Prologue

One of the first things you’re taught when you go to become a bartender, is what the phrase “On the rocks” means. It’s one of the basics, something anyone could learn, but it is essential when you want to be a “good” bartender. It’s like the foundation of a house, because without it, there’s nothing to build on.

            The four of us were best friends and were completely inseparable all through middle and high school. Cynthia, the strong-willed, beautiful, blonde worked at bar in up-town New York City called “Silver Spirits”. Tiffany, or “Tiff”, was the do-it-all, hardcore ginger and she found a job at a club called “The Seven Foxes”. Megann was the shy, brainy one, but we all loved her anyway. She worked at the Black Brick Bar. Then there was myself, Corriana, though I preferred to be called Corri I worked at an incredible music bar, called “Notes”, with an incredible manager named Luka. We had weathered college together, and now we all still shared similar, yet vastly different lives.

*     *     *

            The air was warm, fresh, and gave a feeling of new beginnings; the air of springtime in New York City. I was due to meet my friends at Café Lalo for coffee like we did every Friday or Wednesday morning, and today I was running a bit late. My first shift started Saturday night and I still had so much to do to prepare, though I was sure my new boss wouldn’t mind. I had met him a few days earlier, when I had gone to check out the bar itself, and he seemed like a pretty relaxed guy. Even the most laid back could pushed to yelling though, when drunken idiots were all that surrounded you for hours.

            I was rushing so much that I almost missed a phone call from the closest of my four best friends, Megann, who was surely calling from Lalo by now. She was always the first one there.

            “Hey Meg!” I gasped into my little dark-grape colored phone. “Oh, I know, I know. I’m running a bit late. Just one of those mornings, sweetie! I’ll be there soon though.”

            I hung up before she could say another word, and to be honest I felt bad about it. I was far too excited about the day to come and I couldn’t wait to get to see my girls and hear all about what their places were like.

*     *     *

            At the café Meg was already sitting at our usual table with Tiffany and picking nervously at a lemon-drizzled croissant. They hadn’t seen me come in.

            “Hey you two! Sorry I’m late.” I called from a few feet away. I wasn’t really that late, but like I said, they’re my best friends. I hate to let them down. “Where’s Cynthia?”

            They turned and Tiffany’s red curls bounced slightly as she spoke.

            “She’s on the subway, she had a… late night. She should be here in about ten minutes.” The three of us laughed. As much as we loved Cynthia, there were times when we just didn’t know what to do about her.

            I got a cup of “Spring Tea”, which was really just your standard green tea with a sprig of mint, but in the spirit of springtime, the freshness that the added mint gave it made it a little extra special; a little more right for the season.

            “Hey girls!” A very familiar voice called to us from a few blocks away.

            “Hey Cynthia!” We called back in unison. Sometimes we were a bit crazy in the little things we did, but it made us the unique group that we were. It kept things fresh.

            Cynthia joined us with a cup of black coffee and two muffins, as one of them was for me since I had forgotten to get anything to eat. We sat quietly for a few moments stirring our drinks and nibbling at our light breakfasts. Then the silence was broken by none other than our loveable Tiffany.

            “Well somebody say something!” She nearly shouted.

            Cynthia and I laughed, but Meg looked a bit startled.

            “Tiffany… not okay.” She said. It was clear that she was trying hard not to burst into laughter.

            “So, has everyone gotten a chance to check out their places?” Cynthia chimed in.

            “Yeah! It’s a music bar, well, lounge really I guess. Round tables, round leather stools for seats, really cool feeling all around. And my boss, name’s Luka, seems really cool. I didn’t get to talk to him much but for the little time that I did get to talk to him he was really laid-back and just, easy-going, ya know?” I rattled everything about my place off so quick I wasn’t sure if they had actually heard me, or if it had just sounded like buzzing.

            “Well, you sure sound excited, Corri.” Tiffany said, confirming that I had, in fact, actually spoken at a comprehensible speed. “My place is pretty cool too, but Meg, you wanna go first? You were gonna tell me about it right before Corri got here.”

            “Oh, sure.” Meg said a little quietly.

