Just a drink

Rita stared at the spot where Dr. Haywood stood moments before.

This could not be happening, could it? How long since she left the Blue Muse? What had she seen in that time? Dr. Haywood, Dr. Quirke, and some other lady aged backward. Did it matter that it also seemed to make them hotter? Were they that good-looking at … whatever age they were now? And her present from this program? Should she use it? Did it matter? How was she supposed to get more BP for the challenges? What was with the air stewardess? How was it her drink got to before she made it? Was that even correct? Could it be a coincidence?

“Hello, anyone there?” A loud voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

She glanced around and saw the other youngitified woman standing ahead of her. She glanced around and to her surprise, everyone else besides the air stewardess was gone. When did that happen?

Rita stood up, “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

The woman in front of her crossed her arms, “Finally, we have contact with a person in there. I would like to go to the bar and have something to drink, and as a bartender, I would like you to serve me.”

Rita stared dumbly, “Why do you want me?”

Rolling her eyes the woman stated, “Simply put, I want to know who I am dealing with. That flighty host is hard to pin down, so the next best thing is the other ‘guests’. I chatted a little with everyone else and you’re the only one left, beside that one.”

Rita shook her head, “Why did you ask me to make you a drink? You did listen to mine right?”

The woman enunciated her next words, “Of course, how else are you and I going to figure out the extent of that ability?”

She turned and headed to the mansion. Rita took a look around. The sun had gone and the pool area was only illuminated with a single stage light. Rita shivered and looked at the air stewardess. She considered trying to wake her but decided against it. Others surely would have tried right? She turned and walked briskly towards the mansion.

Should she ignore the woman and just head for bed? It was tempting. However, curiosity was winning. How noticeable were her drink's effects? Was it instant or dependent on the amount drunk? Besides, she didn’t feel like being alone right at this moment.

She walked through an opened French door into a dining room. She presumed that from the many tables, that could seat a couple to eight dinners, the set up of the tables, and the many glass windows that gave a view out to the forest and lake. She frowned at this while the outside had windows it did not have as many as this room had. She shook her head. There was no point in bringing logic to a place she was brought to by magic. Her eyes fell on the far wall where a full bar was. It was extremely well stocked. It stretched the entire length of the dining room with two doors flanking either side. The woman stood there, tapping her fingers on the bar.

She turned and looked at Rita, “Well, get to it.”

Rita sighed internally, “Let me see.”

Rita moved to the end of the bar and flipped the counter flap. Getting behind the bar she found a place to stash her jacket. She looked and saw a touchscreen registrar. She went over and tapped it. The screen came to life with ‘Welcome Rita. Start Shift?’. Below that text were two buttons, Yes and No. She tried picking up a nearby glass. However, her hand bounced off the glass like a brick wall. She stared confused at the interaction. She sighed and pressed Yes. She reached out for the glass and could grasp it now. No matter the magic in here, she had a job to do.

She turned towards the woman, “What would you like to drink madam?”

She shrugged as she stared at her device, “I’m not a frequent drinker. Suggest something for me.”

Rita looked at her customer. Transformation or not, she studied what she saw. Judging on the dress she would say that this person was a professor of mathematics. Chalk was on the inside cuff of her sleeve, and some smudges were on her hand. The only people she knew that had chalkboards were the mathematics department.

She mulled over what to serve her customers. She recalled all the customers she met with personalities similar to this woman's. She decided that for a safeish choice. She would mix a Moscow Mule. It looked like her customer would like a slight wake-up. Plus no real finesse was needed. Today is now and was a long day.

Looking under the cabinet she found some copper cups. Grabbing one, she put one on the counter. Looking behind her, she considered her options. She settled on a bottle of Reyka, for a more fruity vodka. She grabbed that and a lime. Putting on the counter she saw a collection of bottles in what looked to be glass door refrigerators. She grabbed a bottle of Fentiman’s ginger beer and some ice.

Gathering all the ingredients for the Mule, she cut the lime in half. Dropping the ice into the copper cup, she decided she would pour the vodka and the ginger beer at the same time. Opening both bottles, she let the Fentiman start before she added the Reyka. She estimated one part of the vodka to two parts of the ginger beer. She put the bottles down and squeezed the lime into the drink. She took the other half of the lime cut it again and placed one half into the mug. She gave the drink a quick stir.

She slid the drink over to the woman, “Here you are, ma’am, a Moscow Mule.”

The woman stared at the copper mug and gave a small grunt. She took a small sip and nodded. “So, do you drink?”

Rita shook her head, “Not at my work, ma’am.”

The woman took a health measure of her drink, “Stop calling me that, and let’s go with Alexa. We are all going to be around each other anyway. What’s the place you work called?”

Rita cleared her throat, “Umm, the Blue Muse, ma..Alexa. Is this really necessary?”

Alexa nodded, “It is. To delineate the equation where it goes different from what you expected is how we figure out these ‘gifts’ our host gives us.”

“I don’t see the point.”

Alexa looked up from the tablet she was studying, “You don’t. Are you a pissy bitch?”

Rita gritted her teeth, and responded, “Ma’am, I am not. I just don’t see the value of speculating when things can change on a whim.”

