Superimposed

23

"I can't believe this!" Mike paced around the bar, "They can't just drop out like this!"

The pub was getting progressively busier as the evening went on. People were ordering food and meeting with friends.
The pub was in a prime location that attracted everyone from students and families to older locals looking for a place to eat out.

Charlotte had finished for the evening, but Taron had stayed and been told that Joe was going to start at 8.

"What's happened?" Taron glanced behind him to see Mike pacing round the back of the bar as Taron ran end to end serving everyone.
"The singer backed out last minute" Mike bites his bottom lip, deep in thought as to what to do, "We've got no one to play now for Saturday night" He shook his head
"You could do karaoke?" Taron suggested, spotting a lady waiting at the other end of the bar.

"Hi, can I just get a double vodka and coke please?" She asked, although she probably was old enough, she did look young and so Taron asked her for some ID.
"Thanks, sorry - I have to ask" He smirked and the girl nodded as Taron got her drink.

Grab a glass, one scoop of ice, a slice of lemon, double vodka and turn round to put the lemonade in with the drinks tap. A routine Taron had mastered over the weeks of working here.

"Anything else?" Taron looks up at her as he places the drink down in front of her
"Nope, that's it thank you" She hands him the money and Taron sorts the change
"There we go, have a good evening" He smiles, but immediately turns back to Mike who, although serving customers, looks worried.
"Do you know anyone else who can sing?" Taron asks Mike
"Fuck knows, might have to go with the karaoke idea" Mike replies, though smiling at customers as he serves them.
"Easy out mate, everyone loves a karaoke - do you have a machine?"
"Yeah, in the basement to the right, do you know how to set 'em up?"

The truth was no, but Taron said yes and began doing it anyway. Working it out as he went, can't be too hard can it?
Seeing the karaoke all ready to go reminded him of being back in Dulwich when he'd go out with people from college, they'd always end up on the karaoke.
It would almost always end up with Taron singing and the others dancing around as he did, they'd proceed to tell him that 'you can actually sing mate' and Taron just laughed it off. He never thought of himself as good at anything until he started acting.

Performing arts was a form of escapism and he learnt from an early age how to adopt different characters and play their lives as his own. Making a performance that was authentic and very believable. Something he learnt to do at home too, but here things had changed. Taron felt like for the first time in his life he could be himself, it really was a fresh start. People here had no idea what he was like back in Dulwich and it was the perfect opportunity to move on and try to push the past away - a hard thing to do when it feels as though you left with a lot of things unfinished.

"Ahh Taron, I didn't know you knew how to set one of these up" Joe wandered over to the back of the pub where Taron had cleared space and put everything in place for the karaoke, "I thought that Zack guy was playing tonight?"
Joe was a bit different to the other guys of Bloomsbury, most of them were very outgoing and full of themselves. But Joe was a little more quiet and kept himself to himself, it was only in the last week or so that Joe had started to be more confident around Taron and start talking to him properly.
"I didn't know you could be on time" Taron smirks raising his eyebrows
"Shut up! Just because you live here and don't need to travel" Joe claps back and Taron waves him off.
"Zack was meant to be playing tonight but he backed out last minute so I suggested the karaoke"
"So you could have a go later" Joe adds
"God no, who told you I could sing"
"Well you're in drama school aren't you? Everyone who goes to drama school can sing"
"I'm not yet and that's not true - not every actor can sing"
"But you can" Joe smirks
"Shut up" Taron laughs

As the night continued, Taron began to get short tempered, something everyone else noticed but him.

He'd leave more frequently for a cigarette, leaving Mike and Joe to serve everyone.

Lighting the fifth one, Taron leant against the wall next to the back door of the pub, perfectly hidden by the shadow of the building. He stared into the distance, watching as people stumbled into the road and held onto each other.
A long drag brought him the nicotine rush he craved and he let his head lean back against the wall.

But cigarettes don't last that long and after a few minutes he had to put it out and head back inside.

Taron was glad when the clock struck midnight, it was the queue to shout for last orders.
Seeing as Mike left at 11 he had a plan to make sure everyone was out by one, the karaoke went off as soon as Mike left which did make a few tables leave.
"Last orders!" He shouts over the noise of the pub and a lot of people rush up to grab their last dosage of alcohol before leaving. Either to a club or home, god Taron did not envy the people that worked at clubs. The people here were a handful enough and when you've been here for more than ten hours it does start to wear on you.

Both Joe and Taron rushed around serving the last people, along with collecting empty glasses from now vacant tables.
As the two watched the last lot stumble out Taron let out a loud sigh and walked to the door to lock it up.
"Thank god" He breathed, turning back to Joe who was cleaning the bar
"What time did you start?" Joe looked up from the counter
"1"
"Really? Fucking hell, Mike basically gets you to run the place"
"Tell me about it" Taron smiled weakly, he didn't mind being the guy in charge and he really didn't mind working here. But, like any job, there becomes a point where enough is enough and you're glad when the shift is over.
"So if you're not in drama school, what are you doing?" Joe makes conversation and Taron happily entertains it. Telling him about moving here and working at the pub full time to save some cash before auditioning for drama school for next year. Obviously leaving out the part where he was homeless for a few months and would get abused by his step dad.
"What about you?"
Joe shrugs, "Anything and everything"
"No burning ambition then?"
"Nah, I wanted to be an architect when I left school but I just didn't get the grades and gave up with that" Joe explains, wiping each table and putting the cardboard coasters back on the now clean table.
"You gave up just like that?"
"Well if you don't get the grades then it's a no" Joe shrugs.

Taron couldn't be more different to Joe, he had so much ambition and although he had his down moments, he's never given up on the dream of being an actor.

"If everyone said that no one would get anywhere" Taron comments and Joe doesn't say anything back so they continue to clean everything up.

"Right, you can now if you like" Taron told Joe as they both finished the last jobs.
"Cheers, I'll come back tomorrow for my money"
Taron nodded, people like him were all the same. All in it for the money and nothing else, he knows a pub job isn't really one people do with a lot of passion. But to be driven by nothing but money is such a shallow lifestyle.

Given up on his dreams and works a dead end job for nothing but a bigger bank balance.