Coke

I finish work at 10pm each night. It takes me 45 minutes to walk home, but alternatively, I can wait 55 to get the bus home. Rather than waiting at the actual bus stop with its uncomfortable seats and uncouth surroundings, I’ll just wait in one of the pubs. The pub I usually go to is a place called Heidans. It’s quiet on the weekdays, has comfortable seats, atmosphere and the drinks are usually cheap enough. There’s barely anyone here. Just a few old people, youngsters coming out of work and then some dude just standing around spacing out. Standing at the bar is a woman in her 40s. A little rough on the outside but she’s sweet enough. 

“You okay?”

“Yeah, just a coke please”

“Coke?”

“Yes”

She turns around, grabs a glass and uses it to scoop up some ice. She then reaches down below to where all the bottles are, grabbing a Coke. I take out my phone and pay for my drink on the card machine. €3.50 for a 200ml coke. At first I would always complain to my friends about the exorbitant prices of drinks in pubs but whatever. I have a job so €3.50 isn’t gonna kill me. After she hands me the glass and the coke, I begin to pour it. When pouring a coke, I’m very careful not to pour it in too quickly, lest the fizz dissolve the drink, giving me much less than I bargained for. I decide to sit under the taxidermied wall mount of a moose with a bookcase to its side, hosting different chess sets and a myriad of mediocre board games. I can see the condensation on the glass, the cold feeling when I grip it. This is going to be delicious. I can’t wait any longer so I go in for a big gulp. As crisp and refreshing as the coke is, I drank it too quickly. The fizz starts burning my throat and the cold from the liquid hurts my sensitive teeth. These feelings are minor however as I needed this coke after a long day. I pick up my glass again and bless myself with another swig. Truly marvelous. I’m in love with the flavor. Oh… my glass is empty. And it's only 10:27pm. There’s still roughly half an hour left before the bus arrives and I can go home.

Asahi

10:38, I can feel my phone buzz. Upon inspection, it’s from my friend Nina. She’s finished work early and is asking if anyones out. My bus is gonna be here soon but… ah screw it, it’s not like I have a bedtime. The last bus is at 11:55pm and if it comes down to it, I could always just either walk home or get a taxi. I give her a text and she says she’ll be on her way there. My phone buzzes again. It’s from my coworker Claus.

“Do you fancy working my 7-4 tomorrow”

“No”

I then put my phone away before that lout could text me again. Coming in through the door is Nina. I watch her take off her chunky Dyson headphones and greet me with a silly yet endearing grin

“What’s up Val”

“Nothing much. It was quiet here so I thought I’d take a breather after work.”

“Cool, I’m gonna go grab a drink”

“I’ll come with. I need another one”

Since Nina was grabbing her Signature bottle of Kopparberg, I’d thought I’d leap at the opportunity to have alcohol instead of another coke.

“A pint of Moretti please”

“None left”

“Oh”

I’ll be honest, I froze for a second. Birra Moretti is my go-to drink but I guess I could do with something else. I looked through the other drinks and nothing really stood out to me. I had a gander at the bottle fridges and low and behold, a bottle of Asahi was down there. I never see Asahi in pubs but it’s my favorite beer. Without Hesitation, I buy it for €6.50. The bartender proceeds to take it out and pop off the cap. My mouth is watering at the sight of such a perfect bottle. I felt like a dog wagging its tail for its owner’s food. Nina raises her eyebrow, curious to my excitement but she wouldn’t understand my joy for such a rare occasion. Nobody would. The first sip is a kick. The taste is mature yet immaculate (to be expected from beer). As I swallow, I feel its dry aftertaste swirl in my throat. Many people dislike it but I prefer it to other beers. I don’t care how many quirky fruits and flavors are in Nina’s crappy Kopparberg, it pales in comparison to the euphoria in my hand.

“Val did you hear that Sam and Laura broke up”

“What?”

“Yeah they broke up. Laura got back with her ex and-”

“No, as in… who are you talking about”

“Sam? Sam O’Shea?”

“Nina, who the fuck is Sam O’Shea”

“Val, you were out with him last week”

“Yeah Sam Fagan, I haven’t a clue who Sam O’Shea is”

The gossip was muddling my thoughts, yet my Asahi made it all better. That feeling of peace would come to a horrible end however

3 Pints

Some dude comes up to us, rocking a tracksuit and a dirty 50 year old mug.

“Jaysus, some night tonight!”

What? Who… who the fuck is this guy? Here I am, enjoying both drinks after work and company with a friend who I don’t see very often and this neanderthal has the gaul to sully it?! “Nah, calm down,” I think to myself. I’m just being misanthropic, the guy will probably leave to his own devices eventually, right? Nina decides to humor him for a bit with smalltalk, trying to sound boring to make him lose interest but… my god, he’s still here. Maybe if I pretend he’s not here, he’ll leave.

“So Nina, have you seen the ne-”

“Do yous smoke weed?”

