Darkness in the Neon Lights (H2OVanoss)

Chapter 3

When I step out of Ryan's car and look up at the large brick building in front of us. I can see a sign on the front of it, but it's a cloudy and foggy day today, more than likely meaning that it's going to rain again, so it's hard to see what it says. Ryan and Bryce lead me into the building, and right away, I'm in awe.

The walls are a simple pattern of white and black, and the floor is black with white paw prints all over it. There are some people walking around wearing the same thing, which causes me to blush a little. They are all wearing white crop tops with a chubby panda wearing sunglasses face on it, black booty shorts with white paw prints on the butt and crotch, and little panda ears on the top of their heads. The uniform shows off every inch of their bodies, and it's making me feel a bit self-conscious.

"Hey, what do you two think you're doing," I hear someone yell from the opposite side of the room. I look over and see a man wearing a black, tucked in polo with the same panda face on it march over to us from the bar. He may have been talking to Ryan and Bryce, but I can see his eyes glued onto me. Ryan and Bryce quickly push me behind them and glare at the man.

"Back off, Marcel," Bryce quickly says. "Anthony asked us to bring him in for an interview."

"What?! Hell no! Look at him! You can easily tell that this kid is underage! Do you know how much trouble we can get into?!"

"Look, the kid needs help, and Anthony is offering that help," Ryan tells him.

"For a price, and you know that! I don't want him to have to go through any of the bullshit that comes with working here! Hell, he shouldn't even be here!"

"What's going on here," we hear someone yell from across the room. We look towards the back, next to a large stage with a catwalk and pole leading up to a crimson red curtain. Standing next to it, we see another man with short brown hair and a beard. He looks angry, even from a distance.

We watch as he walks over, and I see the first man, Marcel, stand up straight. "Sir, I was just telling these two they couldn't bring kids into the club. It's illegal after all."

The bearded man shakes his head and grabs Marcel's arm, pulling him away from us. They move a couple feet away from us and I see the bearded man tell Marcel something. It's then that I notice something written on the back of Marcel's shirt. In white cursive letters is the word "security". After a minute of them talking, they walk back over to us.

"I'm sorry for the way I acted. I just want to make sure nothing but the best happens for the club."

"We understand," Bryce says, turning away from Marcel and looking back to me.

"Great," the bearded man says as he pats Marcel on the back. "Now that everything is taken care of, Marcel, why don't you go get a drink from Smitty, before we open to help you relax. Bryce, you work today, so go to the back and get your costume on. Ryan, you and the kid follow me."

The moment he stops talking, I watch as Marcel walks straight to the bar and I watch Bryce walk over to the stage, going through a black door with the same panda face on it, only, it's not wearing sunglasses on that door. Instead, it looks almost like an emoji, where its laughing with its eyes closed.

I look over and see Ryan and the bearded man starting to walk towards that door as well, so I quickly follow after them. We go through that door and I see them both turn to the right, going into a stairwell that leads us to the second floor. The bearded man opens the door that's just at the top of the stairs and holds it open for both Ryan and I.

When I walk in, I look around in shock at what I see. There's a couch and TV right in front of us, behind it is a bar, farther back a mini fridge, and behind all of that is a large marble desk. Ryan and I walk up to the desk and I see a big computer on it along with several pieces of paper. There are two chairs in front of the desk and one behind it, and behind that is a row of metal filing cabinets.