Everyday I'm Hustlin' {Ator}

[Antonia M. DeLuca]

When you wanted something, you just took it. You walked in, demanded it, and didn't take no for an answer. How else were you going to make it happen? Toni lived her life with that creedo most of time. She walked into most situations expecting to get what she needed, and more often than not, managed it. Her new job was the perfect example. If there was one thing that Toni had learned in her travels , it was that a job in the service industry- specifically the service of peddling booze to random guys- was always a safe bet. With tips pouring in, she usually ended up making more there than any other option. Excluding the one time she decided to working a strip club in Helsinki- though her 'dancing' looked more like a someone receiving electroshock therapy, and she'd ended up decking more than one patron.

The point was, since that was clearly no longer a viable option, clubs, bars and pubs were always the way to go. Pubs, as an added bonus, meant she could roll in wearing her normal outfit of shorts and converse and what ever t-shirt looked clean, rather than having to totter around in staggering heels and short skirts. Yes, a pub was the way to go, and when she'd walked into the pub downtown, she knew she was going to walk out with a job, regardless of if they were looking. A drink or two as well, but mostly a job. And not to be disappointed, she'd had a few beers with the manager, flirted a bit, then casually suggested that he hire her to wait tables. She'd expected to have to push a little more, but quite serendipitously, he'd lost his previous waitress, and now she was running five minutes late for her first shift.

“Shit, shit, shit” muttering to herself, Toni quickly jerked her head, looking both ways before darting across the street, narrowly avoiding getting hit by a car. She distractedly flipped off the diver before walking into the pub. She pushed her short hair back from her face, letting out a little puff of breath as she checked the time on the clock over the bar. Only 7 minutes. Really it could have been a hell of a lot worse. She looked around the place, dimly lit, plenty of little dark corners, old wood bar, it even had the required little old men smoking and drinking pints, it just looked so damn English. All it really needed was a kind of grizzled old man behind the bar, wearing some ol' timey hat and dispensing wisdom with every glass of whiskey. Dark eyes traveled to the bar, her eyebrows quirked up at the man standing behind it. Well, not exactly old and grizzled, but she could definitely roll with that.

She slipped her fitted jean jacket off, slinging it over her arm as, with a grin on her face, she went towards the bar. She slipped onto on of the stool, her feet dangling from the ground. Resting her elbows on the bar top, she tapped her hand on the wood. “Jesus, who's a girl gotta screw around here to get herself a beer?” she said, her voice carrying across the bar. Her eyes fell onto the bar tender and her smirk grew. “ And please tell me the answer is you, because I am so OK with that sweetheart.” She chuckled, easily amused by her own statements. She didn't wait for a response before she slid off the stool and made her way behind the bar.

She wadded up her jacket and shoved it under the bar, and hopped up onto the back counter, the heels of her shoes rapping against the cooler in a staccato pattern, making herself completely at home and giving her the added bonus of not having to look up at the man, something she always tried to avoid. “Hey. I'm Toni. First night on. ” she said with a nod in the direction of the bartender. “Just got hired this afternoon by..... ah shit... I already forgot his name. That's probably not a good sign, huh? Eh,, whatever, I'll come up in conversation or something sometime I'm sure. That manager guy... or owner? Maybe it was just a regular. Point is, I'm the new waitress. ” she barrelled on, answering questions no one had asked. “FYI- the drink request was legit, just in case you were interested. Whatever you have on tap here. I suppose I should figure out what that is. ” she mused, jumping down from her perch and examining the taps, frowning at the selection. She knew, logically, that the rest of the world considered American beer to be a step of piss most of the time, but god, some days she would kill for just a regular ol' Coors.

[Ator Nixon]

It was just one of those days. He knew it from the moment he woke up. The alarm buzzed loudly, awaking Ator from his deep slumber. 4 A.M. It was never his friend. Alex arched his back as he stretched before he muzzled up against Ator's face, the coldness of the marten's nose startling him. "Alright, alright. I'm awake." He mumbled, sitting up, the covers falling from his chest. Ator stood, reaching toward the ceiling, the vertebrae in his back popping in protest. "Ready for that run, boy?" He chuckled, grabbing his running shoes by the bed and slipping them on.

Ator smiled as he finally reached the sign for the city. The sun was beginning to peak through the trees behind him, the warmth touching his back. Alex squirmed on Ator's shoulder, getting excited about going in town. "Calm down, boy. It's just work." He rolled his eyes at the marten. He knew that the critter was just excited to get out of the house. He sighed, pulling they keys out of his pocket as he neared the pub. He wasn't quite sure how he landed the opening shift, but he didn't mind too much. There weren't a lot of people this time of day. The pub was famous for their breakfast special, but most people now-a-day just stop in the near McDonalds and grab a coffee and hashbrown for breakfast. "Damn that place.." He mumbled, jiggling the lock loose and opening the door.

The pub was dark as Ator took a step inside. Alex jumped from his shoulder, running eagerly into the building. "Don't go too far..." Ator called out after him. Shaking his head, he made his way to the back of the building, flipping on the light switch. The room danced with color as the neon signs light up in the window and the LED lights lit up the stage that would be used later that night. The tables out front were covered in upside down chairs. Ator walked over to the coffee machine, dumping freshly ground coffee rinds into it and pressing the brew button. He then walked out from behind the bar to de-chair the tables. Just as he finished with the last chair, a petite woman walked in. "Hey, Julie," he nodded in her direction, "how ya doin'?" She shrugged before walking through the double doors behind the bar and into the kitchen.

The day was long and slow. For the first half of the day the pub only had their regulars. A small rush of 70 people at lunch and a few tourists in the afternoon. Alex was snoozing on the counter of the bar as the front door opened, a small girl bouncing through. Ator shook his head, pulling the towel from his shoulder to finish wiping out the glass in his hand before filling it from the tap with beer and setting it down in front of a man with sandy hair and a downcast head. "Here ya go, man. Don't worry about 'er, she's a bitch anyway." The man nodded his head before taking a sip of the beer and popping a peanut in his mouth. Ator looked down the bar, tossing the towel back on his shoulder. He smirked a little as the girl made her remarks before walking behind the counter.

"You're late.." Ator said quietly. "It was Johnson you met earlier. I'm the owner of the pub... don't mind me though, I'm a worker just like the rest of y'all." He watched as she leaned forward, glancing over the taps, each trailing to their own brew of alcohol. "A few things first, no drinking on the job before 5 P.M. It makes sure that we aren't giving the customers the wrong impression, but seeing as you're new, let's have a shot and I'll teach ya the rest of it all." He smiled at the girl. Ator, what the hell are you doing? Since when are you friendly? He scorned himself mentally. He picked two small shot glasses from under the counter, grabbing a bottle of Jamesen, filling the glasses to the brim. "Bottom's up." He said chugging his down and tapping the glass on the counter behind the bar, startling Alex awake for a moment. "My name's Ator, our top seller ale is the Newcastle Brown. It's this tap here." He pointed out, laying a finger on the leaver. Ator continued on to point out the various mixes and taps to Toni, pausing to fill customer's glasses.