AVIGNON

sicily giggled. “i gotta wash my hair, but i’m more than certain the glitter will still be there,” she said. while avignon was away, she tossed the randomly placed items into a box and moved it out of the way and immediately got to work as soon as the other was back. “well, it was an accident. i came right around holiday season. i think it was this party that was being planned, actually. someone was worried about how they couldn’t get anything straight and they were hitting their deadline, so i gave them the idea to make it elf on the shelf and grinch themed, since they’re both kind of unkempt. so they had all sorts of crooked decorations, but the grinch is messy and uneven, and elf on the shelf makes messes, so it saved them.”

“oh, wow… that’s actually pretty funny when you’re not involved. if that was me, i’d fuckin’… i don’t know, start a riot or something over that. imagine being in that situation, that’s so messy.” she laughed, shrugging. “i figured you wouldn’t really judge me, working here is… something, for sure.” tibby smiled, glad that talking to this girl didn’t make her want to make up some reason to escape the conversation. “i could make you one, if you’d like.”

“it sounds like something out of a movie, doesn’t it?” avignon laughed and shook her head. “god, i don’t know what i’d do. charge his hotel for a whole day’s worth of spa and bar, for starters. he was such a tool, he would deserve it.” she nodded and slid easily into the stool opposite the other woman. “it’s a trip. but hey, beats working at a theme park. i bet those people have some stories to tell.” she considered it and grinned. “i will if you will. we can toast the end of a very long day.”

“definitely not.” he confirms with a smile, looking away from the drinks to focus on her. “it’s kind of like a cider, a bit different but i think it’s the closest to that.” surrey considered, before he laughed at her comment and nodded. “i think you really would, like they even look like they smell sweet.” he nods softly, and accepts the drink with another smile. “thank you for this.” he laughed again, “maybe i should hide then, i don’t want to get forced into some of those.” 

“well, that actually sounds pretty good. i might just swipe one later on tonight and give it a try. not,” she added, green eyes twinkling, “that you heard that from me, a rule-abiding model employee.” of course, the reality was that jules was a rule-abiding model employee- but something about the atmosphere of the night made her feel a bit more free to joke and have fun. “i think at least nine out of ten dentists would recommend staying away from that one,” she grinned and nodded in the direction of a drink that had a full sugar-and-sprinkles rim. “don’t mention it. if you think about it, i’m actually helping the hotel. giving you this is freeing up more of the sugar drinks for the socialites to post onto instagram.” she laughed and looked around. “well if you don’t mind a bit of chill, there’s a patio just outside that might do the trick. or i could sneak you into the back if you wouldn’t be too scandalized to see the part of the hotel that isn’t decorated. i’m avignon, by the way.”

“i purposely overspent on glitter in case we needed a fall back plan,” she said with a nod. “oh, fantastic. okay, so we need to lay down a carpenter’s sheet and start spraying the flocking on the garland — but only in small sections, cause we need to spray it and sprinkle the glitter on while it’s wet so it’ll dry to it and we won’t have to use glue, cause that’s an extra step i don’t wanna have to worry about unless this first method doesn’t work.”

“always a long day.” she explained, continuing to clean up. “you know, i’m starting to sound like i complain a lot, but it kind of rubs off on you. people come here to drink and complain about their shitty days or their relationships or what have you, so… i think that energy’s pretty contagious, don’t you? sorry, that was a longer answer than you probably wanted. short answer, yes.”

“you have a point,” jules nodded with a laugh. “and don’t worry, i get it. after a shift at the front desk, sometimes it’s tempting to yell back at people. today, some guy broke up with his girlfriend and she needed to be moved into another room so that his new hookup could stay with him. which is just.... a crazy thing to do while on vacation. but rich people are like that sometimes. which is a super long way to say that i’m not judging you if you need a drink.”

