Thank you to those who have liked, followed, and reviewed my story! I have the next few chapters written, but I like being ahead of the curve so they will be posted on a weekly basis. If you have any questions please feel free to PM me. I am in my final semester of clinicals for school, (WOOO!) so I will do my best to reply straight away!
Just you all know, eventually we will get to Eric, but it will be a while. Once we are there it will be a slow burn.
Anyways, this chapter is a longer one. So buckle down and enjoy!
"Adriane…." Someone hissed into my ear, I groaned and rolled over. My head pounded when I moved. I winced out of habit from my dorm room days when the light would come pouring in through the window, but then thanked the vampire hotel for being light tight.
I slowly sat up holding my head, "Not so loud…"
"Adriane, do you remember what happened last night?" Beth was sitting on her knees looking at me just to my right.
God, how much did I have to drink last night? I remembered having way too much to drink. We went to a bar just around the corner from the hotel just to make sure it was within stumbling distance. Which we ended up doing just that, Beth wanted me drunk and we were not going to pay for a taxi back to the hotel. We found this little bar that, I think, was more of a club then a bar. I remember clamoring onto the bar and belting out "Honky Tonk, Bedonkadonk" while pulling Beth up to shake our butts together.
"Ugh…yeah…" I don't know how I let Beth get me that drunk. Silently I vowed to never ever, ever, EVER drink that much again.
"It looks like you got a number!" She said pointed towards my face.
"What?" I exclaimed and clamored off the bed and ran towards the bathroom. In the mirror I could see black ink spread across my face. Dear God, I looked like a wreck! My hair was all askew, I didn't wash off last night makeup which was also all over my face. Even my shirt was tugged off to one side. My eyes trailed down my shoulders to my arm. Where I found smeared across my forearm was something that could have once passed for digits melted and smudged across my arms, "I don't remember this!"
"Someone bought us shots after your solo number! You must have had some extra fun!"
"I did karaoke?! I don't remember that! The last thing was us on the bar together. God that's so embracing!"
Beth chuckled, " I don't remember much after that."
"At least we didn't go home with anyone!" I exclaimed, "I just got his phone number."
"Oh, honey, those aren't enough digits to be a phone number. You hit on someone that gave you their hotel room,"
"WHAT?!" I looked down at my arm again to see that she was right, the digits were too few to be a phone number.
"I love it when you get drunk! You loosen up so much and just go crazy!" Beth laughed.
"Okay, okay, Adriane. You didn't go home with him, that's all that matters," I muttered reassuring myself and rubbed my forehead in vain hopes to massage away my headache and memory.
"Alright, let's go downstairs and get something to eat," Beth said still laughing.
"At least let me try and get this off of my face," I begged. I turned on the faucet and began doing my best to scrub the numbers off of my face.
"We should go looking for that room number! Get you laid for once! Maybe you wouldn't be so uptight then!" Beth called from the other room.
"Shut up!"
"I bet he was hot at least! You have really have the best taste in men when you are drunk! You always find the hottest single guy and get his number before any sober girl! I don't know how you do it!"
"SHUT UP BETHANY GREEN!"
"Oooo full name! I love it when you address me that way!"
"I WILL KICK YOUR ASS BETHANY!"
Understandably, I did not want to spend any more time in Nashville then needed. I wanted to stay sober for the remainder of our trip in Nashville, wanting to enjoy it and not remember it for the night I got black out drunk and got some guy's room number. We ended up only staying for one more night to recover from my hangover. The light tight room was perfect for it along with the sound proof walls. It was nice to sleep in a luxurious king sized bed, that you seemed to sink into when you laid down. Compared to the motels we had stayed in during the beginning of our trip down to vampire country.
I felt at peace when it was during the day but at night I was on edge, waiting for someone to tear down the door and eat us. Somehow we did not run into any vampires while staying within their hotel. I thanked our lucky stars that was the case. However, it was mostly because I refused to leave the room at night. I looked forward to us moving onto the next area. Which hopefully would be Louisiana, where we would spend a few days. Then turn around and book it back to Ohio.
"All set?" I asked Beth as she finally finished shoving everything back into her suitcase while we stood in the hotel laundromat. Which I was surprised the place even had, but I guess some of the clientele would stay longer at this place then other hotels.
"Yes," Beth grunted as she sat on top of the suitcase to zip it shut.
"Awesome, let's get moving!" I exclaimed and practically skipped back to the car.
"I can't believe we didn't see one single vampire! This trip has been a disappointment thus far!" Beth threw her baggage into the trunk and slammed it shut. I tossed her the keys as she got into the driver seat.
"Yeah…disappointment."
"Oh, shut up. I know you are at peace that we didn't run into one."
"For all we know we could've ran into one. They just didn't make themselves known."
"Knowing our luck it was probably while we were drunk and they weren't interested in two wasted tourists," Beth turned the key in the engine and the car sputtered to life.
