My phone buzzing startled me awake, mostly since I was surprised it was turned on. After Hurricane Nate passed, a lot of the power in New Orleans has been off, and my neighborhood was one of them. I left my phone plugged in just in case over the last few days and was glad it finally charged; throughout the night in fact.
Sunlight bathed color into my apartment as I grabbed up my phone off of the nightstand and checked the incoming messages. Four texts from Richard to 'get my ass' down to the bar. It's only been three days since we had to weather the storm but he doesn't care about that.I bet the bar is gone; blown away by the winds and sinking in the Mississippi River. It was only one story so I doubted there was anything left which didn't bode well with me.
It was my job. My only one and kept me fed and sheltered. Sure, it sucked harder than a top-ranked Pornhub pornstar but it paid.
I stretched my limbs across my twin bed, feeling the cool sheets rub against my body, begging me to stay, and reluctantly got up. The pipes were on again too, which meant I could finally take a shower, shave, and brush my teeth, knowing damn well I needed to.Afterward, I tossed on some shorts with a red fitted t-shirt, ate some cereal and went outside to face the mess Hurricane Nate left in his wake.
I hadn't actually left my apartment since the storm started. Even when it was safe, many places still were flooded, leaving the roads closed.
The sky was so bright, you'd think mother nature was mocking us with her rays. I skipped the bus ride and opted to walk the mile, finally getting active again.
What the hell am I going to do if I lose this job? It barely pays for my studio apartment and medical fees since I don't have insurance. Maybe I'll get lucky and score a job that pays their employees properly. Anything is better than my asshole boss. He takes our tips for fucks sake and is always late with our checks. That's one of the reasons I'm in debt. Lack of pay.
I get to the bar and my worst fear wasn't brought to life. Not entirely. A lot of the roof was missing and the white paint that was already peeling off the stone was washed away. That stupid LED sign was the thing I didn't miss the most.
Outside already there was Tiffany, another bartender and a few of the dancers, and of course, Richard.
"About fucking time," he snarled. I rolled my eyes at his attitude. It was eight in the morning and too early to hear his voice.
Richard had a clean shave every time I saw him and short brown hair. He always reeked of cheap cologne which made me keep my distance from him.
Oh, and he's apparently in a gang, though he'd go as far as to call himself a mafia man. I always felt amused at the thought of it. the man was five foot eight and the most intimidating thing about his was when he wore too much aftershave.
"Shut up, Richard," I snapped back, "Why the hell are we here?"
He waved a hand at the bar and gave me an 'are you stupid' look. "What do you think? We need to clean this shit up before Monday."
Monday, also known as his Mafia meeting with a few local gangs. They'd discuss business and whatnot, but he owed money to them from time to time. I guess that's the real reason we haven't been able to upgrade any of our shit. He's in debt.
"This isn't in any of our contracts," Tiffany pointed out, "Hire some men to clean. Besides, look at the damage! We can't fix that."
"I don't give a rats ass what you can or can't do. I have a meeting on Monday and if they think I can't take care of my business, they'll take it for themselves."
"Good. Maybe they'll be a better owner than you."
"Watch your mouth, Tiff. Come on, we got work to do."
I groaned at the thought of cleaning all of this up by ourselves. We were seven women who either stripped or waited tables, not Richards bitches. But, we all needed the job even though I was sure this place wasn't going to be open for a long time.
The inside wasn't as flooded as I expected, but water did cover the floor. The lights were out and some of the windows were shattered. Chairs and tables along with strip poles were tangled into each other.
"This is pointless, Richard," Jessica, another waitress, declared, "I'm going home."
"The hell you are." Richard stomped over to her.
"Yes, I am, because I quit! I can't take your shit anymore, asshole."
"What are you gonna do without me, huh? None of you have nothin' without me."
That was it for me. The way he talked to us never bothered me before, but now he was pushing it.
"Anything is better than working for you." Tiffany and the other waitresses dropped whatever was in their hands into the shallow water and began leaving.
"Wait...wait, okay, yeah I'm a dick sometimes but that can't be helped, alright? Now, why don't we wipe today clean and finish this?"
"You're shit at apologizing, you know that?"