You have to be taking the piss

“No”

He looks at me with a dirty grin

“Well, I’m a weed dealer. I can get you weed”

“I don’t smoke”

He gets closer to me, pats my back and goes

“Ah you’ll try my weed, go on”

I am trying everything in my power not to cause a scene. I’m too much of a little bitch to tell him to leave but I also don’t want to start any conflict. Out of nowhere, he leaves. Nina turns to me and lets out a sigh of relief. We air out our grievances to each other about this absolute monkey that decided to chat absolute nonsense to us for about 20 minutes. Just as we’re debating whether or not to leave, we hear the clinking of glasses behind us. He’s back. In his hands are pints we did not ask for.

“Oh uh, we were actually just about to leave”

“Ah come on, we’re having a good one”

I look at the wall, dumbfounded. I am done with this guy. Nina gets up and says she has to go to the bathroom, giving me a wink as she does so. Without giving an excuse, reason or answer, I get up and begin to walk away. He reaches out his hand

“Here bud-”

“Fuck off”

As much of a catharsis I got from saying that, I began shitting myself. I needed to go. I didn’t hear him say anything, luckily but I still had butterflies in my stomach that felt more like a rabid flock of crows fighting over a piece of bread.

Baby Guinness

I rendezvous with Nina outside of the pub. “Lets get the fuck out of here” I say to her. It is currently 11:26pm. I don’t really want to go home yet. Thanks to that moron, I never got to finish my Asahi but I figured going back for it would be a bad idea. Down the street, we hear the loud bumping of a club. It couldn’t be, it’s a Wednesday. Low and behold, The Aphrodite was open. Since it was a weekday, we didn’t have to pay to get in. There were a few people buzzing around but at one table were Nina’s coworkers from her previous job. They were having a night out of their own. And they were eager for us to enjoy it with them. These people seemed very nice. One of which was hot. Like… really hot. I did nothing about it because I’m autistic as shit and can’t seduce anyone but that’s not what I was here for. After a while, I just zone out as they all start talking about their workplace, gossipping about various coworkers, managers, customers, etc. Damn, I should’ve just gone home. Luckily in times like these, I have my phone with Bloons TD6 to keep my mind occupied. But before I could do Bloody Puddles on Chimps, an armada of shot glasses were brought to the table by one of Nina’s friends.

“What is this?” I ask Nina

“It’s a Baby Guinness”

“What’s in it?”

“Kahlúa and Baileys”

I hate shots. They burn my throat and cause my sensations to go haywire. However, It’d be rude to refuse it. I can feel my heart pounding and my spine shivering. I really didn’t want to take a shot as it would mess me up. With one gulp, I drank it whole. I felt the burn but… wait, it’s good? It actually tastes good? Its sweet taste is very nice, albeit fleeting. The burn isn’t as bad as having whiskey or vodka which was nice. It’s safe to say, Baby Guinness is a nice drink. Blaring in my ears was the DJ. He had with him a karaoke machine, a chance to perform to all of the patrons in the club. Normally I wouldn’t bother with it but since I’m a massive lightweight, the Baby Guinness took control. It’s not every night that I come across a chance to do karaoke. Therefore, I shimmy up to the DJ and mumble my song request in his ear to which he agrees. The funky guitar opening erupts from the speakers as I give it my all.

“Heard of a van that’s loaded with weapons, Packed up and ready to go”

“Heard of some gravesites, out by the highway, a place where nobody knows”

“The sound of gunfire, off in the distance, I’m getting used to it now”

“Lived in a brownstone, lived in a ghetto, I’ve lived all over this town”

Suddenly, I feel many people rally behind me, Joining in on my silly little crescendo

“THIS AIN’T NO PARTY, THIS AIN’T NO DISCO, THIS AIN’T NO FOOLING AROUND”

“NO TIME FOR DANCING, OR LOVEY-DOVEY, I AIN’T GOT TIME FOR THAT NOW”

Water

My head hurts. My ears ring. My nose feels crusty with blood. Beneath my person is the vibration of a car engine. As I wake up, I find myself in the back of a taxi, my head resting on Nina’s shoulder.

“Val, you alright? Do you remember anything?”

My memory was hazy. I strictly remember not having enough alcohol to warrant having blacked out. But at the same time, I want to know what happened.

“You sang so hard, you passed out. Then you bashed your head on a few glasses”

My eyes widen. Surely she has to be fucking with me. No, she’s dead ass with me. There’s a bandage on my forehead.

“...Shouldn’t I go to the hospital?” I murmur in a raspy voice

“Nah, you’ll be fine man. Just get some rest”

The taxi pulls up to my cozy little bungalow on the outskirts of town. 1:46am. Thank god it's finally over. The kitchen of my house is comforting, acting as a contrast to the sounds of passing cars, chattering people and bars with such ridiculous shenanigans. The hum of my fridge brought me peace. My lips felt very dry after my horrid ordeal. Luckily, I have just the thing to fix it, a glass of water. No fancy tastes, no mature kick, nothing. As I raised the water to my lips, I could hear the gentle melody of Clair de Lune play in the back of my mind. When I drink it, I can feel a chill in my chest, as if a cooling energy was passing through my entire body. My headache began to subside. My stomach calmed down. My heart slowed tremendously. I fall back onto the couch, the water coursing through my system, fixing my broken body. Resting in my hand was the empty glass.

Wordcount 2110

I chose the theme "Glass"

Thank you Jamriot for this opportunity!