"Most likely," Though, I thought that we would've made us easy targets.
"You know it's not fair! In stories, the protagonist always run into the vampires in the beginning of the story."
"Be grateful we aren't in work of fiction. We would've run into vampires back in Ohio, when they first came out. Then, fallen head over heels and never had this lovely road trip."
"True…So how much longer do we have till we are there?"
"Let's see, according to the map we have around…550 miles."
"That's what? Like eight or nine hours right?"
"Somewhere in there."
"So I say we drive straight through!" Beth exclaimed turning the engine over and putting the car into gear.
"You are the one driving, let me know if you want to switch." I said and started directing Beth toward the highway.
Beth and I switched who drove once we were in Mississippi, from there she gave me directions through Jackson, MI to I-20 into Louisiana. Which would've taken us right to Shreveport. BUT, our car broke down somewhere in Renard Parish. We found ourselves ending up having to call a tow truck.
"I told you we should've taken my car…it had better gas mileage," I grumbled, while I swatted at mosquitoes all around me. It was too hot in the midday heat to sit in a dead car and wait for the tow. Even then we were still baking and grumpy from it.
"Yeah and your car would've broken down just outside of Ohio, at least mine made it this far," Beth retorted.
"How much money do we have left?" I sighed, I didn't know anything about cars but this one was definitely busted if not dead.
"Maybe enough for repairs? We'll be out after that."
"We could call your dad and get him to wire some money down?" I asked.
"I doubt he would do that. He didn't want us going on this trip to begin with. It's just what he wanted…Us breaking down."
"We're going to have to work our way back up there aren't we?"
"We could try calling your parents?"
Before I could answer her, the tow-truck pulled up. I hate to say this but, a large stereotypical mechanic got out of the truck and came over. He had the typical overalls on with a white t-shirt and thick books. He was covered in grease and smelled like oil.
"Ya the girls that called in a tow?" He asked, his southern draw was extremely strong. We were unquestionably close to the middle of nowhere. I watched him as he eyed us, probably pegged us for "city girls".
"Yes sir, it just sputtered and died," I said, trying to be polite and peppy even though I was super tired and cranky.
"Tow will be $200," He stated flatly.
"200?! For a tow! I thought triple A covered it?"
"Sorry sweetie, it's my shop. I'm the one towing ya to the shop. I don't take triple A. And before ya'll go callin' them again. I'm the only one in the area."
I wanted to cry, we were definitely not leaving this area for a while now.
"Okay," Beth stated, she was the one that handled the money for us. She was a freaking math genius. She was even planned on getting her Master's to become an accountant. If we were going to be stuck down here, Beth would be the one to find our way out while she managed the money.
"Where ya two stayin'?" The man asked as he began to hook up the car to the truck.
"We don't even know where we are," I replied.
"Yer just outside of Bon Temps," He replied, "Catfish capital of the south"
"Are there any hotels there?"
"Just motels, not many people stay for long. They are usually just passing through. Much like yourselves I take it," He nodded toward the Ohio state plates on the car.
"Yeah, we were planning on going to Shreveport!" Beth exclaimed, and I shot her a look.
"What are you two going there for?" The man stopped what he was doing to look us over again.
"Oh we were—" Beth started but I quickly cut her off.
"We were going to visit some family!" If my suspicions were correct this was a very conservative town. Just by the way he looked at us a second ago. They wouldn't take kindly for two girls going to some vampire bar that just opened up. Like many rural towns up north, I image the south was no more welcoming of the creatures of the night.
Seeming satisfied with my answer, the man got back to work hooking up the car, "Sisters, eh?"
"No, it's my family that lives out here. My friend just wanted to come along for the ride and keep me company," I gave Beth a look that screamed follow along while his back was turned.
"Yeah, it's a long drive for a girl to do on her own." Beth nodded while she followed my lead.
"Do ya'll wanna call your family?" He asked.
"We were actually planning on surprising them," Beth beamed, she seemed to be really getting into character here.
"Yes," I continued as I gave her a confused look, "We were ahead of schedule by a few days."
"Besides I would like to get a look of this town, Bon Temps," Beth finished.
"Can I make a recommendation for stay?" The man asked.
"Of course!" Beth exclaimed.
"There's a 'nicer' motel in Bon Temps, I can drop ya'll off there before taking yer car in," He replied as he finished the finally hookups and double checked his work. At least he was being nice, he could have made us call a cab to take up to the motel.
"Really? Thank you so much!" Beth exclaimed while she cupped both hands and brought them to her chest.
The drive to the motel wasn't as long as I thought it would take. It was just under a half an hour. The mechanic took our cell phone number and said he would call us sometime tomorrow to let us know what was the matter with the car and the cost. Beth paid him and he was on his way. We checked into the motel room and threw our stuff on the floor and collapsed into the scratchy bed.
"So how much do we have left for repairs?" I questioned Beth over a cup of instant coffee from the few packets by the night stand.
