Chapter 1: Welcome To Manchester
"You realize that this is a one-time shot deal, right?"
She nodded.
"And that this is permenant, right?"
She nodded again. "Are you trying to talk me out of it?"
She asked.
"Nah," Zell shook his head and began his work, causing
the young lady to flinch invoulentary. "I'm just making sure
you know what's going on."
The girl nodded once more, relaxing in the leather chair on her
stomach and closing her eyes, taking in the smell of the tattoo
parlor.
The small shop was downtown in Manchester, among the other various
shops and markets, sitting on a corner at 68th and Remmington.
Zell was the only owner and employee of the store, which was how
he really liked it. He knew he could make more money if he employeed
more people - any people - but he liked not having to work with
anyone else.
The shop was a gift from an old friend who had died recently,
his dad's friend. Both his parents died when he turned 18, but
his dad's friend still kept in touch, making sure Zell was doing
well on his own. When the old man had died, he'd left the small
building on the corner to Zell in his will. Zell was actually
pretty lost on what to do with the building, but he put some work
into it, and turned it into his favorite hobby - tattooing.
He paused for a moment in his work to change the ink, and ran
a hand through his blond hair, which was spiked up in the front
into various spikes, and sighed. He had been about to close shop
when the young girl had shown up and asked for a lion tattoo on
her right shoulder blade. Zell had agreed and was now decorating
her back with a lion body in tan, red, and black.
"So, why're you getting this?" Zell asked. He knew well
enough that people coped with the slight stinging sensation best
by taking it off their mind.
"I'm a Leo," she explained, taking in a deep breath
the calm herself.
"Mmm," Zell replied, concentrating on some particular
detail hear the face of the lion. "So, what's your name?"
The girl chuckled lightly, trying to smile. "You're not hitting
on me, are you?"
"Of course not," Zell replied. "It helps if you
concentrate on other things, and I'm trying to get you to talk
to me."
"Ah," was her response.
"So . . . what's your name?"
"Nikki."
"That's a nice name."
"I'm glad you think so. My boyfriend didn't."
Zell smiled, and stopped to change ink. "I'm sorry to hear
that."
The girl shrugged, then apoligized. "Sorry . . . I know I'm
not supposed to move."
"That's alright. I wasn't doing anything at the moment."
Zell changed from tan to black ink. "Do you want it outlined
in black?"
"Umm . . . yea. Do it." Nikki replied.
Zell nodded, finished changing the ink, and set to work.
It was near 8:00 p.m., but he knew the coffee shop a few blocks
up the street was still open, so he set off to get a drink.
The air was slightly cold, and Zell tugged his leather jacket
closer to his slim yet muscular frame, shivering. The winter season
was over, but the air still held onto the chill temerpatures.
He exhaled, watching his breath curl up into the air like smoke
and he grinned. It didn't take much to entertain him, he mused
to himself.
When he reached the shop, he tugged the door open and stepped
inside, gasping slightly at the wave of warm air that hit him,
and listening to the little bell on the handle jingle to announce
his presence. He wandered into the shop and made his way through
the tables up to the counter where one of his best friends stood
at the register.
"Hello, welcome to The Bronze, may I take your order?"
Zell rolled his eyes. "Cute, Quisty."
"What?" Quistis Trepe looked innocent and grinned at
Zell. "I'm under contract to say that to every cutomer that
walks through the door. That includes you." She paused before
looking at him. "You're ordering, right?"
"Yea," he sighed. "Give me a coffee, two scoops
sugar, cream, yada, yada, the usual."
Quistis grinned again. She pulled out a pen and paper, and wrote
small coffee, sugar (2), cream, yada, yada. She glanced
up at Zell with a wolfish grin before turning around and and getting
his coffee. Zell put down exactly $1.45 on the counter - he'd
made this order before - and sat down at 'his' table, which was
against the west wall, in the middle. He leaned the chair back
against the wall and watched Quistis come around the counter and
sit at his table, placing his coffee in front of him.
"So, how're you doing?" Quistis asked, stirring her
hot cinnamon tea and taking a sip.
"Not bad," Zell replied, stirring his coffee and taking
a sip and grinning. "Geez, you're good at this."
"Did I get it right?" Quistis asked, raising eyebrows
questioningly.
"Yep," Zell grinned and took another sip. "I come
here too often."
"Or I know you too well," Quistis added, grinning. She
took a sip and sighed, lapsing into silence as Zell looked around
the coffee shop.
The walls were white, with a burgandy lining framing everything.
Tables covered the floor from the door to the counter near the
back, complete with four chairs to every square table. Each table
was covered with a white-and-burgandy colored tablecloth, the
corners of the cloth taped under the table with scotch tape. The
counter was burgandy with two registers and a few pads of paper,
along with pens and a 'Take A Penny, Give A Penny' cup. Behind
the counter, the menu was lit up on the wall, declaring the costs
and discounts available, along with all the meals and sides. A
door led to the back, where the food was cooked and coffee was
brewed. The room smelled of coffee and vanilla, partly due to
the vanilla Plug-In oil freshener in the outlet near the counter.
"Mmm, penny for your thoughts," Quistis asked taking
another sip.
"I was just thinkin'," Zell replied, shrugging. He took
another sip and sighed. "I have to pay rent pretty soon.
I'm wondering where the money will come from."
Quistis looked concerned. "Haven't you had people coming
in to get tattooed?"
"Well, yea, but I'm wondering how I'll pay rent along with
getting myself fed."
"Hehe, I see." Quistis grinned. "Hey, I have an
idea." Quistis stood and wandered over to the counter. She
lifted herself up onto the counter, lying on her stomach, and
fumbled under the counter, pulling out her purse. She walked back
over to the table and pulled out a card from her purse.
"I need another roommate," Quistis explained, handing
the card for the apartments she lived in over to Zell. "They're
raising costs again, and me and Selphie can't cover it all."
Zell nodded, eyes running over the card as he read in the information.
He'd been to her apartment once or twice before, but he didn't
remember it very well.
"You could break lease and move in with us. With the combined
income, we can cover the rent and still have enough for food."
"Sounds good. This is only a few blocks away. I could walk."
Quistis nodded. "Then we're good?"
Zell grinned, tucked the card into his back pocket, and took a
sip from his coffee, and sighed. "Yep."
"Cool. You can start moving in whenever you like."
"How about tomorrow?"