Disclaimer: I do not own death note or its characters blah blah blah
AN: read the AN on the bottom for bingo stuff if you get confused.
Suggested Listening: I Think I Will by Faith Hill
~Part 1~
Mello couldn't believe his luck; he was stuck at the casino.
Now normally that wouldn't be a bad thing, the slots, the money and the entertainment and all that, but he was working. And that was no fun. Especially as he was stuck in the bingo hall with all those rich bastards looking to make more money that they didn't need as well as those lazy old people who had nothing better to do on a Saturday evening than waste what little money they had in savings. But that wasn't even the entire problem.
Oh no, not in the least.
Mello was stuck doing more than one job as well as a double shift. They were understaffed and had gathered a larger crowd than expected. So not only was he expected to help out with the crappy little bingo hall food shop, the Lucky Star, he was also expected to sell the bingo game Specials, Early birds and otherwise as well as any other sets that were stuffed into that hideous outfit which was nothing more than a glorified black apron; he was required to wear a long sleeved blue shirt, his name tag pinned on the collar, and the poncho like apron that held all the extra bingo packets and specials. Its ties were on the sides and he was swamped in it; they hadn't gotten the requested shipment of backup clothing so what he wore wasn't exactly the required attire.
But what irritated him, as he collected his stack of bingo papers, was none of the previous were even the job he was being paid for!
No, he was actually one of the announcers. But he wouldn't actually start until the second half of the game after the intermission and animal game; which was merely one lucky person who got to go up to the stage and choose a stuffed animal with an envelope attracted, one that contained various monetary prizes.
He sighed, a chunk of blond hair falling into his eyes, as he stepped out onto the main floor to start his 'extra' work. God he loved his job. So much that he'd be terribly sad if it burned to the ground.
He looked for the person whose hand was up closest to him and walked over already sensing they were gong to be a problem. And he had been right. They complained loudly about the prices being different than before.
"I'm sorry sir, but I can't do anything about the price change." Mello stated blandly with a smile that suggested he was hardly sorry. The man in front of him wasn't amused and said he wanted the manager or person in charge.
"Alright. I'm sure they will be with you shortly." though Mello knew they had other things to do so that person would just have to sit there and stay angry, he didn't care one way or another so long as he didn't have to deal with him again.
"Ingrate." he muttered, walking away. He couldn't stand people like that and silently hoped the man didn't win anything, such an asshole.
He walked to the next person, who only wanted a small set, and was pleased by the tip they gave him. They could keep any tips given to them though they were few and far between.
The next few people took their time in getting out their money and he smiled patiently at the grumpy people waiting just the table over. It wasn't as though he could he in two places at once and help them too.
He couldn't wait until he was done with all of that, so he could finish off his hellish second shift and sleep for the rest of the day.
"Hey Blondie, I need a quickie!" someone yelled from his left. It was a redhead wearing goggles with a cigarette dangling from his lips and a Nintendo DS in his hands. Mello pointedly ignored him as the person he was currently helping chuckled in amusement. Quickie indeed.
He made the redhead wait for a few minutes before reluctantly walking over to him seeing as no one else selling the extras where in that area. "What can I get for you?" he asked despite the previous call for quickies. It wad required.
"I need a full set with quickies and I need three more of the Bananza's."
"That will be $35." Mello told him as he reached into the pockets to gather the requested items. He hated looking inexperienced but he honestly didn't know where half the things were.
"The quickies are in the top left pocket. Are you new here, I haven't seen you before?" the redhead glanced up at him just as Mello found the quickies in that pocket.
"No. This isn't my actual job; they are shorthanded today." Mello replied and took the $40 that was held out to him. He went into the pouch to retrieve the change but a gloved hand on his stopped him.
"Keep the change blondie." the redhead told him before going back to his game. Mello was surprised; that was the highest tip he'd earned that entire day.
"Thank you." he muttered quietly. He got about ten steps away before he turned around. "My name is Mello, not blondie!"
He smirked at the redhead's surprised look but after that quick glance continued to walk away. Mello didn't pay anymore attention to him after that, being busy finishing off the bingo extras in his apron and then rushing around taking food requests and delivering them to the customers.
It was a pain in the ass as he had to find the right foods on the cart; some were buried at the bottom and others had been marked wrong. It was a nightmare, and he was going to tell his boss where to shove it if she asked him to work food again. He was a caller and nothing more.
Mello was more than relieved when it came time for the games to start, that meant he was on break until intermission. Or so he'd thought until boss told him that bitch Amanda hadn't showed up for work or called in sick, she had simply not come in. Meaning that until the other employee that had been called in got there, Mello would be calling the numbers.