"We have to see how much it costs. Right now we have barely enough to get us back to Ohio."
"If the car is dead?"
"We're stuck down here till we can save enough to get back."
"We're not going to make it back for school in time are we?"
Beth looked at me with sad eyes, telling me exactly what I needed to know. My heart dropped into my stomach. We weren't making back for the fall semester. Pharmacy school would be pushed back until next fall.
"So what is this vampire bar supposed to be like?" I questioned doing my best to not freak out just quiet yet.
Beth looked away from me, like she was guilty of something. It wasn't until she said the following words that I freaked out, "I don't know."
"So you did all this research about the place but never saw pictures?" I replied setting down the coffee onto the night stand.
"The website was under construction; I didn't exactly have a way of looking," Beth stated, "All it said was the address and a 'full website coming soon'."
"So I'm going to possibly ruin my chance of ever becoming a pharmacist, and you don't even know what this place looks like? What if they never let humans in?"
"Don't be ridiculous Adriane. You always have next year. Besides they can't restrict humans like that."
"It doesn't matter Beth. Cause I'm going to ruin my future because you wanted to go to a fucking vampire bar over summer break. We couldn't just go to the one in Cleveland. NO! We had to go to the FUCKING one that was in the middle of FUCKING NOWHERE! Because the one at FUCKING home wasn't the TOP ONE IN THE FUCKING NATION!" I screamed. I don't usually cuss. But in this case I have to make an exception, those words made me feel so much better when I screamed them.
"We might be stuck down here for one semester that's it, it won't ruin your chances."
"Oh yes it will! Because they look at that FUCKING SHIT! I HAVE A FUCKING INTERVIEW SECTION I HAVE TO GO THROUGH TO GET INTO THE SCHOOL! YOU DON'T THINK THEY WON'T ASK WHERE THE HELL I WAS WHEN I WAS MISSING FOR A WHOLE SEMESTER?! OR EVEN WHEN I MISSED MY INTERVIEW"
"Calm down, Adriane. We don't even know what the damage is to the car yet!" Beth replied as she held up her hands to calm me down.
Just as I was about to scream at her again, my phone rang. I took a few breaths to try to calm myself. I let the phone ring a few times before I picked it up.
"Hello?" I asked as nicely as I could in my current state.
"Yeah, uh, is this the girl whose car broke down last night? I never caught your name," Someone said over the other line. He didn't sound like the man from yesterday, but everyone sounds different over the phone.
"Adriane." I specified.
"Isn't that a guy's name?"
"It goes both ways," I ground my teeth as I felt my temper rise again.
"Well, I just wanted to let you know that they engine is blown. We can fix it but you are probably just better off getting another car," The man stated like he didn't even look to see what was wrong.
"Oh," I replied feeling everything melt away. I was truly stuck here. I mean I considered the car being dead, but the reality of it being dead dead was something else. If they didn't want to fix it, something was terribly wrong.
"What's the damage?" Beth asked.
"Engine is blown, we're going to need a new car," I replied covering the microphone then uncovering it again, "Hello?"
"Yes?" The other end replied.
"Thank you for looking, can you give us anything for the car?"
"100."
"But it was 200 for the tow!"
"I'm gonna have a dead car on my lot, that's barely worth anything. Not many people use these foreign cars around here. So it'll be a long time before I can even salvage the parts."
"But 100, sir, we are going to be stuck down here with no way of getting home! Can you at least give us the 200 back?"
"No can do, sweetheart. Call your family in Shreveport, maybe they can help you out," The line went dead.
"MOTHERFUCKER!" I screamed at the phone and threw it at the bed.
"What?" Beth asked.
"They will only give us 100 for the car! That's it!" I screamed. Wanting nothing more than to pull my hair out of my head.
"What?!" Beth yelled back, "We need more!" She wandered over to the bed and plopped down onto it.
"We're stuck down here, with no job, no car, and barely any money."
"What about your parents? I bet they would bail us out? They are both pharmacists they got to have a wad of cash laying around for you?"
"Same as your dad. My parents won't because they didn't want us down here."
"But, you're your parents' little angel! You've never done anything wrong! I'm certain they believe that you only came down because of me!" Beth was starting to sound frantic. It wasn't like her to break down normally that was my job. Which made it my job right now to calm her down.
"It's okay Beth, I'll give them a call and see if they will help us out," I got up and moved to sit next to her. I gently hugged her, and stroked her hair. I knew this would calm her down; it was something her mother used to do to calm her down when we were little. After a minute her breath came back to a normal pace, no longer staggered from her little panic attack.
"Alright, we should get this together soon. Hopefully, they will give you enough to rent a car back."
I stood up and walked over to the bed where I dug through the covers searching for the lost phone I threw. Upon finding it, I scrolled through my contacts till I found my parent's house number. It only took one ring till they picked up.
"Adriane?" My mother's desperate voice peeped over the phone.
