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Nikaria wiped up another sticky spot on the counter left by condensation and carelessness and peeked at the door. Hope sprang as it opened and crashed to the floor as more guests filtered in. The bar was brimming with people and excitement as bodies angled themselves toward the stage and necks craned to catch first glimpses of the promised entertainment.
And therein lay the problem: where was the entertainment?
Ariel poked their head out of the back room to frown out at the crowd. She turned her unhappiness on Nikaria, and Nikaria blinked placidly back. "Where are your friends?" Ariel demanded.
There were a number of things Nikaria could have answered, starting with I'm not their manager and ending toward Sorry, I'm not sure they're actually my friends, could you clarify? But Nikaria merely pulled out her phone for the nth time this evening to display what she knew would be the case: a lack of texts, and a clock ticking closer towards disaster.
"That just shows me your lockscreen, Nikaria, it doesn't tell me where your friends are," Ariel growled.
"I don't know where they are," Nikaria replied patiently. "They haven't texted me all night."
"Then why don't you text them?" Ariel asked as if he were explaining something very simple to someone very stupid.
Nikaria did not answer with the truth, which was that they were not the band's manager, and also they didn't want to be a bother. Instead, Nikaria dried her hands on their towel to text as Ariel as lovingly and kindly requested. Out of the corner of her eyes, she watched as the bar owner disappeared into the back again. She could put her phone away…
She may as well.
[To Surya]: Ariel wants to know where you guys are.
[To Nikaria]: awwwww just how bad is that other band lol
[To Nikaria:]: miss us already?
[To Surya]: What other band?
[To Nikaria]: wym
[To Nikaria]: the band that's playing tonight
Surya is typing…
[To Nikaria]: you feelin alright there doc?
Nikaria ignored the warm feeling the nickname gave her and the flush it brought to her cheeks. She also resisted the urge to argue with it — that she was a bartender, not an EMT, that she had done nothing more than anyone else would have. Surya always seemed to have a winning argument.
[To Surya]: I'm fine.
[To Surya]: A little confused though. I thought you were playing tonight?
[To Nikaria]: nope
[To Nikaria]: i'm free as a bird
[To Nikaria]: not sure what the others are up to
[To Nikaria]: don't think i want to know what mana is doing
[To Nikaria]: music is going to give me gray hairs doc. don't suppose you have a fix in that brain of yours?
[To Surya]: Don't you already have grey hair?
[To Nikaria]: aye you aren't supposed to point it out. you've wounded me
[To Surya]: Terribly sorry
[To Nikaria]: dont worry your pretty little head about it
[To Nikaria]: let me know how terrible that other band is
[To Surya]: Yeah, I'm really not sure what Ariel is going to do.
Surya is typing…
[To Nikaria]: im invested now
[To Surya]: Lol. I'll keep you posted.
Nikaria tapped her fingers on her phone and caught the eye of a customer. She smiled apologetically and put her phone away to grab them a drink. "Sorry, setting up for the music tonight," she explained. That settled the vibe around the counter, allowing Nikaria to tab into a new text conversation.
[To Caoimhe]: Do you know what band was supposed to play tonight?
[To Nikaria]: Not my job.
[To Nikaria]: Wasn't it supposed to be some indie folk shit?
[To Caoimhe]: So it wasn't PREYANIMALS?
[To Nikaria]: You really don't have to all caps the band name when you text. It's not worth all that.
[To Nikaria]: I didn't think they were playing tonight. Surya usually begs me to take pictures if they're on.
[To Caoimhe]: Right. Thank you!
Caoimhe is typing…
[To Nikaria]: Why? What's going on at Rainbow Note?
[To Caoimhe]: Ariel thinks she scheduled Prey Animals for tonight but Surya says he didn't. No ones come yet.
[To Nikaria]: That's a problem. It's not your problem.
Nikaria is typing…
[To Caoimhe]: Angry people don't tip well.
[To Nikaria]: Ain't that the truth.
[To Nikaria]: Not much I can do from here but wish you luck.
[To Caoimhe]: Thank you :)
Again Nikaria put her phone away to tend to the people at the counter. It was an odd night that Mana wasn't playing in the band and had the night, and Nikaria found herself missing her coworker (and friend). At least Saejira was on tonight, and she didn't mind covering while Nikaria ducked into the back to talk to Ariel.
Ariel was just hanging up a phone call when Nikaria walked in. "Bad news," they announce. "I fucked up."
Nikaria did appreciate Ariel's accountability and was grateful they didn't have to break the news. "Who's going to play?"
"I don't suppose you have an instrument and know enough to play a set?" Ariel asked. Nikaria blanched and he pointed at her. "Figured that would be your reaction. So, to answer your question: I don't fucking know!"
Jazz hands followed her declaration. Nikaria grimaced.
Ariel tapped away at their keyboard and leveraged a look over her glasses. "Don't suppose your friends are free tonight? Pay double for inconvenience, may even waive their bar tab for the night — don't tell them that though, but it can be on the negotiating table."
That was incredibly generous. Nikaria pulled out her phone and shot off another text.
[To Surya]: Ariel is offering double pay if you're able to come in tonight.
[To Nikaria]: wtf
[To Nikaria:] are u serious
[To Nikaria]: what time
[To Surya]: ASAP
Surya is typing…
[To Nikaria]: my lovely band members better be free. give me a sec
Nikaria looked up from her phone to address a frantically working Ariel. "Surya's checking with PREYANIMALS."
"I've got other options in the works, so tell him not to work too hard," Ariel ordered. He bent to grab a folder off the floor — why was it on the floor — and Nikaria took the dismissal for what it was. Saejira was relieved to have her returned to her station at the counter. A single bartender was not enough for Friday night at the Rainbow Note.
