for cool kids

Aldonza’s favorite part of the midsummer festival was seeing what changed between the years. Her favorite addition this year was the maypole they erected a few blocks away from the bar, even though May was months ago. Every time she had a chance, she cracked that joke, usually with little to no response from the attendees who just wanted some light beer from the bar’s stand.

But her lame puns could wait; her shift just finished, and she finally got a chance to explore the fair. All she needed was her jacket and-

She couldn’t finish her thought before someone bumped into her and the coat rack.

There was a flash of something, something so brief across the bartender’s face, that Rochelle only caught it because she was looking dead-on at the other. But as soon as it was there, it was gone again, with no name to it or really anything to tell just what that emotion was. It didn’t help that she was so inebriated, her small stature and lack of experience with alcohol making her the textbook definition of a lightweight. Just a regular, courteous smile came with the question, and the blonde did too. “ I’m doin’ my best ! ” she reassured the other. “ I have a nice little house on the South Side, and I grow some really pretty flowers on my windowsill, and I work at the art museum as a tour guide ! ” Now she was infodumping a little, both because that was sort of what she did, and the drink was keeping her loose and flowy. “ What do you do ? ” she asked curiously, only realizing a moment after that she knew what the other did: she bartended. “ Oh - Wait, I mean - I’m sorry. ” She laughed. “ My question was if you did anything else, other than bartending ? Do you grow flowers at home or anything like that ? ” There it was, a little fought-out, but she got where she needed to go.

The honest answer is that she doesn’t; unless watching the game show hour on local cable counts as a hobby. Taking a second to think of a way to twist it into an answer she’d like, a part of Aldonza couldn’t stop thinking that there would be a point where this girl would just...lose interest of this place. It seemed inevitable. Kinda depressing if she put all of her brainpower into thinking it.

That’s why she bartended, after all. To take her mind off of those depressing things.

“I’ll take you up on that! though if it ends up being both, we’ll call it a draw,” Fiona winked at the brunette, not totally certain that betting on a breakup was part of the job description of a waitress, but not objecting either. If anyone in Fiona’s personal life knew as well, it wouldn’t seem very becoming of her… but who’s gonna tell? “Fiona,” The redhead extended a hand, “What ddi you say your name was?”

         ‘  says  the  woman  in  a  bar  .   me ?  i’m  drinking  a  sparkling  water  .  ’    again  ,   if  she  wanted  to  drink  ,   it’d  be  with  her  friends  .   and  she  wouldn’t  have  bought  the  alcohol  either  .   she  brings  her  drink  to  her  lips  ,   eyes  roll  .    ‘  i  won’t  .  ’  

Aldonza chuckles. “First of all, if you’re suggesting that I drink during my shifts, I don’t. Someone’s gotta be sober enough to make drinks this good.”

Once mentioned, she perked up. “ Strawberry ! ” she repeated. “ I love strawberries. ” It was one of her favorite fruits, truthfully, along with apples. She took another sip. “ And fruity stuff - mhm, ” she continued with a little laugh. “ Like rainbow sherbet, and apple pie. I haven’t had apple pie in forever ! ” She was babbling just to talk, because it was nice to be able to so openly talk to someone. Even if it was a relative stranger, and maybe they didn’t want to talk to her all that much, she couldn’t quite tell with how much was in her system.

“ Oh… Well, that’s a good idea. Thank you ! ” Putting her trust in this bartender was proving to be faithful so far, and their company was quite nice. When the question came, she took it in stride, not even thinking about how her answer might sound. “ I ran away from home, ” Rochelle told the other, voice dropping a notch in volume. “ My mom was crazy. ” She dissolved into a fit of snickers. “ I honestly don’t even think she was my real mom. Which makes it way crazier ! Right ? ” Laughter, sweet and tipsy and bubbling with life. “ It’s been a very weird six weeks for me. ” Back to normal, just like that, still a little slur in her words but no longer giggly. “ But now I get to do things all by myself ! And I don’t feel sick anymore. So that’s pretty great ! ” the blonde concluded, taking another sip of her drink. 

Oh. Oh dear.

Putting aside the complete nonchalance the girl used when talking about...something serious to say the least (at least she was right about giving her something light), Woodsdale wasn’t supposed to be a place that you ran away to. The picturesque signs of a tourist town would turn into absolute hell if lived in for longer than a year or two. If anything, Aldonza would give anything to run away from if she could.

