Just A Job
Chapter One:
'I hate Midgar!' Elena thought angrily, as she tripped over her third piece of scrap metal of the day. 'Hate it! Hate it! Hate it!' She continued to mutter and gave the piece of pipe a hard kick. For her trouble she earned a few sore toes and a greasy smudge on the end of her boot. She gave it a dirty look before setting off again towards the train station.
She'd had a bad day and just wanted to go to bed; though the thought of her dingy little flat with its flickering lights and mouldy carpet was enough to make her consider just falling asleep on the train station steps. Her plan was dashed, however, when she reached the station and discovered her potential resting place was already occupied by three grizzly men and one woman in sleeping bags. Oh well.
It's not like this particular day was anything different to every other day she had lived through since coming to Midgar just over one year ago. Why had she done that again? Oh yes, that's right: to make something of herself.
'And what a fine job I'm doing,' she thought bitterly, kicking a lump of loose concrete along the platform while she waited for the train. When it eventually fell off the edge and onto the tracks, she approached the sleepy-looking guard and paid a few gil for her ticket to Sector 3.
The train, of course, was late. A good twenty minutes late, to be exact. When it finally arrived, Elena all but ran into the closest carriage in order to escape from one of the grizzly old men in the sleeping bags who must have caught her longing glance at his step earlier. He'd been insisting since she'd bought her ticket that "the pretty lady come an' share me sleepin' bag." Finding a seat, she pointedly looked away from the window facing the platform until the train was well out of the station.
With a forty-five minute train trip ahead of her and nothing else to do, Elena passed the time reflecting on what she'd achieved so far. She'd left her home town of Icicle Inn and arrived in Midgar just over twelve months ago. It had taken her less than a week to begin to regret her decision. Although she'd organised the apartment before she had left home, it had taken her a lot longer than she had anticipated to find herself a job. She had been forced to forfeit some of her nicest jewellery and her only weapon (a small hand-gun her father had bought for her) to pay the rent.
The apartment directly above Elena's belonged to a woman named Candice, who was the closest thing Elena had had to a friend since coming to Midgar. Candice was quite stunning to look at – with thick, dark hair, big eyes and curves like Elena could not even imagine having, she had taken full advantage of her looks and succeeded in sweet-taking the landlord into letting Elena IOU her rent. She then helped Elena find her current employment at the Wall Market Gym.
Washing dirty towels and administration work was not exactly Elena's prime idea of a good job, but in the slums of Midgar she had little choice. It did, however, provide her with the opportunity to use the gym equipment free of charge after work. Despite being a bunch of strangely feminine muscle-heads, the gym members had been kind enough to offer her a few kick boxing lessons. She had learned surprisingly quickly and using her natural speed and new skills she could soon out-wit, if not openly beat, most of the gym's most frequent visitors.
Candice worked above the plate in a bar called Steam, and she promised to look out for any job openings. So far, nothing had come up.
Despite her vibrant personality, Candice was just like everyone else who lived beneath Midgar. She had lost all hope of real happiness long ago, and with that hope went her dignity and self-respect. It was common knowledge that Steam was popular among Shinra soldiers and other employees not because of the good drinks, but because the bar maids were quite willing to sell themselves along with their beer if a customer matched their price.
It had taken Elena a few weeks to catch up on her rent, but as soon as it was paid she invested into another small pistol and a thin blade. It had not taken her long to realise that Midgar is a lot less safe than Icicle Inn, so she took to keeping the pistol in her handbag and she slipped the little blade into an added pocket in her bra-strap.
As the train pulled into Sector 3, she fingered it out habit and found confidence in the stiff shape it created beneath her work shirt. Her apartment building was immediately across the street from the train station – a convenience she had always appreciated.
Exhausted from the hour and a half workout she had given herself after work, Elena dragged her feet into the dirty, two storey building. A quick glance at her mail box revealed it to be empty – no surprise there. She sometimes received letters from her father, but her replies were always brief and far between so he seemed to be giving up lately.
Her key was half way into the keyhole when she heard her name being called. She turned to find Candice bounding down the stair towards her.
"Elly!!" She yelled again, despite now being less than 2 metres away. Elena's wince at the loudness turned into a defensive block as Candice's much more shapely body slammed into her, pulling Elena into an excited bear-hug.
"I've got ya a job, Elly! You're gonna be workin' with me at Steam! Your first shift is tomorrow night!"
Elena's blond eyebrows just about reached her hairline.
"Huh..?" she replied to Candice's expectant expression. She was not sure how to respond: although not all the waitresses at Steam were prostitutes, Elena did not want to be labelled a whore merely because many of her workmates were.
"Oh, come on!" Candice said, disappointment had begun to settle on her features as Elena failed to show the excited gratitude that was no doubt expected.
Elena smiled, and felt it become less and less forced as Candice grinned back. 'I guess if its only temporary, I could use a change of scenery,' she thought, reasoning with the proud part of her brain that was still telling her it would be more dignified to just continue working at the gym.
"Okay," she said aloud, ignoring her doubts. "I'm sure one of the guys can fill in my place at the gym 'til they find a replacement."
Candice squealed with delight and threw her arms around Elena's shoulders, only to pull away with a short gasp less than a second later. Elena nearly lost her balance due to her friend's unpredictable movement. When she had re-composed herself she stared at Candice in surprise, and found Candice staring right back at her: eyes wide and mouth in a grin so wide it was cracking the thick layer of make-up on her face.
"Candy..?" Elena asked, suddenly nervous.