Enough time passed that the mist swirling through the air outside turned into a drizzle, so Nikaria couldn't blame the unhappy faces attached to the people pouring through the door with instruments and gear. Surya, Violet, and Mana elbow their way to the counter.
"How's my favorite bartender?" Violet asks with a wink.
"Oi, I'm right here!" Mana complains and elbows Violet in the ribs.
"The point stands," Violet shoots back with an elbow of their own.
"Don't suppose you offer babysitting services?" Surya asks. "Or maybe a drink for an overworked manager?"
Violet rolls her eyes and tugs on a lock of grey hair as they leave. Surya spins and slaps Violet's hand away from his hair, and Violet flips him off. Nikaria keeps a wary eye on the horseplay but it settles enough for her to offer Mana some lemonade-tea and Surya a more complicated virgin margarita.
"Chug it," Surya tells Mana, and Mana flips him off as well.
"I need to savor what my favorite bartender has created," Mana snipes back. "No offense, Saejira."
"I want no part in whatever you guys have," Saejira says. She's taken the other half of the counter and seems content to let Nikaria handle the band.
"Can't tell if she's jealous or wiser than all of us," Surya sighs. He slams back his drink and takes a bite of the lime, and Nikaria laughs at the puckered face he makes. "Toodle-oo!" he cheers and jogs through the throng of people to assist Meabh and Violet with set-up.
"I told Ariel the band's here," Saejira reports as she reaches behind Nikaria for the rum. Her movements drip some of the liquid in the sink, but it's too busy a night for delicate handling. Nikaria passes her the strawberry tequila before she can ask, and smiles at Saejira's thank you.
Nikaria grabs a tip from someone leaving, then takes the replacement's order. She's finally able to grab a moment with Mana, who's been sipping at their virgin Arnold Palmer in a clear attempt at procrastination. Nikaria taps the counter between them. "What's wrong?"
"Just watching you in action," Mana replies with a flap of their hand and a smile that can only be genuine. "You belong here."
Nikaria's cheeks warm again and she gently taps their fingertips together so Mana doesn't spill their drink. "You do too," Nikaria says softly, maybe lost beneath the sound of the people and clattering around them. More loudly, and with a wry smile, Nikaria adds, "You belong up there, I think?"
Mana throws their hands in the air and almost smacks someone in the shoulder; they rush to apologize, and Nikaria moves the drink out of spilling range. Mana takes it, throws it back, and clinks the glass on the counter. "Make sure to watch me up there! At least more than you watch Meabh." They shudder dramatically.
"I'll watch as much as I can," Nikaria promises. They shoo them away, and Mana salutes her as they leave.
The bar has become standing room only with fans of PREYANIMALS filtering in last minute. Surya's doing, maybe, or Violet's. The strum of a guitar sets the crowd ablaze, and Nikaria spends the next hour serving drinks, shouting orders, and bumping into Saejira because her eyes are more often glued to the stage than not.
There's a reason PREYANIMALS is so popular. It has something to do with Violet's magnetism and clear love of performing, something about the harmonies between the keyboard and guitar and cello, something involving the bump of the drums to change a heartbeat so it has no choice but to dance or to shout. It feels like magic, and Nikaria can't imagine being anywhere else, with anyone else, for as long as there are chords humming through the air and snare tapping along her spine.
Eventually Violet is dragged off stage by Surya, the instruments are packed away, and the crowd dissipates enough to allow the illusion of fresh air to rush back into the Rainbow Note. There's the smell of sweat, the floors are sticky, and Nikaria's feet hurt so far into her shift. It's late at night and she's tired but she still can't help but smile as PREYANIMALS converge around her station like moths to a light.
"So? How'd we do?" Violet presses. Her head rests in her hands and her body vibrates with the movement of her kicking feet on the stool.
"We did great, like we always do," Meabh sighs.
"We don't always do great," Ace points out. She quails under the look Meabh shoots her and hurries to correct herself. "I mean, we always do great, and we kick ass!"
"Meabh, be nice," Mana commands, throwing an arm around Ace and shaking her gently. "Ace, have some self-respect. We did great!"
"I didn't say we didn't do great tonight, just that we don't always do great," Ace argues. A drink is pressed into her hand and she drinks it immediately.
"We just had the best show this bar has seen since the last time we were here, and we're arguing?" Surya cries as he strolls up. "That ought to be criminal, really it is."
"Meabh's fault," comes the ringing consensus, and Nikaria finishes passing along glasses with a shake of her head.
"Meabh was right, Mana was right, and Surya's right," Nikaria interjects. "Tonight was wonderful, and it's especially impressive on such short notice. Caoimhe will be sad she missed it."
"I'll rub it in her face for all time, don't you worry," Surya says happily. "Alright, who's riding with who on the way back?"
The band descends into a chaotic squabble as they determine car sharing, after partying, and the merits of karaoke. Nikaria isn't sure what karaoke has to do with going home, but she has another hour on, so she isn't going to get involved.
Ariel finishes talking with Surya and beelines their way to Nikaria, clapping them on the shoulder. "Thanks for reaching out to them tonight," Ariel says. "It's a relief to have you onboard."
"Thanks, Ariel," Nikaria says quietly. She's not sure what she would've done if Mana hadn't brought her in, and Ariel agreed to take her on. She's grateful for the chance to do something to help them as much as they've helped her.
Ariel nods and moves on to whatever boss task lies in what for her. PREYANIMALS has settled themselves into a huddle of rock-paper-scissors — though Meabh holds herself apart with her arms crossed. There might be a smile lurking in the depths of her cold expression. Nikaria hasn't known her as long as the others to figure her out, yet.
The rain drips down the windows and onto the shoulders of the band members as they wave and holler their goodbyes. Nikaria waves back and feels no embarrassment for the beaming grin on her face.