"Hey mom, sorry for not calling earlier," I said and pinched the bridge of my nose. I knew the slew of lectures I was about to get in one second. I had promised to call every night. But from yesterday's whole debacle I fell asleep before I could call. I prepared myself for the headache that was going to come.
"We haven't heard from you in 24 hours! You promised you would call every day! We were so worried about you!"
"I'm sorry mom, it's been a hectic over here. Our car died; the thing can't be fixed."
"I told you, that you shouldn't have gone on that trip! I knew this would happen, I knew you would get suck down there! What did I tell you?"
"Mom, please don't do this," I moved my free hand to my temple to start massaging the already pulsating area, "There's no way you knew our car was going to break."
"I knew that something bad would happen! And look, you got stuck!"
"Mom-"
"Now you are going to ruin your chance of getting into pharmacy school! Just like you always wanted!"
"Mom, please don't."
"We should've never pushed you to go into pharmacy! We should have known that you would've found a way to push us away and rebel. Oh I wish you would've just rebelled in high school like your sister!"
"Mom! Stop this please! I'm calling to see if you would help us!"
"Oh that's the only reason why you called isn't it! Only for money!" I heard a grabbled voice next to my mother's. It was hard to make out but it sounded like my dad trying to get the phone from my mom, "Oh you go ahead and talk to her! She won't listen to me!"
"Adriane?" My father's voice came over the phone.
"Dad? Your home?" I questioned.
"Yes I started my vacation," He said calmly.
"I didn't know that you got vacations," I joked. My father was a pharmacy director for a local hospital, with my mother under him. Her dream was one day they would open up their own retail location and we would run it like a family business.
"Only now and again, they are already calling me asking me questions. What do you need dear?"
"Our car is dead. We barely had enough to get back home as is. If we rent a car we definably won't have enough to get home."
"Okay honey, how much do you two need?"
I gave him the amount and he took a second to consider the amount, "Did you call Beth's father?"
"No, but he wouldn't have helped us anyways," It was true, he wouldn't. Beth's dad was in a tight situation. As soon as Beth was of legal age to work, she had a legal part time job, but even before then she worked under the table at various other jobs. Her and her brother helped their father pay the bills in order to live in the suburbs. Which is why she was always good with money.
Dad took a moment to think over what I said. If it wasn't for my mother in the background, I would have made sure we still were connected.
"Adriane, we will not give you any money," Dad finally spoke up.
I felt the blood drain from my face, "Why?"
"Because you purposely defied us. We told you not to go take the trip. It is too close to your interview. Besides vampires are dangerous creatures, you should hear some of the stories your brother, Jake is saying about working downtown. More and more unsolved murders are being opened again because they have been linked to the vampires. I cannot condone you for going to this 'world famous' vampire bar."
"But dad-"
"I don't care if it was Bethany's idea. You made your bed, now you have to sleep in it. I love you, Adriane, but this is a lesson. A hard lesson that you need to learn. Challenging your parent's has penalties. Keep in touch and let us know when you are coming back home," With that he hung up. I set the phone down on the bed stand as I sat on the bed.
"So what is the verdict?" Beth asked, she was much calmer now. She must have thought the conversation went well.
"Looks like we are getting jobs around here. My parents are not going to help," I replied, Beth began to open her mouth, "During that time we are not going to that vampire bar."
There was no room for argument. But Beth would anyways, "But we drove all the way down here!"
"Yes and we had fun along the way. But we have to be focused if we want to get back up north in time for school. Who knows how long it will take to get the rest of the amount to go home."
Beth pouted and crossed her arms as she spoke, "Alright, fine. But where are we going to look for jobs?"
"Some place where it won't make a huge difference if we end up leaving within a few weeks."
"A restaurant?"
"That's a good place to start. I remember you having waited tables before, right?"
"Yeah for a summer before college started."
"Alright, let's call a cab and see where the closest restaurant is."
We got the number for a cab from the person at the front desk of the motel. Who was also kind enough to tell us where the closest restaurant was anyways. She said the name of the place was "Merlotte's".
"I heard they were looking for a server a while ago; I don't know if they still have the position open though." The woman said.
"Okay thanks! Do they have a bar?" I asked, I was pretty good at mixing drinks.
"Yeah, but the owner runs the bar part."
"Oh, thank you anyways!" I exclaimed just as the taxi pulled up.
We climbed in and ask the person to take us to Merlotte's. Which was only a ten-minute drive from the motel, a half an hour walk tops. If at least one of us got a job here it would be perfect.
"We could walk here if we needed to!" Beth exclaimed as we got out and paid the taxi cab driver, "That would save us on fares every day!"
"Let's not get our hopes set on this place just yet," I reminded her.
Merlotte's looked like it fit in a swampy area, with the dark roof and dark green painted exterior. Even the sign made it look like it belonged here in the deep south, almost like a dive bar mixed with a Denny's. But the taxi driver stated it was one of the more popular places to eat, if not the most popular.
