Althena Book 2

51. Barino

Monday morning comes early. I make it to school but can't stop thinking about the casino.

"That boat looked amazing. I wish I was 18. Are you hiring for weekends?"

I smile at Akmae. "You have to be 18 to work for me. And this is kind of far away. I'm not sure how you'd make it to work."

"Helicopter. My family has one."

"I'll talk to the boys. I don't know if they'll change the law or not. They seemed pretty strict about it yesterday."

"Can Clayton get in?"

"Yes. He's family. I can't keep him out. He likes spending time with the boys too. It gives him something to do."

"Are there any other requirements to work there?"

"No record of theft or drugs. Felonies are pretty much an automatic no. If they do agree to hire you, you couldn't work at the bar. You'd most likely be stuck at the coffee shop. Possibly the bank."

"Coffee shop would be fun. I'd be too worried about f*****g up money working at a bank. You own the bank?"

"Yea, it's my bank. It switches money and tokens back and forth. It does the bigger payouts too."

"Yea, I don't know about that. I could work at the coffee shop. What's it called?"

"Coffino. Cause it rhymes with casino."

"What are you naming the casino?"

"Casino."

"It needs a name."

"Well, now I gotta figure that out too."

He chuckles. "C-O-F-F-I-N-O for spelling?"

"Yea."

"I'll make a couple t-shirt designs."

"For the coffee shop?"

"Why not? It might catch on as a souvenir."

"You do have a point." I think up a couple of names as class starts. Then I text the group. -Thoughts on names... Chalice of Chances Casino. Fabric of dreams casino. Whispers of luck. Shimmering shadows. Gamble with Fate. Wheel of destiny. Crystal chalice. Fortune seekers. Lucky tiara. Midnight mirage.-

Mike: -Focus on school.-

Conner: -Midnight mirage. Shimmering shadows. Destiny Whispers.-

Clayton: -Yea those 3 are the best. I can't pick. Are we going over there tonight?-

Conner: -Maybe after practice.-

Me: -What are some other good prizes?-

Josh: -Tickets to pro sports games. Midnight Mirage or Shimmering Shadows.-

Lila: -More jewelry. Spa gift cards. Shimmering shadows or Destiny Whispers.-

Drogon: -Weekend getaways. I like all 3 names.-

Mike: -YOU ARE ALL IN SCHOOL.-

Drogon: -I'm not.-

Akmae: -Gift cards to any store. Cash. Midnight Mirage or Shimmering shadows.-

Cyrus: -Midnight Mirage. Concert Tickets. Backstage passes.-

Mike: -Golf lessons or membership to a club. Personal trainer gift certificate. I like Midnight Mirage too.-

Lila: -Champagne or bottles of wine.-

Clayton: -Expensive liquor. Personal chef.-

Akmae: -Exercise equipment.-

Lila: -I change my vote to Midnight Mirage.-

-Thank you all for the prize ideas. That helps. I will be going with Midnight Mirage Casino. The coffee shop will be Coffino. Are we calling the bar, Bar?-

Clayton: -Barino.-

Conner: -Please no. Anything else.-

Clayton: -BUT IT RHYMES.- Then he sends a bunch of laughing faces.

Lila: -If you don't want to call it the bar, you could call it gaming zone, casino floor, gaming floor, pit.

Conner: -CASINO PIT.-

Me: -Midnight Mirage Casino Pit.-

Conner: -The Casino Pit.-

Me: -Fine. That does sound better.-

Clayton: -I like that too.-

Me: -The Midnight Mirage Casino. The Casino Pit. Coffino.-

Akmae: -The Pit or Midnight Mirage Pit. It doesn't sound right with Casino.-

Drogon: -It really doesn't.-

Cyrus: -Name it the Midnight Mirage Pit. Then shorten it to The Pit for their uniform shirt logo.-

Josh: -Best idea ^^^^^^-

Akmae: -I can design cups. I have ideas.-

Mike: -Can you please focus on school now?-

Me: -Fine. The Midnight Mirage Pit (The Pit). The Midnight Mirage Casino. Midnight Mirage Coffino (Coffino).-

Lila: -I think I like the name Destiny Whispers Casino better.-

Me: -I just heard Mike roll his eyes.-

Cyrus sends a few laughing faces: -He did.-

Me: -I'm sticking with Midnight Mirage. I think it fits better with the crystals and blue floor.-

Lila: -That's true. I haven't even seen it yet.-

Conner: -We'll go over after practice.-

Lila: -Yay, thank you.-

Clayton: -What time is practice over?-

Conner: -Usually done by 4:30.-

Clayton: -I'll be there at 5.-

We switch classes.

Clayton: -Did she sell any tickets yet?-

Conner: -Monte, this is a group chat. Did Thena sell any tickets for the boat drawing yet?-

Monte: -Yes. I'm on a ladder checking security cameras. I can't get the number right now. Aren't you in school?-

Mike: -Yes they are. They are all in school. Did the covers come in for the cameras?-

Monte: -Yes. I signed for them this morning. Also, 4 big screen tvs. I don't know if they're prizes or part of the security system.-

Clayton: -Are you at the casino now?-

Monte: -Yes. Just wait. I'm on a f*****g ladder.-

Me: -I didn't order any big screen tvs. They must be yours. That's a good idea for a prize though. I'll get a few."

