The Girl Behind the SMILE

Down in the Alley

Macy felt the familiar chill of the musty night air as she walked down the alleyway. The one, flickering street lap was the reason she hadn't tripped over the immense amount of garbage strewn across the old, cracking concrete. Her faded black Converse splashed in the smelly, puddles of garbage juice and water, soaking the hems of her leggings. Her nose scrunched when the stench of rotting wet garbage, alcohol, drugs, and old food finally reached it. She had been down this alleyway every night for the past 8 years and her nose still wasn't used to the smell.

She walked solemnly towards the end of the alley. A cold breeze swirled around her, giving her chills. She pulled the hood of her over-sized sweatshirt up over her dark hair and pulled the her hands into her sleeves in an attempt to stay warm. 

She walked to the end of the alley,  stopped, and looked up at the night sky. The stars were faded and hard to see, due to the light pollution produced by the big city. But she still loved gazing at the endless stars, it calmed her mind and relived her ever present stress and fear. She sighed, then took a right turn into another alley way, this one was brightly lite with the neon lights and signs that hung by rusting nails to the brick walls that lined the way. She quickly walked down the alley, avoiding the provocative gazes of the countless drunks that laid on the dirty ground. She stopped at a bright green neon sign that read Uptown Bar and Casino, her father's favorite place to waste the night away, getting completely stoned and throwing away all of his money.

She took a deep breath, grabbed the silver handle, and opened the heavy, metal door. She stepped over the threshold, and walked towards the bar, pulling her hood back on her way over. She sat down at one of the cushioned bar stools, nervously tapping her foot on the metal beam the lined the bottom of the bar. She looked around the room she shouldn't even be allowed in. Two thirds of the room was a casino, the rest was a bar.

The casino section had 2 long black poker tables, one dice table, and one roulette table placed in a square close to the edge of the casino's bright blue carpet, before it meets the dark tile of the bar. Each table has black chairs surrounding them. Forming a semi-circle around the tables were 5 rows of 20 flashing slot machines. Blue lights lined the floors while dim white lights hung from the ceiling. In the far corner of the casino was a pool table, where her two of her uncles, Aaron and Aiden, were playing a game while her youngest uncle, Anthony, watched and held beer for whoever's turn it was. Anthony saw her, smiled and gave her a little wave. She smiled and waved back.

Out of all three of her uncles, Anthony was her favorite. He was only 23, 7 years older then she was. He was the accidental child, making him 10 years younger then Aaron, the second youngest of her grandparents children. Anthony was different then the rest of her Uncles, he was kind and caring, and the only one to have finished high school and move on to college, he wants to become an engineer. His dark hair was stylishly shaggy, but he always looked clean kept and put together. He was one of Macy's best friends, she could tell him anything and he would keep it a secret. He always knew how to make her laugh, and he tended to her ever present wounds.

Macy's gaze wandered over to the couches that was set by the wall next to the bar. Her father lay on one of them, passed out, probably from too much to drink. She glared with disapproval and disgust at her fathers hefty form sprawled one the couch, a beer bottle still in his hand.

She rolled her eyes and looked back in front of her. Over the bar was a wall lined with bottles of an abundance of different types of alcohol, from sour watermelon Vodka to Captain Morgen Rum to Wine to Jack Daniels whiskey, all stacked on black shelves in front of blue light panels that were embedded into the wall. Cabinets made of glass filled with glasses and cups framed the shelves. A metal hanging wine glass rack clung to the ceiling above the bar, following the length of the counter top. The bar itself was made out of a polished, bright brown wood with a black counter top. The chairs were silver with blue cushions on top.