i hate when things are over

Monday August 28th 10:37pm. [Location redacted].

The worst part of the research process? Discovering something you weren’t planning on finding. It’s unwanted but still it grabs you by the wrist and drags you on a detour, away from all your plans and expectations. There’s no rest and no escape. You either see it to the end or you let it haunt you forever. Of course Mackenzie had chosen the former option.

“Act like you belong.” Kennedy said as if it was obvious. “Come on.” She said. She walked over to the door and knocked on it with one of her hands.

“Um, no one’s back there. At least I don’t think so,” Mackenzie said, staring cautiously at the door. If someone was going to jump out at her, she wanted to be prepared. “But maybe they’ll let us sneak in through the lounge if we can blend in with the dancers...” She was already walking before her sentence was finished. Time was really of the essence.

Graham laughed. “Well, if it makes you feel better, I won’t get anything with meat in it.” He said. “At least not around you.” He added. He had been around enough vegans to know that the majority of them got offended when he ate meat. Granted, he had never really cared for their opinion, but MacKenzie was different.

Mackenzie shook her head insistingly, “No, it’s fine. I won’t bitch at you for eating meat if you don’t bitch at me for avoiding that.” She really didn’t want to be that person, just like she didn’t want another lecture about how she would die of malnutrition. “I’ll just quietly sit here and judge you from my righteous corner. Deal?”

Aleja smiled. “You’re pretty amazing.” He let her know. “Uh, hopefully next time we see each other, I won’t trip over my feet.” He laughed. “Good conversation starter though.”

Mackenzie shrugged at his compliment, not really sure how to respond to it. She knew well enough that she wasn’t amazing in any real way. Instead of answering, she happily accepted the change of topic, “It’s definitely my turn to trip next time, so don’t worry, I’ve got that whole thing covered.”

“It’s okay, you at least had the decency to help me with my stuff, unlike some other people that haven’t been so nice” She rolled her eyes, remembering a particularly nasty group of teenagers. “Oh god, could you? I think if I don’t put something cool on my skin soon I might just burst into flames myself”

“I got you, girl.” Mackenzie said with a bright smile. This might be the perfect way to actually make up for her stupid comments. She still felt incredibly bad. “You wanna head up to my room? I have iced tea and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies - I mean, cookies won’t really cool you down, but we all know that they’re the cure for everything.”

Kennedy listened to the girl speak and nodded. She already had a plan forming in her head. “Okay, that’s easy.” She said as if she had done it before. She wasn’t about to admit that she had experience getting into places she shouldn’t be or wasn’t allowed.

“Really?” Mackenzie perked up slightly, instantly curious about the girl’s willingness and ability to help her. Though she knew better than to ask questions. Usually it was better to observe the truth rather than ask about it. “So what’s the big plan?”

Graham smiled as she spoke. He didn’t know what it was about this girl, but she made it easy to open up to and talk to. “Well, I can promise you that I don’t get offended easily.” He assured and looked at the menu. “I was thinking of the steak.” He said. “What about you?” He asked.

Luckily for Graham, Mackenzie was good enough at keeping her mouth shut on dates that she didn’t say anything when he mentioned meat - though she was of course secretly judging him. She tried her best not to be a hater, but well, meat was still murder. “I was planning on getting the orecchiette... that’s one of the few things I’m willing to eat.” Okay, maybe she had to mention it. “Full disclosure: I’m one of those awful Vegans. If you wanna run now, I won’t be that mad.”

Aleja smiled. “So, if I got the okay, for whatever location, would you help me?” He asked. “You seem like you’re a good person to spread news. Not like a gossip or anything, but like someone who has good word of mouth. Am I making sense?”