"Ya know what you're gonna need now, don't ya?" she said, her grin only seeming to widen to an even more impossible size. "New clothes!!" she whopped, with a punch into the hair. "Once you've sorted out everything at the gym, I'm takin' ya shopping at Wall Market!"
Elena's face lit up momentarily at the thought of the therapy a good shopping spree with a friend would give her, only to fall back down again as she remembered her financial situation.
"I dunno Candy…" she said, the disappointment in her voice as clear as crystal. "I can't really afford to spend money on new clothes right now."
"Well," said Candice, her grin becoming thoughtful, but not disappearing. "I got meself a rich fella the other night-" she paused to give Elena a wink, who blushed, then continued, "-so I s'pose I can spare a few gil to get ya an outfit. You're welcome to raid my closet too! Though…" she trailed off as she looked Elena up and down, comparing their very different body types. Elena had never thought of herself as small, but she definitely did not have the chest or hips necessary to hold up Candice's clothes of choice.
"You don't have to-" Elena began, only to have Candice cut her off.
"I know I don't, but I wanna!" Candice insisted. "Bang on me floor when ya get up tomorrow mornin' and I'll come out with ya." She started towards the rusty planks that Elena assumed had once resembled stairs. "See ya bright 'n' early, 'kay?"
"Okay," was all Elena could manage before Candice disappeared from view.
Elena took hold of the key that was still stuck half turned in the lock with a shake of her head. 'And people say that I talk a lot,' she thought with a smile.
Once inside, Elena pottered around giving the kitchen the quick clean she had not had time to give it in the morning (the crumbs left from her toasted breakfast would attract bugs), all the while murmuring her evening mantra of: "Sleep… Sleep… Sleep…" When the awaited moment finally arrived the springy mattress and scratchy sheets felt like the softest, most comfortable of clouds.
Like every other day, today had been exhausting. But every second that passed was making tomorrow sound more and more tiring. Elena had a feeling that she was going to need every second of rest she could afford. The last thing she saw as she let her eyes drift closed was the red digits on the digital clock beside her bed: 23:53.
……
"You owe me big." Scarlet strolled casually out of the Honey Bee Inn. Reno and Tseng stepped out from the corner they had been concealing themselves behind, while Rude moved towards them from his position across the dirty walkway. The streets were mostly empty at this time of night, but the Turks had always been known to be overly-cautious.
"Why!?" Reno said, only just keeping his voice below 'raised' level. He was already frustrated from having shared a car's backseat with the insufferable woman in order to reach this section of the slums, and he was not looking forward to being stuck with her again for another half hour drive. Tseng and Rude, of course, always sat up front.
"All you did was rummage through a few drawers! I could have done it!"
Scarlet's smug expression turned into a scowl as she looked at him. "No, actually, you couldn't have," she said, a disdainful purse creeping onto her lips. "Not only are you unable to wear the only disguise accepted in this place-" she indicated the tightly fitted yellow and black bodysuit covering her body and head band with antennae, the removed ass-bobble (as Reno has so politely Christened it) rested beneath her arm, "-but you have such a limited sense of organisation that you wouldn't even know where to start… rummaging."
Reno's eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to let out a biting retort, but snapped it shut again at Tseng's 'warning' look.
"Did you find it?" Tseng asked her calmly.
"No." Scarlet replied simply.
Reno felt his face heat up as he tried to conceal his rage. A sigh from Tseng only encouraged him. Surely if their unshakable leader's patience was wearing thin with Scarlet and her mission to be as annoying as possible, then he could be excused for jamming his Nightstick into her eye and flicking the setting to NovaFry. Scarlet spoke again before he had the chance to carry out his plan.
"I'm a busy woman," she explained, obviously expecting to gain something. "As much as I like helping the Turks, I need a little payment once in a while." She smiled, suddenly seductive and ran a red polished fingernail down Tseng's chest. Reno thanked the Planet that he had not eaten for the last few hours and exchanged a nauseous glance with Rude. Tseng did not even flinch, but moved to roughly brush her hand away when it showed no signs of removing itself.
"We work for the same company, therefore extra payment will not necessary," he said coolly. He turned smoothly and began to stride back towards the smart, blue car that waited patiently for their return. Rude and Reno made to follow, but were cut off by a very angry looking Scarlet.
Scarlet had literally turned scarlet with rage and embarrassment. Clenching the fist not holding the ass-bobble, she yelled out after him: "Well, I don't have time to help you out anymore! Looks like you're just gonna have to squeeze that girly ass of yours into this costume yourself, 'cause I'm not doing it again!"
Tseng did not pause and reached the car before she had even finished talking. The 'bleep' of the automatic locks unlocking started Reno towards the car again. He ignored Scarlet, who still fumed as she stepped in behind him and Rude.
"I suggest," she said snobbishly once they were all in and on their way back to Shinra Head Quarters, "That you invest in a female Turk. Men can't do anything without a woman to help."
Reno frowned at her, but his expression softened when he caught Tseng's thoughtful glance through the rear-view mirror. It made him think, something many people thought Reno to be incapable of, that perhaps they did need a female co-worker. It would certainly decrease the amount of time he was forced to spend with Scarlet. Yes. Yes, that's exactly what they needed. He decided that he would begin to scout the very next day.
……
End of Chapter One
This is my debut fan fiction, so I'd very much appreciate feedback from anyone who has read it. This chapter has been reloaded after I re-read it and found about a trillion spelling and grammar mistakes.