“i’m a people person, but sometimes… i can’t stand ‘em. he’s such a sweet guy, he really does go above and beyond sometimes — but what’s so hard about calling me and saying ‘i can’t find that color’, i could have told him where else to go and saved so much time and trouble,” she said. “gosh, i hope this works. i could use the help if you’re not busy and don’t have any prior engagements, though.”

mykonos was closing down the bar, making sure the register was closed and the bottles were finished or put away, when she heard the sound of a glass breaking. she rolled her eyes, sighing as she grabbed the broom from behind the bar and headed over to where the mess was. she had mostly finished cleaning up the mess when she heard footsteps, standing up and brushing her hair out of her face to address whoever had approached. “bar’s closed, babe.” she told them, shaking her head. “and if i pour one more drink, i might lose my mind.”

towels in hand, avignon was on her way to restock the supply closet for the night staff when she heard the shattering of glass. she pirouetted on the spot and headed in the direction of the bar to make sure that nobody was hurt. it was empty- makes sense, as last call would have already gone by. more than likely, a cup had just fallen off the bartop. but still, avignon was relieved to hear the nonchalant tone of the bartender. “don’t worry,” she laughed. “i’m not expecting a drink. although it sounds like you could use one. long day?”

“we already have so much silver going on though, i don’t want it to overpower everything else,” she said, sighing. “i mean, i really don’t understand what’s so hard about just following simple instructions. i even sent them a picture of the color we needed. it was literally the easiest job to do. i don’t mean to call anybody dumb, but how simple minded does a person have to be to have the answer right in their face and not be able to get it? bless his heart he’s a special kinda stupid sometimes,” she said, that southern drawl slipping out as she rambled. “i thought about maybe sprinkling some iridescent glitter over the flocking while it was still wet, you think that would make it a little more life like if we can’t get the right color?”

surrey looks over at her following along with what she points to, he’s definitely making a face at her explanation. “all of them sound awful,” he tells her honestly, “though ho-ho-hot toddy is probably the least awful.” he thinks about it as if he doesn’t know what he wants, “scotch? very strong scotch because i don’t want anything that comes off of pinterest.” 

the face that he makes at the holiday drinks is enough to make avignon laugh. “definitely not everybody’s cup of tea,” she agreed. “the hot toddy is probably my favorite in here,” looked down the garish line of the drinks table, “mostly because it’s the first one i’ve seen that wouldn’t give you a cavity and a hangover on sight.” she grins and nods, disappearing briefly behind the bar to find him something. moments later, she returns with scotch in hand. “this should do quite nicely! nothing overtly cutesy about it. i should warn you though, if anyone catches you drinking this non-theme-approved drink, it’ll be right back to the candy cane cocktails for you.”

“this is not… a christmas blue,” she muttered, dropping the garland back into a box. “that’s a navy blue. christmas blues are pastel. they’re cute. they’re pretty. they’re the color of christmas. i even sent you a picture so we wouldn’t have any problems, but here we are — having a problem!” she snapped before letting out a breath, pushing her hair out of her face. “okay, it’ll be fine. i’ll… find a way to fix this. you go find the right color — and look at the picture i sent you — and i’ll get this fixed up in case we can’t get the other one. make it snappy, please. and be careful out there, drivers are the worst during the holidays,” she said while the other person left. sicily sighed and stared at the garland for a few seconds before looking at the other that was in the room. “you think if i just spray a little snow on it, it would distract from the fact that it’s not the right color?” she asked.

“do you know what’s in that?” he asks looking down at the plate of holiday inspired beverages, surrey is trying his absolute best not to make a face of distaste. but as he looks at the unnatural colours he can’t find it appealing, “they don’t look good,” he decides, nose scrunched slightly. 

avignon surveys the tray of themed drinks that sit on the table in front of them. green eyes twinkle as her lips turn up at the corners. “i believe that,” she pointed at the vivid pink concoction, “ is called a ‘mistletoe martini’ and that one is a ho-ho-hot toddy,” she grinned. “i can get you something else, if you’d like. i’m sure there’s something in the back that didn’t come off a pinterest page.”

hi hi! my name’s hannah ( she / her, 23, est ) and this little marshmallow is juliette dewhitt, though most here would know her as avignon!  she’s a front desk receptionist at the hotel. i’ve got info on her below the cut! like this or message me if you want to plot because it’s my fave thing ever!  i’m also in the discord so we can talk there too. can’t wait to get started!!!

tw: cheating, verbal abuse, alcoholism