Monte: -So far, you've sold 5,203 tickets.-

Me: -Damn. That went fast.-

Monte: -Doesn't seem to be slowing down. People like boats. You'll have to do that a few times a year.-

Drogon: -Few times a month. f**k. She's making money on it in 1 day.-

Cyrus: -Not even a whole day.-

Monte: -If she does it too much, it'll lose the appeal, and they won't buy tickets.-

I text Akley's lawyer, Cody: -I opened a drawing at my casino and want Edwardo to buy tickets. How do I do that?-

-You will have to check Edwardo's house for the bank card. I don't know where he kept it. I've also never been to his house. The address is 3542 Lake Front Dr. Crystal Lake, DBCF. Do not get caught on camera using that card.-

I scratch my head. How the hell am I going to get there? Group chat keeps going.

Akmae: -Can I buy a ticket?-

Mike: -No.-

Clayton: -Get your mom to buy you a ticket.-

I decide to ask Monte. I take a picture of me and Cody's conversation then send it to him in private chat. -Any ideas on how to get there? It's so far. I can't sneak that far.-

Monte: -Halfway between here and Crystal Falls... I'll run up and get it. I'll need a few days first. And a plane. That's an 8-hour flight 1 way.-

Me: -It could be worse than the boat.-

Monte: -I know. I'll deal with it and destroy anything that needs to disappear. Nobody will find out.-

-I can send you to Crystal Falls for something. Land at the lake 8 hours in and send the plane to Crystal Falls. That will give you 16 hours on the ground at the lake. It can pick you up on its way back.-

-That will work. We'll work it out later. I need to get these cameras in.-

-K-

I text Chris: -If I get Millie to send you some mud will you put it, and some of that smoke, on the plane, later this week?-

Chris: -Of course. How are you holding up?-

Me: -Not the best. But it's getting better at times. I made a few friends at school. I'm a cheerleader now. I miss you.-

Chris: -I'll be there this summer. I miss you too. Send the mud to my parents' house.-

Me: -Will do. Thank you.-

Chris: -No problem.-

I make it through my other classes and spend the entire choir practice singing with Lila. We practice our solos like 10 times.

After cheer practice, I call Millie. She tells me she misses me 300 times. Then sends the mud to Chris.

Conner, me, Lila, Josh, and Akmae get to the casino at 5. There are 3 people I don't know sitting in chairs in the middle of the floor. This place is so unorganized. Josh roams off with Conner. Akmae sits at the table that's in the middle of the floor. He draws on the white paper that's there.

Lila and I sit on the floor and order a few more prizes. I use some of the ideas from earlier.

Drogon picks me up and gives me a kiss. "You have fun at school?"

"No." I see Cyrus take someone to the elevator. "Who are they?"

"Applicants. We've been doing that today. We need to start hiring."

"Oh yea, Akmae wants a job. He wants to work in the coffee shop on the weekends."

"Is he 18?"

"No."

"No."

"Come on. He's only 1 person. He has a helicopter. He wants to work. You're gonna let Clayton in."

"Clayton's not trying to work here."

"Please?"

He puts me down, and we walk over to Akmae. "You want to work at the coffee shop?"

"Yes, sir."

I crack up laughing. "He's saying sir now."

"He has to. He's trying to get a job, woman. I'll think about it." He picks up a paper. "These logos are good."

"Thanks. I do them on a computer, but I need to get the idea on paper first. They'll be stuck in my head until I draw them."

"You made 6?"

"For the bar, yea. 5 for Coffino. 7 for the casino."

"What color uniform do you want, baby?"

"Black."

"So, we could put the logo in either blue or white. It would look good either way." He lays out the logos for the bar. "Which ones do you like?"

"The ones where The and Pit are on different lines or with the drink between them."

"Why?"

"The Pit looks like thepit. Like 1 word. It needs something between it or 'the' one line. Pit the next. With the drink beside it."

"These are your favorites?"

"Yes."

"Can we mark on these? Just in the corner up here?"

"Yea, that's fine."

"I like that too. With the circle around the logo. Except for the circle, could you do the edge of a token piece? It's ridgy."

Akmae gives me a funny look. "Ridgy? I've never seen one."

Drogon whistles loudly. "CONNER BRING A $20 TOKEN AND EVERYONE COME VOTE."

Conner runs over with it. "What?" Then he looks at the drawings. "Oh, wow. Those are good."

"She loves the circle around that one but wants it like a token instead of a circle." He hands it to Akmae.

He feels it and uses the pen to draw around it. "Yea, I can replicate that on a computer and put it around any logo you pick."

"Nice." Drogon looks around. "We're voting on some logos. Do not f**k with his drawings. Put a little mark in the top right corner of your favorite. Bar, coffee, and casino. So, at least 3."

Mike smiles. "My mom loved it when you called her today, baby. Are you trying to sneak and make crystal balls for this coffee shop too?"

I giggle. "Chris is getting stuff for me. He's going to put it on the plane after he gets it together."

"When?" Monte stares at me.

"We didn't set a date. I don't know how long it'll take him to get the wood. Maybe a few days or next week. I don't know for sure."

Drogon pats my butt. "Don't send a plane until he has everything together, baby. We may need them for supplies."

"Ok." I let everyone mark their favorites. Then I do.

Akmae puts the papers together and stands up. "That's all I need for now. I'll come back in a couple of days with some options." Then he looks around. "I didn't drive here."

We crack up laughing. Then Drogon orders some food. We work on our own things and eat before we head home.