She laughed as he awkwardly explained himself, “I know what you mean. And I’m taking all of that as a compliment. I would definitely do my part to help set it up, as much as I can without making the casino people hate me.“

“….Please don’t laugh” Zara grimaced as she sat down, skin with every movement. “I fell asleep reading in the sun and yes, I know I look like a lobster. CVS doesn’t have any after sun so I think I might be dying”

“I already inappropriately laughed at you once this week, so you’re off the hook,” Mackenzie joked, though a pained expression quickly took over her face. “I have some after sun in my room, and I’m happy to share it. I’ve been there too many times, and us pale people need to look out for each other.”

“Well he’s not very nice if he’s standing you up.” Kennedy pointed out. “I’ll help you. What do you need help with?”

“Oh no, Franco is nice. I feel like something’s keeping him, I just don’t know what it is,” she said, pursing her lips slightly as she weighed the situation. Strictly speaking she wasn’t supposed to talk about this whole thing - at least nok before the details were settled. But she could use some help. “Well, um, I need to get backstage. I’m supposed to grab some dresses and take them to the drycleaner,” she began explaining, hoping she didn’t sound too nervous. She was so scared of messing up. “Franco was supposed to let me in, and I need to do this today before 5 pm.”

“I try my best to be a true friend.” He let her know. “Maybe we were just meant to meet today?” He suggested. “You in one of your best dresses and me being a klutz.” He smiled. “I think you just chose to mock the right person, some people are a bit sensitive around here.”

“Oh yeah, destiny, for sure,” she said with a giggle. She didn’t believe in any of that, but at least it was a nice thought. “And yeah, I’ve noticed. I’ve already managed to get myself in trouble with a few people. I really need to learn to keep my mouth shut. It’s gonna be the death of me someday,” she said, shaking her head at her own stupidity. Someday she’d get the hang of the whole ‘social skills’ thing. “Anyway, what are you having?”

“It is her.” Aleja sighed. “If she likes it, she just might claim the idea as her own.” He rolled his eyes and looked at MacKenzie. “Well, if anything, I could try to talk to the Landlord and see if he’d be okay with me playing the gig on the roof, or I could just do an impromptu gig at the beach.”

“I guess that’s almost the best you can hope for? At least that way you’d get to do it.” She shrugged, not really sure if she even believed that herself. She knew first hand how shitty it felt when someone took credit for your hard work. “Oh, a rooftop party would be great! I’d love to see the view from the top of The Rag.”

“Fuck!” Adam yelled when she jumped out at him and his heart beat hard in his chest as he assessed that he was not under attack. He bent and squinted at the photo. “I don’t think so. Who is he?”

“Oh shit, it’s you.” Mackenzie let out a shrill laugh when she recognized the man, “I really need to stop ruining your days, don’t I?” She had a hard time standing still, almost twitching as he looked at the picture on her phone, “He’s a business contact. We were supposed to meet here about some... well, business. Forty minutes ago. But I can’t reach him, so I’m trying my luck now. I figure someone has to have seen him around.”

Yuri studied the girl. ”Perhaps he is running late, and he can’t hear his phone.” He didn’t why she needed to get into this backroom, or why it was important. He didn’t even know what she wanted him to do.

“Why do you want to go into the backroom? Better question, why not go through the front?” Surely, if she really needed to get in there was someone on the other side that would allow her entry. 

“He might be, I don’t know...” she said with a frown. Even though she knew that he presented a very plausible scenario, she still couldn’t shake the worry that pooled in her stomach. Franco was nothing if not punctual, and his absence was deeply concerning to her. Though of course she wasn’t going to spill all of her beans to a stranger right in the middle of the sidewalk.

Mackenzie weighed her words carefully before answering his questions, “Well, it’s... I have an appointment out back, but... it’s not really a place you can just walk into from the street. He’s my key in, and I can’t find him.” She realized how awfully shady it all sounded, which, to be fair, it kind of was. But even if that was the case, she figured she should at least try to lie about it. “It’s not... I have an audition, kind of. For the lounge, they like to keep that one the low, and you need to be invited.” Great story, if only she could lie convincingly...