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Muse A
“The way you flirt is shameful”
Shiva glanced at the platinum blonde bus boy and smiled. She threw an apologetic look at the customer and retreated behind the bar.
“A girl gotta get her tips somehow, Seamus.” She said. She slipped her hand out of the blighted fellow pocket. Taking his watch with her.
The nightclub was alive. Neon color beams flashed haphazardly. The DJ was throwing in random remixes and bass vibrations flowed through the crowd of sweaty bodies. The smell was something you had to get used to. Sweat, vomit and cigarette or if you’re lucky - vape smoke.
Seamus’s eyes roamed her body appreciatively, she felt disgusted. He was average height and built. His nose reminds her of a roman aristocrat, lips thin and eyes hooded. He was attractive - maybe. She never knew his last name - they weren’t that close and she kept it that way.
She rarely worked night shifts at the club on Fridays. She was a card dealer on Thursdays and Tuesdays. Those days the club was converted to a makeshift casino. Elite clientele showed up. Men in crisp black suits were present ready to spend their money lackadaisical. On other days she was a waitress or bartender.
She felt her dishonest deed in her pocket weighing heavily on her conscience. Her wages weren’t gonna pay her college tuition nor university fees.
Two hours passed. It was two in the morning the club was only getting high - spirited. Shiva’s shift was coming to an end.
Gathering her textbooks she exited the vivacious nightclub. She walked absent-mindedly extricating the watch from her pocket. Shiva could sell it to a pawn shop -
There was a screech. And blinding lights. The bumper of the car touched her - barely but she still tipped over.
“Hey! You can’t stand there! It’s the middle of the street!”
Shiva covered her eyes and allowed her eyes to adjust. “If you weren’t on your Goddamned cell phone maybe you would have seen me!”
She heard the car door slam. The man ran his hand through his hair frustrated. Shiva grasped the bumper of the expensive BMW and tried to lift herself up. The wheels finished turning in the man’s head and he offered a hand.
Shiva knew it was wrong but she slipped her hand into his coat and slyly took his wallet in the waistband of her jeans all the while pulling herself up. Concealed.
“Are you alright? Were you hurt?” He said. His eyes scanned her briefly from her dark washed jeans to her plain yellow jersey that reeked of alcohol.
“I’m fine. A minor accident. No one got hurt” Those words were more to console him than herself. Relief washed over his panic stricken face. The man made one last scan to assure himself that she was actually fine. A heavy silence settled between them. Sounds of night animals could be heard until Shiva breaks the silence with a rush of words.
“Listen, I have to go. The cult I joined last week is having a meeting. It’s sacrificial day of the damned tonight.” she said.
Shoving hands into her pockets she rushed off. The man wouldn’t notice his missing wallet anytime soon but she still didn’t want to linger at the scene of her crime. To ensure her safety she took a detour.
The small yellow painted house came into view. Yawning tiredly she collapsed into her bed.
