A Barista by day and a bar attendant by night! Sam traded her off days with Jennifer's or Sky, joggled with minimal sleep. Sky worked with her at the bar while Jennifer was at the cafe, and for one thing, Sky was the better version of Jennifer. But it didn't make it less bothersome when he would spill endless sordid details about his newfound love and dating spree, which gradually turned to breakups and repeats.

She never complained about it though it sucked. At least it was better company than Jennifer, who seemed to hate her for inexplicable reasons.

The bar was located just around the corner of her street. She preferred it that way as it was closer to her house. The cafe, however, was farther and she had to take the bus, which wasn't bad. Approaching the bar, she could feel the grim atmosphere that could engulf a person. She walked past the front door and turned round the back of the building. A dumpster sat there that never seemed too brimful but empty enough to accommodate more. She wasn't one to concern herself with others, so she didn't care. She got to the back door of the building meant for employees and paused. Heaving a loud sigh, she continued and opened the door, plastering a placid smile as she started to greet people who also worked there.

The loud music screwed deep into her skull as she served the drinks. Then another and another until the rush slowly died down. It was almost 1 am when she checked her phone; hell knew how tired she was, but she kept at it.

"Sammy, I can't find any batch of whiskey," Sky called out from behind. She turned and gave him a bored-to-death look as she walked towards the inner parts of the bar.

"Take over the counter for me then. I'll go check." As much as she didn't like disturbance when she worked, it was a sweet relief from the loud music in the bar. Sam walked past a colleague, and they nodded at each other without uttering a word. That was why she liked it here; nobody was in anybody's business, with Sky as an exception. Reaching the end of the small corridor, Sam found stacks of beer bottles everywhere. She looked around and only found one remaining box of whiskey, indicating that they needed to restock.

She took the whiskey to the counter, where she met Sky talking to a guy. He always did that- he got so into people that he looses sight of other things. "Sky, we only got one batch left, so write it on the list later," She said, putting the box on the shelf behind the counter.

"All right," Sky answered, serving drinks to the guy at the other side of the counter, oblivious to Sam's presence. He took the cash that slipped to him and strolled towards Sam. Before that, he had kept some money in the cash register under the counter and waved the rest at her. "I'm taking the tip- that's for helping." He smirked in the usual manner that irked Sam.

Sam shook her head, she was helping him with the whiskey in the first place, but she knew not to argue with Sky. He could get gabby, especially when he felt he was right, which was all the time. "Whatever, don't forget to write whiskey on the list," She said, walking to the counter to continue her job. The guy who had been talking to Sky gave her a slurry smile that made her skin crawl. 

"Fine, fine. You don't have to be serious all the time," Sky complained with a pout, leaving her by the counter.

Time elapsed, and it was almost five in the morning. Sam looked forward to an hour passing; she was dead tired and would take any chance to leave with enthusiasm. If she was lucky enough, maybe she could get some sleep before resuming her morning shift at the cafe by 9 am.

After a while, she glanced at the time on her phone, which showed 5:54 am. Finally! Marcus was to assume her shift, and he was already there helping with some stuff in the back. Placing her phone back in her pocket, she stuffed the little she had gathered from tips and called out on Marcus.

"Take care," He waved as she walked past him and headed home. Marcus had always been friendly to her, but Sky said it was because he had a massive crush on her, but she wasn't interested in indulging. At least Marcus kept his distance.

"Yeah," she replied. Sam walked out the back door with Sky following in her trail. They walked together most of the time when they had the same shift. Thankfully Sky was too tired to babble about anything resulting in a quiet walk with the sun barely peaking out of the horizon. She still felt her headache, but the morning was here, and she had a job to do so; some pills and rest could do the trick.

"See you later Sammy!" Sky waved at her when she stopped in front of her apartment, and she waved back. 

"Ok," she took out her keys and opened her door, the house looked dreary, and all she wanted to do was close it, turn around and run, but- no. She lived there, and it was all she had. Bracing herself for nothing particularly, she walked in slowly and locked the door behind her.