For all of the games.
Mello was less than pleased. In fact he wasn't sure there was an adequate word to describe the ire he felt at that moment.
So that was how he found himself seated on the stage and yanking out the bingo balls and entering them into the computer as he called them out. Sure he was comfortable with his job, but that didn't mean he wasn't tired. On the upside, it meant he could leave earlier.
Mello did everything at his usual pace and for once no complaints of 'speed it up' or 'quit talking and call the numbers' were yelled. He might have been tempted to chuck the balls at them otherwise.
But despite being in a bad mood and relatively exhausted, he liked his job better than most people. He didn't have to go about and clean everything, or at least he better not have to, and there was no heavy lifting or cooking.
As intermission came and went, Mello still ended up being there, as per policy there had to be two of them on stage at a time if possible. And should he leave there would only be one. Mello thought that he might just kill Amanda the next time he saw her, on the upside he was now getting paid even more for his extra hours there.
The other guy, some new hire on from a rival casino, took over for him as he took a fifteen minute break. Mello stretched his arms above his head the moment he was in the bathroom, his joints stiff from the long hours.
Mello felt his shoulder pop before he heard it and winced as the tenseness was relieved. It left the muscles around it feeling weak and strained. He made a note of going to the gym sometime that week to remedy it.
With a small sigh he turned the water on, letting it run for a few seconds before dipping his hands under it to splash his face. He really was tired. He looked at his face, dripping wet, in the mirror and frowned at his bloodshot eyes. Shaking his head he dried himself off and turned around, nearly right into the body standing behind him.
"Sorry- oh it's you." Mello muttered, eying the redhead from earlier.
"Hello gorgeous." came the happy reply.
Hello gorgeous? Mello thought to himself. Who the hell even said that anymore? Besides it being a horrible line...
"In case you haven't noticed, I'm a guy." Mello stated dryly with a wave towards his crotch. He wasn't in his leather, so he supposed it was an honest mistake, though it still irritated the hell out of him.
"Oh I know that. You're still gorgeous though, for a guy. I would have called you pretty but you seem the type to hit someone over that." the redhead said with a shrug.
"You're right, I would." and perhaps it was too bad that he hadn't said it, it might have made Mello's day just a little better to have hit him. As it were though, despite still being on break he wasn't about to spend it in the bathroom.
He didn't get far though, when he tried to move passed the redhead in stripes.
His arm was grabbed gently and he was pulled against the other's chest, he didn't even have time to struggle as a pair of slightly chapped lips were pressed to his own; nicotine and chocolate mixing.
He sucked in a breath, as much as he could, and froze at the tongue that probed his lips. The redhead pulled away and was out of the bathroom with a wave just as suddenly as he had appeared leaving Mello to stand there in shock.
Mello blinked heavily for a few moments before touching his lips, as though reaffirming he hadn't been dreaming.
"What the hell was that...?" he whispered, though no one else was around to hear him.
-End part 1-
AN: OK, I started this after going to casino bingo with some people I know and it seems I really only ever have motivation to write this after I've been to bingo XD. I just recently went so I've got a few chapters out. But for the moment I just want to see what everyone thinks of this. And no it won't completely take place in the bingo hall, though it does play into the fic.
And thanks to DiabolicaJeevas for giving this a once over to make sure I didn't miss anything….
Review?
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Not sure how many have played bingo (and its been a good 11 years since I've gone to a residential bingo place with my parents so I don't remember if it's the same there) so I'll just give some REALLY quick explanations. If you look you can probably find easier ones online.
Early Birds: pre normal and special games, small set comes with admission but one can buy them separately later on.
Quickies: a small one card game, only blackout (full card blackout bingo, meaning card MUST be filled before bingo can be called. Usually done after the Early Bird games are completed)
Bananza: you are given one to start with when you buy the admission package, and can buy as many as you want from the people selling Sets and the like on the floor. They are sold by card, for a dollar each. (usually told not to buy too many as the Bananza is the LAST game of the day/night and for the jackpot prize, but it's also a blackout game so it's fast pace)
Sets: Large or small sets of the bingo cards. If you buy a small set its one strip of three cards, and a large set is… larger. XD I have no idea how many cards as I only buy the small set Specials so I'm used to the three cards.
Specials: you can forgo bying them as they are extra games, usually with higher winning amounts, that are sold only on the floor and in large or small sets. Price obviously depends on which you buy, you can also buy your Quickies along with them.
Admission set: comes with all the regular games and no extras. How much it costs depends on the day. Can range from $10 to $200 admission.