She had always been a bit shy, even after we had all been friends for years. “It’s nothing too special. Just your basic bar. It’s well-lit though. Good food there too. All hardwood floors, paneled ceilings. And I don’t know about you, but I checked out the website too, it’s really well done and organized.”

            “Sounds nice.” I said, placing my hand on her shoulder. “Tiff, your turn.”

            “Alright!” Tiffany said with a smile. “Well, it’s a club, so I’m not sure I’ll be super into the clientele, but with clubs comes music, and with music comes dancing, and with dancing comes cute guys. But you know, since I’ll be working I won’t have too much time for that.”

She looked over at Cynthia as if to invite her to come by one night and see for herself. It was a running joke we had, so Cynthia knew no harm was meant by it.

“But the atmosphere is hip and fun, and there are some really very comfortable couches. So it’s not like you’re forced to stand all night.”

Cynthia perked up since it was her turn now.

“Well,” She started, placing her hands on the table like she was about to give some big reveal.

She had done this only a few times in the past; once when she started dating her first boyfriend in seventh grade, and again when the actually very attractive class president asked her to our senior ball.

 “It’s a very high-end, classy, sophisticated, new-modern bar in the same neighborhood as my apartment. And you’ve all seen that. But, Silver Spirits, the name of my place, has one very unique feature that won me over when I was deciding between this place and another.”

“And that is?” Tiffany, Meg, and I asked together in anticipation.

“Solid. Glass. Balcony… for a dance floor.” She said as she slapped her hand on the table and removed it to reveal a picture on her phone, and smiled in wait for our reaction.

We all sucked in air as fast as we could and covered our mouths as we let out silent screams of awe. This was quite possibly one of the coolest things we had seen. It was a new bar, and from what Cynthia had said, it sounded like a pretty exclusive place. How she had gotten a job there, especially as a new graduate, we had no idea, but we were happy for her nonetheless. Once we had all calmed down we gave Cynthia congrats and begged her to get us all in one night when she was working. She said she didn’t think she could just add anyone to the list, but that the doorman who worked the same nights as her was pretty cute so she would see what she could do for us.

She finished her coffee within a few sips after that and told us she had to run back to her apartment to make sure she would have enough time to get her uniform washed and get her apartment cleaned up for her friend that was coming over that night.

“Well, she certainly seems happy, huh girls?” Tiffany said once Cynthia was well out of earshot.

“Yeah.” I agreed. “So… We gonna throw her a party this year? It is her nineteenth.”

“We are, but I’m not sure where to hold it this year…” Tiffany trailed her sentence off in the way she did we she already had an idea but she either wanted you to guess it, or just simply wanted to piss someone off.

“What’re you planning, Tiff?” Meg asked, matter-of-factly.

“Oh, maybe just a little home-crashing bash?” Tiffany said revealing a shiny key that resembled Cynthia’s.

“You didn’t!” I gasped.

“Oh, but I did. Don’t worry, this is just a copy, but it’ll help on the day of.” Tiffany said with a smirk. “Until then, you never saw it.”

“Understood.” Meg and I said together with smiles like Tiffany’s on our faces.

Author's Note

This could be the first chapter. Let me know if you think it's fine as a prologue after reading the next couple chapters though. Thanks!

Reviews

[Different Wings]

I like this prologue a lot! It's readable, relatable and engaging. Having worked in a bar myself I know what it's like to compare oneself to friends' jobs :P
There are a few parts that I found a little hard to believe, like when four good friends couldn't find a topic of conversation right off the bat and then only talked about work and not other things. The dialogue is well done, though. It's a style thing, but maybe try taking out some of the direct description ("Sometimes we were a bit crazy in the little things we did, but it made us the unique group that we were." and let the reader figure it out for him- or her- self. But... your call!
It took me a surprised second to figure out that you're not American (?) when I read one of the characters was only nineteen after having "weathered college" :D
Anyways looking forward to more of the story

[The Butterfly Writer]

No, I am American. I'm not sure where you saw that, but... I'll look through it again and fix it if it needs to be fixed. They're supposed to be working AND going through college, so maybe you just misunderstood it? Again, if I made a mistake, I'll fix it and make it say what it should say. Thanks for the review though!