Blood in the Golden Palace

Chapter 2: Penny-1

Chapter 2: Penny3:30 A.M.

The shriek of the phone’s alarm was enough to rattle windows. A groggy hand flopped its way from the bed, swatted at the nightstand, and eventually hit the button on the screen. Rising from her sheets, a young woman sat up in bed a few moments, in the darkness, before dragging herself out of bed and into the bathroom. And thus the routine began. A hot shower, a quick leg shave, teeth brushed, hair dried, uniform on. By the time she grabbed her phone from its charge cable, Penelope Sweet was on her way out the door. She paused at the threshold, glancing at her roommate’s bedroom. It was closed tight, though Penny could vaguely hear Vivian’s snores from within. One last body check for her phone, keys, and wallet, and out she went.

It was always risky to take public transit so early, but fortunately, Penny’s bus stop was well lit, even for the ungodly hour of four A.M. The bus was about five minutes late, and Penny took a seat near the front for precaution’s sake. Settling in the second row, Penny slipped on her headphones, and hit her playlist. She watched the city fly by her window, her mind drifting off with her music.

At barely twenty-two years old, Penny was a single face among the thousands of poverty wage workers in Santa Notte. Though she always thought the classification was a little harsh. Her barista job wasn’t exactly six figures, but she made enough to get by. Not to mention what kind of bump her tips afforded her now and again. Penny stared at her faint reflection in the window. Her auburn hair was braided for the day, and rested lopsided over one shoulder. She was just below average height, and while she never considered her figure much to write home about, Penny had always been complimented about her eyes. It was the first thing out of anyone’s mouth how big and bright her eyes were. Their color was a soft, steely gray that grew brighter in natural light. With it being late winter, they retained a duller color on overcast days. But once summer rolled around, they’d light up, turning almost crystalline, clear blue.

After a forty-five minute ride, Penny arrived at her destination. She tightened her coat and left the bus. By now, the sky was just starting to light up above her. But it would still be another hour before proper sunrise. Penny walked another block before spotting her work’s sign: The Zig Zag Coffee Bar. Pulling out her key, she headed inside and disarmed the alarm before flipping on the lights and starting her day.

First, the resting breads and pastries from the night before needed to be thrown into the ovens, each tray at a different temperature for a different time. Penny had at least four magnet timers going on at once while they baked. In the meantime, she addressed the coffee pots, and started the brewing process for their basic roasts: dark, medium, and light. The espresso machines were cleaned, the milk frothers prepped for the day. Once the timers started going off, any pastries without garnish were put into the displays immediately, while others like Danishes were quickly adorned with icing or sugar crumb coats. After which came her favorite part. The cakes.

Fortunately, she had plenty of time to kill before the doors opened at six A.M., and so she eagerly laid out each individual cake on separate trays, got her frosting and tools, and set to work. For the carrot cake, she did a rustic crumb coat of cream cheese frosting, decorated with little frosting carrots and even a happy rabbit face in the center. The chocolate forest cake got white and milk chocolate shavings, some whipped cream topping, and ripe, red cherries. The cheesecakes didn’t need much decoration, but the lemon berry and graham cracker crust got a couple sprigs of mint in the center for color. And finally, the red velvet cake was done up with pink cream cheese frosting, and topped with a small gathering of bright red frosting roses. After the decorating was done, she sliced each one into eight pieces with proficiency, and set them all on the top shelf of the display. By the time she finished her work, she heard the front door click open.

“Morning, Daisy!” Penny called cheerfully.

Daisy grunted, dragging herself through the front of house and back behind the counter, a reusable coffee tumbler in hand. She was roughly Penny’s age, with piercings that ran up and down either ear like a chain link fence. Today, she wore her hair in dreads under a beanie, her untucked polo shirt clearly had last shift’s coffee stains on the front. After clocking in, Daisy poured herself a big cup of coffee, adding in a few shots of espresso, and drank deeply. “Morning,” she finally croaked. “We open yet?”

“Not yet,” said Penny. “I still have to open the drawer.”

Daisy yawned, waving dismissively. “I got it, I got it…” Taking out her own key, she opened the till and started counting the cash. Once the till was counted, Penny opened the door and flipped on the sign. At six A.M. on the dot, ZZ Coffee was ready for the day.

A few regulars trickled in at first. The old army vet who liked to do his crosswords, the morning joggers from the suburbs, the businessmen hurrying to work for the day. It wasn’t until about eight that the crowds started pouring in. Even with how small the space was, it wasn’t unusual to get flooded with locals before long. It was a narrow shop, decorated with local art and live plants. Quirky pieces of junk sat on bookshelves, and the tables and chairs were all mismatched and cobbled together with reclaimed wood and the like.

By about 10:30, the crowds died down considerably, and Penny took her first break of the day. Making herself a sandwich and a drink, she took up an empty table and relaxed her aching feet. Daisy, now fully awake, leaned against the dessert case with a smile. “So?” she asked.

Penny sipped her iced tea. “So?”

“You got an answer for me or what?”

“Remind me what I’m saying yes to again?”

Daisy put a hand on her hip. “Helloooo? The Golden Palace? Seriously, you’re not going to make me go alone, are you?”

Penny frowned, eating her tuna salad sandwich. “But isn’t that like impossible to get into?” she asked between bites

“I told you, I got the hookup.”

“I don’t know, Daisy. That place seems so crazy to me. Isn’t it the biggest night club—?”