But this wasn’t about her. This was about the girl in front of her trying her best to keep her composure up. She...probably has no idea she’s stuck here forever. Does she? Will she be okay with it?

With a shaky, but polite laugh, the fitness instructor began to wipe the mess up, hoping the waitress wouldn’t get in trouble for the slip-up. Fiona wasn’t too embarrassed to be caught snooping on the couple once she realized the waitress had been too, “Well, they’re not exactly being subtle, are they?” She rolled her eyes, letting a litle sass slip into her voice, “I’d put down 5 bucks that she throws a drink on him before the dinner ends,” And wouldn’t that be dramatic? Just like one of those trashy Netflix reality shows.

“Five bucks that the girl slaps that guy.” Out of all the breakups that Aldonza’s seen in the line of duty, about a quarter of them ended with slaps. If the customer was betting, she felt confident in the odds that a slap was gonna happen.

she sighs, tugging the hem of the dress down, “why is this so incredibly short,” rolling her eyes, she says “i’m not even that tall, and it still is at my ass.”

“Sometimes the dresses run a little small. Usually a size or two from what you are is a better fit.”

@folkloremstart​

“  i’m  doing  a  survey!  what’s  one  thing  that’d  make  your  life  in  woodvale  better?  ”

           she’s  old  enough  ,   but  she  doesn’t  drink  -  especially  not  publicly  ,   especially  not  in  bars  .   no  offense  to  anyone  ,   but  greta  doesn’t  trust  people  like  that  .   instead  she  sips  on  her  coke  ,   blue  eyes  appearing  over  the  rim  of  her  glass  .    ‘  i’m  not  drunk  ,   and  i  don’t  have  anything  to  say  .  ’  

“You don’t have to be drunk to have something to say.”

The girl in front of her was cagey enough to say something like that, but Aldonza knew her type. The ones who talked a big game about being ‘loners’ and whatever, but would let their mouths run about something stupid if given the chance. Like she’s doing right now; who announces they have nothing to say?

Fiona had only been absent-mindedly looking over the menu, having picked this new spot for her lunch break today and pleasantly surprised by all the patrons. The table just to the right was having some sort of break up - and a nasty one, if Fiona was hearing correctly. It seemed both Fiona and the bartender had gotten distracted by the fight, with Fiona only peering over her menu in time to see the glass overfilling!

“Oh dear!” Fiona gathered the stack of napkin in front of her and began to wipe the spill, “Seems we were getting a bit too nosy there…”

Ouch. From the way that the girl was talking the boy it seemed like it was a long time coming. But the boy also seems really dependent on the relationship and her. It was going to end dramatically nonetheless and she wanted to be here for-

This was a new place for Rochelle, and while she might not have been the usual suspects that frequented Dynasty, she was having a very good time. Her night had been spent discovering what went on in Woodvale after the sun went down, bouncing from club to club all by herself and barhopping in between. She’d tried drinks with fun names and colorful mixes, a shot of something clear that burned the back of her throat when it went down, and left her a bit more than tipsy on this particular seat. The young woman that was pouring her drink gave her a soft smile, and she smiled back, swaying a bit in happiness. “ Thank you very much ! ” She nodded once, eyes closing for a beat longer than usual, her smile growing wide. “ I love getting bartender’s recommendations for drinks ! I don’t really drink. Like, ever. ” She giggled. “ Which one did you say this was again ? ” Dainty hands came out, making a small grabby motion, much like a small child’s would, before latching onto the tall glass.

Aldonza resists the temptation to roll her eyes. “It’s a margarita. Strawberry flavored. You’d look like the type of person who likes fruity stuff.”

She also seemed too tipsy for this to be her first drink of the night. Concerning, since she didn’t even know what a margarita was. She made the drink skinny just in case her previous drinks proved too much.

Sundays at Dynasty’s are always. The same handful of people come to drink their lives away while countless more tourists come to party their nights away. Whoever they are, alcohol had a way of loosening their lips. For noted eavesdropper Aldonza, it was a goldmine.

the story of DON QUIXOTE now lives in the soul of ALDONZA LORENZO, aged THIRTY ONE years. they’re a LOCAL, having been in woodvale for HER ENTIRE LIFE in the WEST as a BARTENDER. and yeah, they definitely have the vibes of DULCINEA with the powers of SOLAR INFUSION , don’t you think?

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