A/N: Okay, here's an (overdue) update, but I'm not very happy with it. I really feel 'out' of this story now, and really need help in the form of reviews.
"Right and that's an…'Everlasting Summer?'" Danielle was quite happy at the rate she was absorbing the information being thrown at her from Ronnie and Dawn. Ronnie was certainly doing her no favours. In fact, for a fraction of a second, Danielle wondered if the club brought out Ronnie's darker side. It was obvious she was very passionate about her business, and Danielle was determined to keep her promise to Jack. She didn't want to let anyone down.
"Good. Right, what goes into a Piña colada?" Ronnie was ever so proud of Danielle. She couldn't understand how so much of her life had slot somewhat into place within one week. Sure, her and Danielle still had a long way to go, but the fact that Danielle seemed to be opening up meant that work would no longer be a meaningless necessity of life, but rather an opportunity to get that much closer to becoming a figure in Danielle's life.
"um…Rum…" Danielle punched the bar top with her finger as she listed each ingrident, but was soon disturbed.
"Ronnie can I have a word please." A smartly dressed man popped his head around the office door.
"Not now Jack, I'm busy." Ronnie was quite annoyed Jack was even here and her dismissive look confirmed it. It was a Saturday afternoon, there was no need for him to be here until a few hours later. Dawn had only agreed to meet Ronnie here early on the agreement that she could have the following Saturday off to celebrate her birthday.
"It'll only take a minute…"
Ronnie sighed heavily, making sure that Jack picked up on her irritation. She rose from the bar stool as she spoke. "I'll only be in the office if you need me Danielle. Keep up the good work." Once she was sure Danielle was okay, she left and entered the office.
"I'm glad there's actually someone working here who I can get talk to now. It's boring on your own behind the bar." Dawn smiled to Danielle as she wiped the bar top.
"Do you not get along with the others?"
"Oh it's not that. It's just, you know, there a bunch of immature kids. At least now I'll have someone to have a good ol' girly gossip with eh." Dawn patted Danielle's shoulder before putting on a more serious face.
"Right, so this till then, what do you do after entering the sale prices?" She squinted at Danielle, confident that the girl would produce a satisfactory answer.
"Um.., I press return, then enter the cash amount or push the credit card in, and read off the amount of change I owe if paid by cash." Danielle spoke in a monotone, quiet voice, as if reading out of a manual, uncertainty clearly audible in her voice.
Dawn smiled. "That's right; just remember that it can get quite busy towards the end of the week, so it makes it easier for you if you can calculate the change on the way over to the till. That way, you just need to glance up to the screen to make sure you've got it right instead of staring at it. It just saves time and lessens the pressure"
Danielle's eyes widen with fear.
"Oh don't worry about it honestly. Knowing where the coins are becomes second nature after a week or two, and don't think Ronnie's gonna leave you alone. We've agreed that one of us will be working with you on all your shifts for at least a month. And anyway, I'm sure you'll have more in common with the other guys than myself. All I ever talk about is Summer's teething issues and Garry's annoying habbits."
Danielle smiled. It touched her to think Ronnie was thinking about her, and she was very excited at the prospect of working with her. She had two and a-bit weeks to get into shape, although she knew how mercyless the job could be on a Saturday night.
"Danielle, can I ask you somehting?" She didn't hessitate for a response. "Look, I know it's none of my beezwax, but what's the deal with you and Ronnie? I mean that whole thing at Peggy's wedding? Are they still together?" Dawn's eyes had widened as she lowerd her voice. She was obviously pleased that she would be the first one to hear of the latest gossip to hit the sqaure.
Danielle turned around and pretended to look busy. In the end, everyone was the same, their pathetic little lives ellivated with other people's misfourtunes.
"Let's just say their was a misunderstanding okay? I don't know where Mr Mitchell's got to" She lowered her voice even furhter, so much so that her lips hardly moved as she mumered to herself, "and really I couldn't care less…"
"Look I'm sorry… really…me and my big mouth Danielle… I'm really sorry, just ignore me…"
"No, it's fine. I know everyones been talking about it, I should've handled it better i guess. I'm sorry I couldn't provide the juicy details you were hoping for…"
Meanwhile back in the office
"Jack what do want now?" Ronnie was looking very impatient, and her stomach felt like it was going to explode. She now fully realised why Peggy called it a feast-for-lunch.
