WEDNESDAY NIGHT

The Loop Lounge is nearby so all the club kids come in on their way over there to buy cigarettes and gum.  They come in on their way home too.  She works the night shift at 7-11 on Wednesdays and sees the same people every week.  It’s two o’clock and the club is closing so a lot of the people start coming in.

A  group of Italian guys walk in (they have that horn charm on their gold chains and beside that they have black spiky hair and tweezed eyebrows).

‘Hey, baby.  How ya doin’ tonight?’  the one guy said to her.

‘Alright,’ she said. ‘How are you?’

‘Not bad.  You’re too pretty to be working here.  You should be out.’

‘Gotta pay those bills.’

‘If I were your man you wouldn’t have bills.’  He stated.

They’re smooth like that.  You know the kind.  It’s hard not to be flattered.   His friends are getting their Monster drinks and gum.  One of them, the short one, throws a can to this one.

‘I’m sorry.  I don’t mean to be rude.  I’m Vinny,’ he said, putting his hand out.

She shakes his hand and said, ‘I’m Victoria.’

‘It’s nice to meet you, Victoria.’  He said.  ‘Hey, guys.  This is Victoria.  This is Joey, Frankie, and Tommy.’

‘Nice to meet you.’ Frankie, the short one, said.  He put down a pack of Bubblelicious and Dentyne on the counter.

‘So, where do you hang out, Victoria?’  Vinny asks.

‘I hang out in Hoboken.  I’m going there tomorrow night with a bunch of friends.’  She said.

‘Where are you going?’  he asks.

‘We’re going to Tiki Bar.’

‘Maybe I’ll see you there.’

‘Okay.’ She heard herself saying.  Why did she just say that? Oh, why not?  Her boyfriend just dumped her two weeks ago; she has nothing to lose.  He seemed like a nice guy.  She definitely thought he was hot.  And anyway, she’s going with a bunch of friends, so even if he doesn’t show up, it won’t really matter.

‘Let me give you my number so you can text me when you get there.’

‘Okay.’  She gives him a piece of register tape.  He paid for the drinks and gum and said, ‘I’ll see you tomorrow night.’

‘Okay,’ she said.  She felt butterflies in her stomach.  God, is that all I could think of to say? She thought to herself.

The next group that comes in is a bunch of these preppy college guys.  They’re probably in a frat and are going home to play XBox.  You can just tell.  They’re all wasted.  Two of them are beet-red and they are all laughing.  No one speaks; they just laugh.  She hoped there’s one of them that is sober  enough to drive.  Maybe he’s waiting in the car.  The ruddy one pays for the Gatorade and two packs of Hubba-Bubba.

In walk three girls wearing identical slinky dresses who have had one too many cosmopolitans.  They’re the kind that look sloppy at the end of the night, with bloodshot eyes and hadn’t been picked up.  They are talking non-stop about these other girls at the club, calling them s***s.  They bought cigarettes and a pack of Double Mint Gum and stumbled out the door.

The night’s not complete if the Goth kids don’t come in.  They show up, pale white in their  foot-high platforms and vampire attire.  They buy bottled water and a pack of Orbit.  They bought a couple lighters but no cigarettes.

The bartenders come in and get coffee and a pack of Trident.  Then there’s that one guy who comes in and always buys condoms and chiclets.  The rest trickle in, all buying the same things.  They’re like the Borg.  Victoria looks outside and sees everyone hanging out in the parking lot trying to sober up.  It’s three a.m. and there must be a dozen cars parked out there.  It looks like one of those classic car shows at the Chatterbox.  They’re all out there chewing gum and coming down and she’s stuck in here.  

But someone asked her out tonight.