The Age of Aquarius

Chapter one

Pulling off her hat and shaking out her hair, Bonnie rolled her eyes at the lean girl and mumbled a word not meant for children to hear under her breath.

"No, I'm not, Isabel. I start at ten, it's a quarter to."

With a dramatic huff, Isabel flicked her lighter and lit her cigarette, motioning into the window behind her. Inside sat brightly dressed figures hunched around tables, muffled laughter audible even through the glass.

"I'm going out tonight with my friends tonight, remember?"

In all honesty, Bonnie had remembered perfectly fine that she wanted an early finish—just like every other night. And perhaps she would have come in for her, had it not been for the fact that Isabel was a giant brat and always expected her to just do it without a complaint. Also, the rota somehow always stayed unchanged with the original hours, even if Bonnie had edited it herself on shift.

"Last time your dad didn't pay me for the extra hours and I got in trouble for work that you were supposed to have done," she reminded her with a strained smile, "You're supposed to be here until after twelve tonight, so did you speak to him about this?"

She wasn't overly concerned with the workload or being on her own in the cafe. Most nights, she spent her time entertaining herself because it was so quiet. But if they weren't going to pay her for it, then she'd rather be doing it at home, and Isabel seemed to take advantage of her absent father, frequently.

Isabel huffed and crossed her arms, clearly underdressed for the Scottish winter wind. With her eyes rolling, she took a draw from her cigarette, her boots clacking as she shifted her weight to the other hip.

"No. I didn't. But I'll happily have a talk with him about your attitude towards superiors and lack of work ethic," she snarked back, a satisfied grin overtaking her face, "If you'd prefer that?"

With a defeated sigh, Bonnie shook her head, her resolve dissipating with the little urge she had to argue.

"Nope, no need to bother him. I'm sure he's a busy man."

The sooner Bonnie could get inside and stop this conversation, the better.

"Good," Isabel smiled as the door behind her opened and people joined them in the street, "I'm glad we agree."

"Isa, are we going?" One of her friends asked, walking up to the pair, boredom on his young features, "We've finished eating and if we don't go now, they're going to give our booking."

"Yes, I know!" she snapped back, throwing her stub to the ground and pressing it with her boot, "If you had been listening then you'd know I was just waiting for someone to arrive so I could leave the place, or would you rather have not got free food?"

So she talks to her friend's like shit too, thought Bonnie sarcastically, how shocking.

"Right, so you're saying we can go now that..." He looks over and motions to Bonnie, "Brenda is here?"

Isabel's glee was palpable before she even snorted, hitting her friend on the arm dramatically. There was nothing she took more pleasure in than subtly ridiculing and belittling Bonnie in front of people, even if the latter was four years her senior.

"Her name's not Brenda, silly, it's Bonnie! You know, like pretty?" Isabel glanced over and tilted her head to the side slightly, her nose wrinkled, "I know, hard to believe why."

"Okay!" Bonnie interrupted loudly, pushing past them and keeping her head down as they chuckled, "Better hurry if you want that table! You guys have a great night out!"