"Look, we both know that out financial situation… Well, you know we're in some trouble. But…" he sighed and took a seat at his desk, leaving a very edgy Ronnie looking on. "…With the Lantern contract coming through, as well as the Student's bash next week, according to these figures we can be back on track in a couple of months. Although it's essential we keep our belts tight Ronnie. We pay Danielle minimum wage whilst she's training on the job, and then from there we can raise it to equal the others. Sound fair?"
Ronnie feared that her daughter might feel she was being taken advantage of, especially after being offered a lower income compared to the other staff, but she knew this was not worth arguing about. "Fine, as long as long as she's happy."
Jack watched Ronnie take a seat and play with her fingers.
"I can't believe it Jack. She's been here all this time." Ronnie felt tears prix her eyes, surprised that she was openly discussing her thoughts to Jack. She hastily rose from her chair, wiped her eyes and left the office.
"Wait Ronnie, talk to me, Jack exclaimed. He looked on at the door Ronnie had just walked through; amazed that she was opening up to him, but worried that she felt it wrong of her to show how she felt.
As Ronnie barged through the double doors, her eyes scanned the club for her daughter. "Danielle" Where had the girl got to? Had something happened? Was Dawn pressuring her? Why would she leave? Ronnie raced around to the other side of the bar, "Danielle!" Her voice revealing more of her anxiety.
"We're over here Ronnie!" Dawn lifted her head from the DJ's decks. Danielle was wearing pair of large headphones. With her eyes closed, her hands pressed tightly against the pads, she mindlessly swayed away. She was evidently unaware of her 'boss's' presence. Ronnie couldn't help but stare at Danielle. She looked unbearlibly cute with the headphones, clearly too big for her as almost both sides of her face was covered, her little hands struggling to stop them slipping off.
"Ronnie!," Danielle panicked, not noticing that Ronnie was smiling. She couldn't believe she'd let Dawn bring her here She should have been practising her cocktails, not listening to music.
"You can DJ too? You never mentioned that in your interview." Ronnie approached her two bar staff. The offending one relaxed a little as she carefully returned the equipment to its rightful place.
Ronnie's face dropped slightly, her nerves rising above the happy exterior. Her heart beat became noticeably higher. No one had ever had such an affect on her.
"Well ladies, I was wondering if you guys fancied an ice-cream from that new place down the road? Then maybe a DVD back at mines?" Ronnie didn't want to have to bid Danielle farewell for the day, but inviting her to her flat alone would only push the teenager further away. Inviting Dawn was Ronnie's way of meeting in the middle.
Dawn was shocked at Ronnie's cross between professional and personal. She knew that Ronnie was a business minded woman, rarely taking the time to befriend anyone, employee or not. She seemed to treat her staff as material objects rather than people. There seemed no need to be affable or to create conversation. No. Employees were paid for their services to the club, and that was it. As much as Ronnie wasn't ever cruel to Dawn, she wasn't Mother Teresa either. "Oh… um, well I've gotta get back to Summer. I promised the boys I'd be back before the game started. You girls have fun though." The atmosphere had too drastically changed, and there was only one thing on Dawn's mind after the sensetive moment with Danielle moments ago. Skedaddle!
Ronnie watched as Dawn scurried away. Her chances were blown; there was no way Danielle would want to…
"Okay, but it's my treat" Danielle smiled up to Ronnie, whose face turned from the direction Dawn has scarpered to reveal a growing grin, accompanied by a large sigh of content. Danielle had to admit, Ronnie was making an effort. Supprisingly, she didn't actually feel this was all going too fast. The idea of spending even more time with Ronnie seemed so naturally right. The pain Ronnie had caused was still there, still needing a constant push to the back of her mind but somwhow, with the aid of a bizare derivation of some complex forumle, logic argued that not everything was aimed specifically at her. Ronnie's previously spoken words stung just as much as they did back then, but they would never seem as natural as the words now heard, indicating Ronnie's efforts to be with her.
A/N: Wow, I've been out of this for so long now, I'm not sure if the last part was out of character. It would help if you guys could help me get back into this;