Malcolm

“Es, dear, would you mind handling the bar tonight? Tobin has a fever and I’d like to sit with him.”

“Where’s Murgin?”

“He’s out taking care of some important business. I know you weren’t supposed to, but I’d very much appreciate it.”

She was looking forward to a quiet night with a book she’d just bought. It was the first thing she’d gotten with her own money, that she’d earned herself. A partially fictional account of what the God King might’ve been like as a young man, a hundred or so years ago. Back in the old world, when he had to endure terrible persecution. In the book, he apparently had a sister. She wondered if it was true, and what happened to her. The author got to interview the God King several times for the book. Much of it is fictional, but some of it isn’t. Sadly, the God King would not say which parts were and weren’t true. He said it ruined the artistic integrity of the book to start teasing it apart in such a manner. She wanted to dig into it so badly, but it could wait until tomorrow. She couldn’t say no to the Bergins. “If you’re okay leaving me in charge of the bar for the busiest night of the week, I am up for it.”

“Thank you, Es. You’ll do just fine.”

As she waited for the rush, Esmeralda decided that she would not let this night bring her spirits down. She had been in a good mood that day, and she wasn’t about to let this night bring her down, even if it turned to mayhem. She was ready! She had boundless energy tonight, and she was ready to use it! It was going to be a wonderful night. She had decided.

The crowds came and demanded she give them the means to forget the week for awhile. As it became less hectic and the crowd began to settle in, Esmeralda noticed a young man about her age, sitting by himself, slowly sipping the beer she’d given him. She had seen him before, but never really noticed him. It was unfortunate if he wanted to be alone, because Esmeralda decided in that moment that he would be her entertainment for the night.

She bounced over to his table and beckoned for him, “Come sit at the bar!”

Unsure of how to take this, he waved her off and continued sipping his beer. Esmeralda, not one to be turned down, pulled at his shirt, and insisted that he keep her company at the bar. This, in turn, caused a good portion of his beer to spill. Esmeralda whipped out a rag and apologized as she began wiping.

“Why don’t you sit at the bar while I clean this up, and I’ll get you a new beer in just a second?” She smiled as if she’d been planning this the whole time, and the young man gave in.

Esmeralda more formally introduced herself as she gave him his new beer. When she asked him his name, he looked at her, almost suspiciously, but seemed to decide that this was not a terrible offense. His name was Malcolm Nessel. 

"Now, I may not be the best of company since I still do have to work and it’s a busy night, but it’s not too bad for a Friday and I’ll come back to chat as often as I can. So, how old are you? Are you still in school?" 

No, he just got out of school. He's 17. 

"Oh, what are you going to do now?" 

He fell silent again, so she changed the subject. She started to talk about other Penancians, like Brian Taylor, who seems to start arguments to win them when others tire of him. “I’m still not sure whether he’s incredibly insecure or cocky. Still he gets thrown out regularly. We don’t need non-customers (he’s never bought any drinks) antagonizing customers. But let’s not talk about him. We don’t need to ruin our evening.”

Malcolm said nothing. He simply stared at her, and let her continue to talk, still trying to figure out how he ended up over here. He smiled with what he hoped was encouragement. She was cute, but he wasn’t interested in the people that did and did not annoy her.

Esmeralda suddenly ran away to, as Malcolm saw when he turned around, convince a man who was climbing onto the tables to not do so.

“But… don’t you wanna see the show!?”

Esmeralda wanted to argue, but the cheering of those around her suggested that it’d be better to just leave well enough alone. “I’ll just take your glasses to be refilled, ok?”

“But how will I do my juggling routine?”

Esmeralda refrained from explaining to him that that was exactly the point. It was too bad. Sober, he was an excellent juggler. “You’re an entertainer, James! You’ll think of something marvelous.”

Esmeralda had barely put the glasses down before she was talking to Malcolm again, “That’s James Wellington. He’s quite a character. He—” Malcolm felt he should point out that he had grown up here, while she had only been here for maybe a couple months, but she didn’t seem to give him a chance to say anything. He was fascinated with her, though he couldn’t really say why. She always seemed like a nice enough girl (not to mention extraordinarily beautiful), but tonight she was intriguing, perhaps because she noticed him, or perhaps because she seemed so different from the other times he’d seen her around.