“In North America? Yeah. One hundred percent.”

“It sounds like a nightmare.”

“Oh come on, Penny.” Daisy swayed behind the case, grinning from ear to ear. “I keep telling you you need to have more fun in your life. What happens when you’re sixty years old and all you got to show for it is a few cats and a latte?”

Penny perked up. “I get cats?”

“Oh my God.” Daisy rolled out from behind the counter, impatiently. “When was the last time you had a good time, Penny? Like, seriously. When was the last party you went to?”

“The last one…? Um…”

“See? You can’t name one.”

“Sure I can! I uh…” Penny racked her brain. “There was that birthday party…once.”

“Jesus, girl.” Daisy laughed. “What’s your hang-up, huh? Come on, we’ll go out together, we’ll have fun.”

“Dancing in front of a bunch of drunk strangers just doesn’t sound like fun.”

Clicking her tongue, Daisy sat across from Penny and took her hands. “Come ooooon. Pleeeeeeease? Let me actually show you what it’s like to live for once!”

Penny propped her chin in her hand. “You really want me to go that badly?” Daisy smiled bigger, fluttering her eyelashes. Penny tapped the table. “Take my Saturday shift.”

Daisy reared back, feigning shock. “Et tu, Brute?”

“My final offer. Take it or leave it.”

With an exasperated sigh, Daisy threw up her hands in defeat. “Fine,” she said. “I’ll take your damn shift. But you better bring your A game. None of this ‘I’m tired’ at ten o’clock. We’re going out and we’re getting drunk and we’re gonna sit on some faces.”

“I’ll just drink, thanks.”

The door chimed, and Daisy looked up. With a sly grin, she nudged Penny underneath the table. “Hi,” she sang in her customer service voice. “Welcome back, David!”

Penny shot up in her seat. She turned, almost too quickly, because she nearly knocked over her iced tea. She grabbed it before it toppled over, and looked up. Smiling down at her was one of their regulars, David. “Hey, Penny. On break?”

“David, hey!” Penny’s voice cracked and she cleared it. Feeling her stomach flutter, she locked her ankles together. “Yeah, I’m finally able to sit down for a little bit, ha ha.”

David’s smile remained ever charming. Just about everything was charming with him. He had fluffy brown hair, which he often swept to one side, and warm, chestnut eyes. He was fairly tall with a slender build, and was usually seen around town carrying his guitar case. Some of Penny’s best mornings were when he’d decide to practice in the coffee shop. “Well,” he said, “I won’t bug you—”

“Oh no, you’re not bugging me!” Penny laughed nervously and far too loud. “I was just um…” She glanced at Daisy, who took the immediate hint and excused herself to behind the counter. “You want your usual?” Penny asked. “I can get it for you.”

But David kept his smile. “Nah, don’t sweat it. Daisy can’t mess it up that bad.”

“Gee, thanks,” Daisy shot back. Suddenly, her face brightened, and she swung back out from around the dessert case. “Hey, you like fun, don’t you, David?”

“Hmm? Fun?” He turned to her.

“You busy tomorrow night?”

Penny’s eyes widened, and a pit dropped in her stomach. “Daisy—”

“I’m taking Penny out to the Golden Palace tomorrow. You want to come?” Penny’s ears burned at Daisy’s words, made all the worse by David’s brightening face.

“No kidding?” he said, looking between them. “I thought that place was impossible to get into unless you were loaded.”

“It is,” Daisy grinned, “unless you’re dating the bouncer.”

“And you’re sure Milo won’t get in trouble?” Penny blurted out. “I mean, he only just started his job, right? What if he gets fired?”

But Daisy brushed off Penny’s concern. “Girl, if he gets fired, we still get drinks.”

“Cold,” said David. “Still, hey, if it gets us in…”

“So you’ll go?” Daisy asked.

David nodded. “Absolutely. I’ve been wanting to for months.” He then turned to Penny, who’d had her mouth gaping like a fish out of water. “What time will you two be there? Eight?”

Shaking herself from her daze, Penny cracked a smile. “Eight…Yeah. Eight sounds…” She caught sight of Daisy, who was grinning over David’s shoulder. “Eight sounds fine…”

“Awesome.” David turned to Daisy. “Think I can get the latte to go? I gotta catch a bus.”

“Sure thing.” After making his order, the two girls waved goodbye, and Penny, head in the clouds, watched him vanish into the sunlight.

* * * *

“Viv?” Penny opened the door to her apartment, closing it soon after. “I’m home!” She set her day old muffin on the counter and tossed her purse onto the table. “Vivian?”

“I’m here, I’m here.” A crotchety old voice came from the bedroom opposite Penny’s own. Prying open the door, Vivian wandered into the living room, still in her robe and nightgown. After a year of being her roomie, Penny still wasn’t sure how old Vivian was. At the very least, she was old enough to be retired and living on a fixed income. She hunched as she walked, with liver spots all around her dark face. She often kept her head wrapped up in various shawls and scarves, with all kinds of clanking, drug store jewelry. Her fingers were stained with paint, and as she shuffled into the living room, she went towards a plastic shelf of art supplies. “How was work, hon?”

“It was fine,” said Penny. “Working on something new?”

“Oh yes, indeedy.” Vivian smiled and motioned Penny to follow her. Penny walked back into Vivian’s bedroom and saw the canvas sitting on her easel. It was a…something. A brilliantly colored something, certainly, but a something none the less. “What do you think?” Vivian asked.