"Hopefully they are open for lunch!" Beth exclaimed as she grabbed my arm and practically dragged me inside with her.
"If they aren't I'll be a bit pissed, we wasted a cab fare."
As I was dragged inside I couldn't help but smile at Beth's excitement. She was always the one for an adventure. Ever since we were little, Beth was always getting me into trouble. Now she was doing it again with this trip.
We were noticed just as we entered the restaurant, everyone looked at us strange. We stepped forward and gained the attention of a waitress that just came from the back of the restaurant. She was a petite blonde woman. She seemed friendly enough with a big smile on her face. I can't say I loved the uniforms, the short shorts that barely covered the butt and the tight white t-shirts with a small logo on the breast. The outfit was very much for the men I assumed, as I looked around to see the place pretty much covered in them. This must be Bon Temps version of Hooters. If I were to work here I would not feel comfortable in that.
She took a second to greet us, almost like she had to collect her thoughts on something. But as soon as she did, she had almost like a bounce in her voice something that was very welcoming, "Hey y'all welcome to Merlotte's! Just the two of ya today?"
"Yes, but actually we were looking to speak with your manager? We just got into town yesterday when our car broke down on our way to Shreveport. We were hoping you guys were hiring for some temporary work," Beth quickly said before I had a chance to say anything.
"Oh no, I'm sorry to hear that!" Her apology seemed genuine, "We don't exactly have a manager; but I can do ya one better! Our owner is in his office. I think Sam is looking to hire a hand or two around here. I'll go get him for ya'll!"
The way she walked away was just like her voice, a bounce in her step and her ponytail as she disappeared around the corner near the kitchen window.
"She seemed nice!" Beth exclaimed.
"Yeah, we might actually be able to work here. Not a fan of the uniforms though."
When the blonde came back out, she quickly approached us with a big bright smile, "Sam said he would be out in a minute. Y'all can sit right here and wait for him. Oh and I'm Sookie by the way!" She pointed at the booth right next to the hostess station.
"Well thank you Sookie, I have to say I've never heard that name before!" I said with a smile, her own was very infectious.
"Not many people have," She replied still with a bounce in her voice.
"Is it short for anything?" Beth questioned.
"No, just Sookie," She smiled, "Can I get y'all anything while ya wait for him?"
"I think we are okay for right now, we're a little short on cash at the moment," Beth explained.
"Alright, well holler if ya'll need anything!" Sookie smiled and turned and practically bound away.
"She sure seems happy about something," I said as I watched her walk away.
"Unlike you, some people are just naturally happy," Beth joked.
"Yeah, yeah whatever," I said as I played with the coaster that was left on the table.
Only a few minutes of waiting went by, before a man, I'm assuming Sam, came around the corner.
"Yeowsa," Beth whispered as she eyed the man up and down.
All I could do was lightly backhand her arm before the man came up to us. He was fairly attractive, not exactly my type, a bit old for my taste but still attractive. He had longer unkempt ashy hair, kinda reminded me of a dog with longer wispy fur. These grey blue eyes that seemed to be analyzing us from a far. He had a light 5 o'clock shadow, that was a mix of the same shade of ash as his hair and a bit more of gray. That seemed to give away his age to be a bit, somewhere in his middle to late thirties maybe. He wore just a plain button up blue plaid shirt, some blue jeans that fit just right around the hips, and a pair of brown worker boots. Which seemed to be the style around here, like they were always expecting to be stepping into some mud or something. I could see what Beth was eyeing as he walked over with his shoulders hunched over a bit from his hands being in his front pockets. She always had a thing for the older men. Just as he approached the booth I half stood up.
"Hi, Sookie told me that you two were looking for a position?" He asked with a small smile.
"Yes, I'm Adriane Martinowski and this is my friend Beth Green," I said as I held out my hand.
"Sam Merlotte," He replied as he took my hand and shook it.
Where are these two from, I've never heard their dialect before. They sound a bit Midwestern. Their kinda pretty, they would bring in some more customers. I really could use some help around here, I hope they are looking to stay for a while.
I held onto his hand until he released mine. Something my father always said, you can always tell what type of person someone was by their handshake. A statement that was a bit truer with us. It was only through physical contact, but we could I hear someone's thoughts.
Something that was unique to my family as far as I was aware. Only a few of us could do this: my father, one of my brothers, and myself could do it. My father said that his mother passed it to him, with her grandfather to her. I know the linage goes back farther but to be honest I really didn't care. My father was the one who taught me to control it when I was young. My father claimed with deep concentration you could reach people the physical, but I wasn't interested. Very rarely did someone catch me off guard as is, and I thought listening in to someone beyond first introductions was too much. As I got older, people's thoughts became filthier and filthier. There was no need to listen in on people's personal porn sites.
"Pleasure to meet you Mr. Merlotte!" Beth exclaimed following suit.
