#fwmb

Penny Benjamin, your boss and friend-slash-mentor, was your saving grace. She had hired you around the time she bought the bar, The Hard Deck, a few years ago from some of the money in the settlement of the divorce with her ex-husband, Darren—or as you and your coworkers call him, Darren the Douche. Creative, you’re well aware. Penny was the only reason you weren’t on the streets, giving you a place to put your feet down and start working to pay back the colossal mountain of student loan debt you had acquired over four years of undergrad.

You’ve given up on grad school entirely.

Time flies as you, Lina, and your coworkers Sam, Evan, Hannah, and Cody finish prepping for opening rush. Penny has six of you on staff—everyone one rotates days off, and today, a Monday, is Sawyer’s. Yours is Thursday, so only three days to go.

Soon enough, the bar opens. It’s the hotspot Navy bar in the area, uniforms filling the place as it gets later on into the evening.

“Lina!” Sam hollers suddenly as she hurries to the bar, calling your name as well and snapping you out of the zone. “Penny gave the all-clear.”

You grin, high-fiving the blonde. “Perfect.” Hopping the counter, you wink at your boss as she comes to take your place, prompting her to shake her head in fond exasperation. The jukebox cuts out suddenly, causing groans as everyone looks to where Evan unplugged it while the rest of you head to the piano that doubles as a makeshift stage for your purposes. One night after the bar had closed, on Penny’s night off (Tuesdays), the half-drunken six of you had discovered that you were all musically inclined. That led to the creation of a band; practices were bi-weekly after closing Tuesday and at Hannah’s apartment on Friday before work.

Picking up the mic, you tap it to gain the attention of the bar’s patrons, who quickly grow excited as they realize what’s about to go down. Despite missing a bassist—Sawyer—who doubles with backing vocals, you’re still going to make some music and it’s going to sound good. It’s a sporadic event, so when given the chance, your group grabs it whole-heartedly.

“Hey, everyone, how we doing tonight?” You greet to cheers and whoops as the band begins playing in the background. You grin, waiting the necessary measures before coming in.

Where it began, I can’t begin to knowing

But then I know it’s growing strong

Was in the spring

And spring became the summer

Who’d have believed you’d come along

Hands, touching hands

Reaching out, touching me, touching youuuu

Sweet Caroline!

You pause, holding the mic out to the crowd as they yell, “BUM BUM BUM!” before resuming.

Good times never seemed so good

“SO GOOD! SO GOOD! SO GOOD!”

I’ve been inclined

“BUM BUM BUM!”

To believe they never would

But now I…

The song ends to soon for your liking, and Penny is motioning for you all to wrap it up instead of going into something different. “Thank you! We are Jukebox Replacement!” You say into the mic, to the groans of the crowd at its ending. You chuckle as one holds up a thumbs down. “Dude, that was your request. Anyways, give it up for Penny, the owner, who really meant it when she said only one song! Oh, and please don’t forget to tip your servers, ‘cause—P.S.—we’re also your servers.”

prologue

ACT I - FEEL IT STILL

goodbye to my hopes and dreams

mama, call the gravedigger

start flipping for my enemies

ACT II - SWEET CAROLINE I

when it began...

...i can’t begin to know when

but then i know it’s growing fast

chapters tba

ACT III - COME BACK HOME

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ACT IV - I HATE THE WAY I

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ACT V - BLUE SIDE OF THE SKY

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ACT VI - I DIDN’T KNOW

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ACT VII - I HATE THE WAY II

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ACT VIII - SWEET CAROLINE II

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