Alexa dropped her eyes back to the tablet, “That's an honest response. We are here for the long haul. I expected we’d be butting heads more. Now hush.“

Rita sighed and replaced all the liquors in their places. Well, this was not her favorite type of customer. It’s not like a person like that would like to get interrupted while studying and she was studying. And it was unlikely that the others would arrive and distract her from this person.

She heard a meow. She turned around and saw a cat. A tabby cat with a long stripe of black running from its forehead to its black tip tail. It meow again. She approached the cat cautiously.

“Where did you come from?” As she checked for a collar.

She scratched the top of the cat's head. Missing collar, but there was a note tied to the cat’s paw. Still petting the cat, who seemed to enjoy it, she extracted the note and read it. ‘Give the cat a bowl of catnip. -Justine’. She thought about it for a moment. She sighed. There was no point in ignoring the note. Although no clause in that pamphlet said such, she was pretty sure messing with people you don’t have the measure of was always a dumb idea.

She bent down to see if there was a tin of catnip. Looking at the refrigerators, she was surprised that there was an entire section of wine labeled catnip. She opened that section and noticed the fridge was warmer than the other cabinets. She grabbed and opened a new bottle of the catnip wine. She saw and grabbed a shallow bowl. She put the bowl before the cat and poured the wine. The cat battered at her when the wine was halfway up the bowl. She stopped and the cat started licking at the wine.

Rita scratched, the top of the cat’s head, “The host has an alcoholic cat. Why does that not surprise me?”

The cat looked up and purred. Rita petted the cat a bit longer. The cat started lapping at the wine again.

When was the last time she had petted a cat or any animal? A few years now. No pets were allowed in her apartment block. Her parents had an old dog she used to play with but… Not the time to dwell on it. It was not worth the aggravation. She wondered how that old hound was doing. Probably dead, maybe for several years now. Enjoying a furry companion was soothing.

Rita snapped out of her reverie. The clinking of ice told her that her customer was done.

Rita moved over to Alexa, “Do you need a refill? Or would you prefer a different drink?”

Alexa shook her head, “I only want one equation to deal with right now. No need for more for now. I’m going to rest.”

Alexa got up from her stool and walked out the door to the left of the bar. Rita sighed and cleaned up the mug. She looked at the cat. It was still drinking. She grabbed her coat and attempted to leave the bar. The bar flap refused to budget as if someone had cemented shut. Rita pinched the bridge of her nose. So this place was strict on punching in and out. She went back to the machine and tapped the screen. She expected the machine to ask for the end of the shift. Instead, it stated for the two drinks and service she would get four BPs. It also asked where she wanted to go. A touch keyboard awaited her input. Her hand found a lock of hair and started twisting it. Was there any reason not to state where she was going? Shrugging, she inputted that she was heading for bed.

As soon as she pressed done, she found herself in a hallway facing a door. On the side was a plaque with pixel art and read ‘Rita & Alexa’. She glanced around. There were other doors down to her right and left. She saw similar plaques by each door. There was a double door at the end of the right that screamed Master Bedroom. On her left was a staircase. On which Alexa was ascending.

Alexa glanced up and looked surprised, “How did you get here so fast?”

Rita shrugged, “I don’t know. Magic, I guess.”

Alexa strolled over to where Rita was standing.

Alexa glanced at the plaque, “Well, it does seem as if we are roommates here.”

Alexa opened the door. Following Alexa in, Rita examined the room. On her left side, it looked like her bedroom back home. A simple bed with solid gray sheets sat on a wooden floor. A simple dresser drawer with her mixing tools on top. Shaker, bar spoon, jiggler, and various glasses. No **** though. For one it would be a waste. Her tools were for practicing. Although now that she could summon **** at any time, she could make drinks for herself and her friends. Only a hamper, a dustbin, and a Keep Calm and Stir On poster were the other things on her side.

On her right was a completely different vibe. There were many books and notebooks. They were piled everywhere. They were on the bookcase bed and the white sheets. They were stacked on top of the desk and around it. There were tidy stacks under the whiteboard with mathematical equations written upon it. Some were used as a doorstop for a closet door. There were only clothes in the closet, which was surprising. How anyone could live like that was a mystery to her.

Alexa glances around the room and heads directly to the opposite wall and door.

Opening the door she stated, “It’s a bathroom. I’ll be taking it first.”

As the bathroom door closed, Rita sighed. She really did not need this nonsense right now. She closed the door behind her and went over to her dress drawer. As she folded her jacket to put it away, an envelope fell out of her jacket’s pocket. She stared at it for a moment. She thought of tossing it right into a fire or at least the garbage. She sighed and opened the top drawer. She put that envelope with all the others. It could be dealt with later.

She stripped down and tossed her work clothes into the hamper. She opened the middle drawer, put the jacket in, and took out a set of blue PJs. There was too much fatigue to bother with anything else. She stumbled over to her bed and collapsed into it. She wrapped herself in her sheets like a cocoon and shut her eyes.

She tried emptying her mind of everything that had happened. The sound of the door opening and closing, of a chair being pulled back, the rustling of papers, and the soft scratching of a pen told her where Alexa, her temporary roommate, was. Rita sighed. Out of everyone, why did it have to be her? She reminded her of…

Thoughts ran a train until Rita drifted off, with many stations in her dreams.