"Pleasure is all mine, and it's Sam. So what skills do you two have?" He asked sliding into the booth, sitting across from us.
"Well I used to wait tales during the summer in college," Beth said leaning onto the table and closer to Merlotte, giving him a playful smile.
"Well that's always a plus, we are looking for an extra waitress around here. What about you, what can you do?" He asked.
"I worked at a fast food place for a few years in high school, then I was promoted to shift manager. I helped with counting money, closing paperwork for the store, and prep work for the morning shift. I may not have ever waited tables but I did take orders while still a crew person," I told him as he nodded along. "But if you don't need an extra waitress, I'd be willing to help out with busing, washing dishes and bartending."
"Oh so you two are in school?" Sam asked.
"We just graduated with our bachelors' this summer, we were taking a road trip down south when our car broke down. Now we need the extra cash to get back home," Beth explained.
"So this would be a temporary job?"
"Yes, only for a month or so. I have an interview with a pharmacy school that I need to get to," I interjected.
"How about yourself?" Sam directed at Beth.
"Most likely yes," Beth replied.
Sam looked us over, "I'd say this would be easier if you two weren't planning on filling temporary positions. I was hoping for something more permanent. But Dawn, one of our waitresses, is on vacation at the moment. I wouldn't mind if you, Beth, would fill that position for the time being since you have experience there. This would be till she came back from where ever she went off to, then we can discuss a position from there. "
"Not a problem for me!" Beth exclaimed.
"And I wouldn't mind some help around the bar area. Adriane did you ever do any ordering stock?" Sam asked.
"Yes, I had to cover for the general manager once and a wile when she was on vacation," I replied, trying to sound confident. I wasn't very good at ordering, I always overstocked everything. I was too scared of running out. But maybe here, Sam could teach me the proper way.
"This is one of the only bars/restaurants in town, so we get a high volume of clients at night. A lot of locals. Would you be able to keep up?" Sam asked, narrowing his eyes at me. He was gauging my experience. To tell you the truth, he was making me a bit nervous.
"I bet I could, sir," I replied.
"We'll try you two out for the night then. See how things go. If you do well we can go from there," Sam said standing up, "Are you too available for tonight?"
"Yes sir, we are!" Beth exclaimed.
"Alright, let me see if I can scavenge up a uniform or two for you girls." With that Sam left us at the booth and went around back.
"So what did you get off of him?" Beth asked quietly as she could as soon as Sam was out of earshot.
"Okay, first off don't go checking out the boss before we are hired. And second, he is honest; he is looking for someone more permanent then us. Also I don't think he has never been to the north; he can't tell where we are from. Not that I think Ohioans have much in the way of a dialect anyways." I replied. Beth was the only person that knew about my ability outside of my family. When we were little she found out. Made me swear up and down I would never read her. A promise I've kept. I've never had a desire to read her perverted thoughts anyways.
"Oh come on, we have a slight one. Especially being from Cleveland, we say 'mom' weird."
"What?"
"We tend to insert 'a's into other words, and we tend to draw out the 'a's in other words and make them 'hard a's."
"Hmmm, never thought about it. I guess we'll notice it more now."
"More like they will notice it more."
"You took a linguist class didn't you?"
"Naw, I took and acting class!" Beth exclaimed, singing the work "acting" and dramatically throwing her hand into the air while twisting her wrist, reminding me of an prima donna singing the highest notes in an opera.
"God you are such a dork," I laughed.
"Alright girls, I found two uniforms. I'll get some more if tonight works out. I hope they fit," Sam said appearing out of nowhere and handing us the outfit I didn't want to put on. But I really didn't want to cause a fuss on my first day. Smiling we took them, "The bathroom is in the back, you can change in there."
"Okay, thank you Mr. Merlotte!" Beth smiled at the man, looking up from under her eyelashes. I shot her a look; she was going to do this wasn't she, on our first day nonetheless.
"Please call me Sam, we're a little informal around here." Sam gave her a small smile, "Once you get your uniforms on, look for Sookie. She can show you around. I'll be in the office if you need anything." With that he walked away.
When he was out of ear shot I backhanded Beth's arm again, "Dude! He's our boss, knock it off!"
"He was the one who said it was informal around here," Beth shrugged and smirked at me.
"After you said, 'oh thank you, Mr. Merlotte'!" I said mimicking Beth with over exaggerated her voice breathily and motion of interlocking my hands and brought them to my chest.
"Whatever, I do not sound like that," It was Beth's turn to whack me.
"Come on let's get changed and look for Sookie," I scooted out of the booth and started heading toward the back to find the bathroom.
Once inside I slid into one of the stalls and started to undress and put on the new uniform. It was just as I expected, it barely covered my ass. It was probably covered a bit less than the other girls, since I had a larger rear end. I was a bit more pear-shaped then other girls, having a more bottom heavy frame. The shirt was a bit better thinner than I expected; I kept my black tank top on just so my red bra didn't show through. I didn't want to be known as a slut on my first day here. It fit nicely over my frame, not hugging it like it did Sookie. As I stepped out of the stall I heard Beth complain from the other one, "I can't get the shirt on! My boobs are too big!"
