As Marie steps out of the cab she takes in the brightness of the street. Unlike the last time she was here when it was dark and gloomy, now it's bright. People walk with bags in their hands as they duck in and out of the shops that are now open. The Rabbit Hole looks much the same as it did before. But this time the red door seems to glow even brighter. And the flashing light with its name on it is dimmer in the bright sun.
Marie closes the cab door and walks into her new place of work. She opens the door and a wave of cool air hits her in the face. She breathes in the scent of liquor and what she hopes is a start to new fame. Although, her last job smelt like fame and that didn't rub off on her.
When Marie hits the ground floor where the bar itself is, she looks around for anyone who could help her. But the place is empty. She hums and walks over to the bar. "Mike?" she calls out.
"Over here."
Marie spins around. Her gaze lands on the stage where a red curtain hides it. Mike's head picks out of the curtain. Marie blinks a few times before making her way over to him. Her heels click-clacking fills the empty building. "What are you doing back there?" she asks.
"Why, we're rehearsing, of course."
Marie nods.
Mike's hand comes out below his head. "Come back here and I'll introduce ya to the crew."
Marie eyes his hand. Mike notices and takes it back. A moment later he's holding the curtain open for her. She grins and climbs up onto the stage, careful to duck under the curtains. Once she's on the stage and through them, Mike drops them. But the stage doesn't go black. Marie cranes her neck towards a tiny hall where a small source of light shines from.
Mike starts for it. "Come. I'll see you around backstage and your practice space. I'll even introduce you to your partner if he's around."
Marie stops dead in her tracks. "What do you mean partner?"
Mike looks back at her with a blank expression. "Did I not mention that?"
"I don't work with partners," Marie hisses.
Mike ignores her comment and talks more to himself then to her. "I swear I mentioned a partner."
Marie crosses her arms. "You never once mentioned a partner to me."
He sighs and turns to face me. "Well, regardless of whether or not I mentioned it, if you want this job you're going to have to work with a partner."
Her mouth drops open. She doesn't work with anyone. At her old job she was never once asked to work with anyone. She preferred to work on her own music with no one else's perspective or opinion in her work. But she sighs. She needs this job if she wants to stay here and continue to work towards her dream. She can learn to work with someone. Right? "Fine," she says, uncrossing her arms.
Mike grins. "Great. Then let me introduce you to the crew of The Rabbit Hole." He dips out of the tiny hall. Marie scrambles to follow him. As the hall ends it opens into a spacious little room. The walls and floor are all black, making it seem like they flow into one another. Along one of the walls is a set of vanities, and the one against that has some mirrors. On the other wall are a few doors, each with a name taped onto it. Throughout the middle of the room are some chairs and couches plus some colorful blocks. Sitting on those are three different people. One of them being the lady who performed the first time Marie entered the bar.
"Guys, this is Marie," Mike introduces.
The three of them wave. The one closest to Marie, who's sitting on one of the blocks, stands up and holds her hand out. "Welcome to the team. I'm Nayoko."
Marie takes her hand. "Nice to meet you."
Nayoko brushes her long black hair behind her ears before pointing behind her at the man who sits on the couch. "That's Finnian. But we call him Finn." The man waves. He's bright blue eyes taking Marie in. Marie nods, a tight smile on her face. Nayoko turns and points to the lady who had performed the first time Marie came in. "And that's Amy."
Amy nods as a pink bubble comes out of her mouth.
Maire tries to hold in her grimace and nods back. "It's nice to meet you all." But there's something she can't help but notice. The man who had finished his performance right as she walked in isn't here.
Mike must notice as well since he asks, "And where's Roan?"
Nayoko rolls her eyes and smiles at Marie. "He dipped out right before you arrived."
Mike sighs and rubs his forehead. "Of course he did."
"And who's Roan?" Marie asks.
"Your partner."
Marie tries her best to smile. Great. Not only is she being forced to work with someone, but she's working with someone who seems to not be around much.
"I'm going to go see if I can find him," Mike says as he makes his way towards the curtains that they came through. "Why don't you all bond or something."
"Good luck!" Nayoko calls after him.
Mike grunts.
Marie tries her best to keep her thoughts to herself and not give them away by her facial expressions but it's hard when they all appear to be naive and like a rag-tag team of misfits.
"So," Nayoko starts. "What performance are you doing?"
"I'm a singer," Marie answers simply.
"Oh! That's so cool. You must have a good voice then."
Marie grins. "I like to think so."
"Amy's a singer too! I'm sure you two will get along great."
Marie looks past Nayoko to where Amy sits. Amy's bubble pops and she folds it back into her mouth. "I'm sure we will." Her eyes are narrowed as she stares at Marie.
"Well, I'm a cellist, and Finn plays the piano."
Why couldn't Marie have gotten one of those two as a partner? They already seem better than Roan, as they're here in the room. Plus, they'd be less able to outshine her. Not that anyone could outshine her, of course.
"Where did you work before?" Nayoko asks.
"Nowhere important."
Nayoko nods and waits.
A silence fills the room.
"So..."
"Nayoko. Stop," Amy says.
The two turn towards her.
"Marie here clearly isn't interested in anyone but herself. She's one of the ones who thinks she's better than everyone. I'm sure she even thinks that this place is a waste of her time." Amy glares at Marie. "Isn't that right?"
Nayoko's face falls. "Is that true?" Her brown eyes stare up at Marie with a sadness she wouldn't expect from someone she just met who seemed to be the most upbeat person in the room.
Marie laughs. "Of course it isn't true."
Nayoko brightens. She spins toward Amy and crosses her arms. "See! I told you Marie wouldn't be like the others."
"Others?" Marie asks.
Amy rolls her eyes. "Just wait Nayoko. She's a liar." Then Amy pushes herself off the couch and heads towards one of the rooms with tape on it. "Now I need to get ready for my show tonight." Then she's in one of the rooms and slamming the door shut behind her.
Nayoko rolls her eyes. "Ignore her. She's just a grumpy pants."
Maire nods. How old is this girl?
A beep is heard throughout the room. All eyes turn to Nayoko as she pulls her phone out of her pocket. "Ugh. That's my ride. I have class now." She heads over to the couch and picks up a messenger bag that sits beside it. She throws it over her shoulder and makes her way over to the curtain. "See you soon! Can't wait to see your first performance!" she says.
Marie waves. "Thank you." Though she doubts it'll go well if her partner doesn't show up soon.
"Bye Finn!" Nayoko says before ducking out.
He'd been so quiet that Marie forgot he was there. She turns around to find him staring at her. She smiles and tries not to show how awkward this is. "So, you play piano?"
Instead of answering Finn stands up abruptly. He stalks over to her until he's towering over her. Marie gulps as fear grips her. His blue eyes darken as his deep voice fills the little space between them. "Watch." Then he turns around and disappears into another room. Marie stares at the door. Watch? Watch what? Him walking away? Him scaring her?
She sighs as the fear goes away. She looks around the now empty room, unsure of what to do now that she's alone. She walks over and plops down on the couch. She'll wait here for Mike and hopefully her partner. In the meantime she'll close her eyes and soak in the strangeness of the weird cast and crew of The Rabbit Hole.
Chapter WC: 1,494
Total WC: 4,380