"You know what, I'm done here, too," I announced. This place is ruined. There was literally pieces of it going down the drain. If I wanted to pay off my bills, I needed a job that'll actually pay.
"Alright, no one's going anywhere." Richard threw the chair in his hands into the water and stalked towards us. "You're all on a contract. That means you can't leave even if you wanted to."
I watched as Tiffany leveled her eyes. When she was pissed, she was pissed.
"Watch me." She swung her body around, her black hair flying over her shoulders as she did and marched out of the club.
Richard faced me with a 'try it' look on his face. "If you won't fire me, then I'm taking a leave, something that I'm allowed to do."
I never liked being bossed around, but only put up with it because I can't get a job anywhere decent. I guess the next place I work won't be any better, though.
I left too. Being soaked in this flooded room wasn't doing anything for me. I was jobless, almost broke, and pretty sure I was out of eggs. But, it was a nice day. The storm had passed and sunshine only filled the sky. That itself is something to be happy about.
I left the club, but not forever. As Richard said, I signed a contract. Mostly, it was to shut me up if something gang related happened or when someone died during a bar fight. I'd gotten used to them over the years, but never fully felt comfortable with it. It was just how things were around here.
Lap dances and gunshots. No one that came to the El Royale paid for quality. In fact, I'm pretty sure they paid for someone to get killed.
I walked for a bit, not really wanting to go back to my apartment. Then again, there wasn't much for me to do out here. The storm didn't just fuck up our club. Everything was trashed.
The beautiful city of New Orleans was turned inside out. Streets were still flooded. Trees were lying in the middle of the road. It didn't look like the timeless hometown I'd come to admire.
No. Nothing like it.
I watched as cars were towed off the sidewalks as I made my way out from bourbon street to Cafe Du Monde, a restaurant I frequented.
New Orleans is amazing, but I've never been into the party scene, despite my job. I just hoped it wasn't as bad as the club.
My phone buzzed in my pocket and I was sure it was Richard trying to get me to come back.Of course, I would; I just needed time away from everything. I never enjoyed anything, not even simple things like a sunny day.
Even though I worked nights, I stayed inside during the day, usually sleeping off late shifts and watching shows that included the death of human civilization due to advanced technology.But today...today felt good, and I intended to enjoy it for once.
Only that enjoyment lasted the eleven minutes it took to walk to the cafe. As soon as I got there I saw the large wooden sign that hung above the doors be thrown into a moving truck.
I guess I should've stayed inside after all.
So, I went back to my apartment. It's not like I had anywhere else to go. No family to check in on. No friends to call. It was just me as it's always been.
~*~
I think lying in bed for days has turned me Lethargic. Sleeping during the day and night made me want to stay like that.
No assholes grabbing on my skirt. No bitchy women throwing drinks at each other that I had to clean up. No drama, just how I liked it.
I took a nice slow breath's because it laid on my bed, the floor fan blowing against my body as a rested some more.
But unfortunately, when you do something constantly, it starts to get boring. And even though I don't really have a life to get back to you, laying in bed all day lost its comfort.
At least I managed to go grocery shopping before I got home. Maybe a real meal would keep me busy and off of my bed.
I sprang to my feet and check what I had bought. Eggs, milk, some greens along with rice and chicken breasts.
Teriyaki chicken it is. I took out the ingredients along with some spices and grabbed my mixing bowls.
As I placed them on my counter, three hard knocks on my door startled me. God, I swear if it's Richard wanting to drag me back to that shithole, I'm stabbing him with my kitchen knife.I didn't bother looking through the peephole. No one ever visited me except him and only to annoy me with work.
"Richard, I'm not going to clean your fucking club." I swung the door open, only to be greeted by two men in suits.
"Anastasia Merritt," one said, "Our boss is waiting for you."
His boss? I gave them a bewildering look before attempting to slam the door. It only took one of them to stop it and push it back open.
I backed into my apartment terrified. There was no place for me to go, and I couldn't jump out of the eighth-story window.
There was nothing I could do when his large arms circle around me, except try to swing at him. He blocked it of course and restrained my arms.
"They said you'd be difficult."
Those were the last words I heard before he released me and took out a gun and swung it at my head, knocking me unconscious.
~*~