I groaned, unlike me Beth did have generous bosom.
"What size is your shirt?" I asked, praying it was the same size as mine so we didn't have to switch.
"Uh…Its a small!" She called back.
I cursed inwardly, "Hang on a sec, mine's a medium."
"You are the best Adriane!"
"Yeah, yeah," I entered the stall again and tossed her the shirt I was wearing over the stall, as she tossed her's over. I forced the shirt on, which was very tight. It was probably a previous waitress's shirt that was washed a lot and shrunk. When I finally got it on, I looked like a girl from Hooter's. My midriff hung out a bit at the end seeing as the shorts hug my hips tightly.
"Great, I'm going to be popular tonight." I groaned and walked out of the stall.
Beth turned and looked at me, "No you look fine, I think your just not comfortable dressing this way."
The uniform accentuated her features, her long black hair framed her face well, accenting her green eyes, and fell over her front and framing her breasts. As I said earlier she was more blessed in that area then I was. She left her tank top on under her shirt also, but her bra lines could still be seen through her shirt. The black shorts covered her more than myself. The tennis shoes she wore with the outfit made her legs look longer and showed her lightly tanned from her Italian heritage. Compared to her I was a white pasty mess.
"You think?" I asked sarcastically.
"You'll get a lot of tips tonight!" Beth winked.
I just gave her a look that told her to shut it, "Let's just go find Sookie."
We wandered out front to find Sookie by the bar filling up a red plastic cup with Coke.
"Hey! You guys look great! Sam told me to show you around! I'm so excited that ya'll are going to work here! Ready to get to it?" She smiled, damn her smiles were infectious instantly perking me up for the first night on the job.
"As ready as we can be!" Beth replied.
"Alrighty, let me get this to the customer and I'll be right back to show ya around," She quickly walked away to deliver the drink.
She was only gone for a split second, once she returned she showed us where everything was. From where the clean cups were to the numbering of the tables. Sookie made sure to leave nothing off the list, making her one of the best trainers I have had for a job.
"Sam said you were going to be mostly at the bar right?" Sookie directed the question at me, "And I'm sorry, remind me your name again."
"Adriane and yes, that is what he said," I replied.
"Alrighty Adriane," Sookie repeated my same and seemed to do repeat it in her head too, "Here's all the liquor. If we run out there's some in Sam's office but you should ask him about it before you grab more. Okay?"
"Not a problem, these are all the different types of pop you have? Where do you keep the pop boxes if one runs out?" I asked.
"All of our sodas are in the back, I'll show you in a minute where we keep them," She said giving me a weird look for calling it "pop" and emphasized the "soda".
We got to work and the job was surprisingly easy. Drink orders were rather simple, nothing over the top girly mixed drinks. Mostly beers and straight liquor. When the first bottled beer order came in, I went for the small fridge next to all the hard liquor. The fidge had a solid door, when I reached inside to grab the beer, I found something that surprised me.
"We keep TruBlood?" I asked Arlene, the red headed waitress. Arlene had shown up late claiming her kids kept her from being on time. Sam brushed it off easily, telling her to call next time. Making it seem like she must pull that one a lot.
"Yeah, Sam bought some when it first came out. No one has ordered it yet, I hope we never have one of their kind in here…you know…vampire?" Arlene whispered the word "vampire" as if anyone could hear here in this place. It was starting to speed up for the dinner rush.
"Yeah," I just said and handed her the bottled beer after opening it. I had no desire at this point to meet any vampire. The whole trip was a bust, all I wanted to do was get home as quick as possible. Go to school and be done with it.
"By the way you are doing a great job keeping up. Have you done this before?"
"No I haven't, and don't jinx me just yet!" I laughed, "I served a lot in college."
"Oh honey I wouldn't worry about that." Arlene said sweetly and walked away with her order.
The rest of the shift went smoothly, and before I knew it the night was over. We followed Sookie's and Arlene's lead with the prep work for the next day. Which really just consisted of refilling bottles and shakers, placing coasters, and wrapping silverware.
"You guys did a great job today! I don't see why Sam wouldn't hire both of you!" Sookie exclaimed with that big smile. If I ever get out of here, that will be one of the few things I remember about her.
"Thanks Sookie," I said with a smile, "It's really nice to hear that. I was rather nervous, but these people drink liquor like I do, straight."
Sookie laughed, "I'll help you with the specialty drinks. We don't have a lot but they are super easy to remember."
I went to pick up one of the shakers and accidently brushed Sookie's hand as she reached for the same one. My eyes went wide as I felt a pulse of electricity come off of her skin. A surge of power ran through my body and I quickly pulled my hand away. I looked at Sookie and she seemed to have the same reaction I did. Even though it was just a split second I saw all of her thoughts that she had for the night, everything she heard from the others around her. She could hear their thoughts without having to touch them, like my father but better than he ever claimed.
