where:Â the alibi dive bar when:Â half an hour past midnight with:Â open starter
With the clock just striking half past twelve, Camille had a whole evening of Alibi Dive ahead of her. Bitch by Meredith Brooks was blaring through the speakers for the second time that night while a group of girls occupied the center of the bar, dancing and singing in gloriously off-key harmony. From the high chair she'd dragged into the corner for a better vantage point, she watched one of the bartenders work the counter, elbow propped on the sticky wood and chin resting in her palm as tired eyes tracked the room. Tonight wasn't busy, thankfully, though the group of men in the far right corner looked exactly like the kind of trouble that waited until two in the morning to make itself known. Good thing she was wearing the heeled boots she'd affectionately named her ass-kicking boots after two weeks of working at the bar. Her boss hadn't trusted a 5'1 bar manager when he first hired her, but Camille had proven that growing up with two older brothers had taught exactly how to stand her ground.
A line began to form the moment the girls drifted from the dance floor to the bar when the song ended and a handful of new patrons wandered in from the street. With a dramatic sigh that was more performance than annoyance, Camille hopped down from her chair. The second her boots hit the floor, a bright smile snapped into place and her eyes sparkled as she slipped in beside her coworker with almost a spring in her step. She leaned against the counter and looked to the first person waiting in line. "What can I do for you, sugar?"
Mars wasn't a frequent patron of the establishment, but where else could you go at this time of the night? As much as she had wanted to stay at home, she was in the thick of planning a new D&D campaign, and she needed more inspiration than her bedroom - and sleeping roommate in the bedroom next door - could provide her. As all great campaigns started in a tavern, anyway, the dive bar felt right.
Admittedly, it was a little more chaotic than she had been expecting, but that was why the friendly face behind the bar struck Mars as a source of comfort. "Hi," she greeted them, a little more timidly than intended. "Uhh," fuck, why hadn't she thought ahead about her order? Now she was just standing there and holding up the line. She thought she must have looked like a total idiot. "Sorry, I'll just grab a rum and coke - please." It wasn't her favourite drink, but it was the first to come to mind, and it would certainly do - or so she hoped.
