'll ever feel like leaving...
I'm never what I like I'm double sided And I just can't hide I kind of like it When I make you cry 'Cause I'm twisted up, twisted up Inside
Vincenzo accepted the beer gratefully, handing the barman a couple of large gold coins. "No questions" he said, winking, as the barman frowns quizzically at him. Vincenzo drank in silence for a while, then he decided to close for the kill. "So, barman... what's your name?" "Adam" was the reply. Vincenzo leaned in conspiratorially. "Tell me, young man. Have there been... unusual occurrences around these parts?"
The newcomer handed over two large, shining gold coins. There was more money in his hands now than he had ever seen in his entire life, in all probability, thought Adam, wondering what the stranger wanted of him.
"Well," he replied to the question posed by the mystery man, "not as such. I mean, the other night I could have sworn I heard a cracking sound- like gunshot- but then, the tree branch fell that night, so I assumed it was that. And aside from the fact that we are uncharacteristically busy tonight, I'm afraid there's nothing else I can tell you. I expect you'll be wanting that gold back now, eh?" he added, jokily. He saw the girl by the fireplace looking over cagily at him, and a thought popped into his head. "Oh, but you might want to go speak to the girl over there, if you're looking for someone a bit... odd. She just came in, barely dressed- a bit suspicious in this weather, if you ask me, got a drink and hasn't spoken since. Very odd," he repeated, getting into the role.
The strange man thanked him, and went to sit discreetly by the hearth, opposite the girl.
"What we're trying to do is to write cricket bats, so that when we throw up an idea and give it a little knock, it might...travel."
a watch the shady looking man walk in, order a beer and talk with the bar tender for awhile. then, suprisingly, he walks over to me. i pull my skirt as fardown as i can and cross my arms to cover the fact that my breasts are almost spilling out of this flimsy uniform.
Listen up! The future is bulletproof! The aftermath is secondary! It's time to do it now and do it loud! Killjoys, make some noise!