"What was that?" Sookie asked as she looked at her hand.
"I don't know," I replied watching her warily, "You can hear other's thoughts?"
"How did you know that?" She asked quickly.
"I saw it when we brushed skin, you're a telepath." I whispered, knowing that others don't like their skills advertised.
"You are too right? I think I felt that."
"Only through physical touch, but you have so much power coming off of you. You can do it without physical contact." I was in shock by this. I never met anyone with similar abilities as my family.
"Wow, I've never met anyone like me!" Sookie exclaimed, she went to reach for my hands but stopped herself when I backed away a bit. That electricity was terrifying, I could feel how much power she had and I wanted nothing to do with it. I did not need to be shocked again.
"Like you how?" Sam asked appearing around the corner.
"Adriane's a telepath!" Sookie pointed at me.
"Woah! I really don't like advertising it!" I interjected, shocked that she just how easily she gave away a huge secret of mine. Beyond Beth and my family no one knew. Dad always wanted us to keep it a secret, something that was engraved into my brain. Giving that kind of information to Sam made the base of my spine tingle. It wasn't a good idea to tell anyone.
"You found one of your own, Sookie, that's pretty amazing," Sam said, "So you can hear thoughts?"
"Only through physical contact," I repeated, "I really don't like talking about it."
"Secrets are hard to keep around here," Sookie smiled.
"I'd really appreciate it if you kept this to yourself. I really don't like using it," I replied shortly hoping to get my point across.
"You told them, Adriane? That was quick, it took you until third grade to tell me," Beth appeared out of nowhere, "I'm kinda hurt."
"It happened on accident," I stated, "I wasn't planning on sharing that part of me with anyone."
"We can keep it quiet, Adriane. It's safe with us. Just finish up your work here and go home for the night. I'll see you two tomorrow afternoon," Sam nodded and walked off. He wasn't the least bit shocked to find out, must be because of Sookie being a telepath.
"Okay you two are coming over to my place tonight so we can talk about this," Sookie stated simply.
"I really don't like talking about it," I repeated.
"You can wash your uniforms while over, I know Sam only gave you one for now," Sookie stated.
There was no room for argument, there wasn't a washing machine at the motel. We didn't have a choice. I grumbled and finished up the prep work for the next day. We found ourselves at Sookie's grandma's house within the hour. She shushed us as we crept inside, as to not wake her grandmother. Once we were safe inside her room, did she start bombarding me with questions.
"How long have you had this? Mine showed up when I was little," Sookie said.
"Well it happened when I was in preschool, which is when my father pulled me from school till I was able to control it," I tried summarizing it up as best as I could without saying too much. My father always warned me about only telling people you trust. I don't think Sookie would do anything with this knowledge but I didn't trust her just yet.
"Your dad pulled you? So he can do this too?"
"Yeah, so does my brother. My other sibling didn't get that gene. It's been known to skip generations," I stated.
"Why can I do it without needing to touch anyone? I mean the physical contact always strengthens it, but why do you have to have physical contact?"
"I don't know, that's just how it works," I said simply. My father always told me it took practice and a lot much energy to do it without physical contact. It would drain you of everything you had, he could barely do it and he has been training for years.
After being cornered into telling Sookie just about everything about my powers, I avoided bringing up the rest of my family and their skills. Some of them had a stronger skillset than I. But, she really didn't need to know everything about them. I think she was polite enough to stay out of my head. We were up till the wee hours of the morning before Sookie let up. The sun was just about to rise.
"Well we should be heading to bed, we only got a few hours till we gotta be at work. So let's get to bed, Gran will make breakfast for us in the morning," Sookie said with a yawn.
"Wait you want us to stay over? I don't want to feel like were intruding. Our motel is only a little it away from here," I quickly said before Beth fell asleep.
"And have you take a cab? It will take at least an hour for it to get here, let alone the half an hour to get there? If you walked it will take twice as long, and you would never get to bed once you got there. Go ahead and sleep here, it's really okay for you to stay," Sookie said while covering her mouth to stiffen a yawn.
I couldn't argue with that, as she tossed us a few pillows and blankets. I really didn't need one with this southern summer heat but it sure felt nice to be a little extra warmth against the cool floor. I really wasn't adjusting to this southern heat that well. I was used to it running around 75 degrees in the summer, not this 90 degrees with humidity.
Even thought the floor was uncomfortable I was able to fall asleep within minutes. The amount of energy Sookie shot off into me had the opposite effect then I would have expected. I wasn't used to that amount of energy given off by Sookie, there was no way for me to release it so it drained my own energy trying to control it. Every person I ever touch gives off some small amount of energy, but Sookie gave off a tidal wave of energy from a simple brush of skin. She had exhausted me.
I hope you all enjoyed! Please review! Thank you!