Stars Fall Down • •

[Perri Alexis Baines]

Perri liked the hours she worked at O’Malley’s. They were a little friendlier than the Marquee where she used to serve the drinks and she was more likely to snag an earlier shift if she needed one. That was the only problem with working in a nightclub when she had an exhibition to attend or plans with the friends she had in the city. At least with this change she had a little more freedom in the hours and days that she worked. Plus, the atmosphere here was a lot louder and more like the kind she had grown up with back on the London streets. She could keep up an easy conversation with the regulars and beat away the overzealous customers who repeatedly tried to flirt with her. Perri had to admit that it was nice to be able to leave work without the ringing in her ears for the next several hours, too. Not to mention she could hear the conversations without having to dangle her body half across the bar just to pick up every other spoken word. She had enjoyed the Marquee, but all good things come to an end and this next job just happened to be even better.

She didn’t mind that her resume looked like she flitted from easy job to another easy job. It kept her artwork as more of a hobby in her mind than a chore. Her agent thought differently and often called her to nag at her about some unfinished piece she had barely progressed on, but Perri never let him get under her skin. She was probably going to be the reason why he took early retirement and had the rise in his blood pressure. The London born artist always came through for him and the exhibitions or commissions she had lined up, but Perri had such a laidback personality that he frequently panicked that the day would come when she would miss a show entirely. The by-day bartender was committed to her art, but had chosen not to put a face to the pseudonym she signed in the corner of all of her pieces. She was happier to be a mystery, to avoid the harsh criticism that she had seen befall her old friends when they broke through in the art world. Perri was still a modest artist who had more of a cult following than a mainstream attraction. She was still finding herself and that reflected often in her canvases or the sculptures she experimented with. They were not her best work, but she enjoyed building and the break it gave her from getting paint in her hair.

Normally, Perri finished a shift at O’Malley’s and then made her way home only to grab a snack and then head back out to the garage space she had converted into her studio. It stopped her apartment smelling like turpentine and gave her the room to make a mess if she really wanted to. With her music playing, it wasn’t uncommon for Perri to work until the sun was peeking through the small glass panels in the door. It was home for a shower and a cat nap and then Perri could usually power through another round of daily life. She gave herself enough evenings off to make sure it wasn’t a perfect routine and some nights her inspiration just wasn’t there so it was an early night and comedy movies. Tonight, Perri didn’t know what she would do. She was drying the now-clean glasses behind the bar and thinking about it when the movement of someone caught her eye. The pub was busy enough, but the staff weren’t run off their feet. Lifting her gaze, Perri’s lips instantly twitched into a friendly grin and she put the glass down to greet the familiar face. “Well, fancy seeing you here, stranger.”

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TAGGED! Open <3
WORDS! 679!
OUTFIT! Bouncing Bartender!
LYRICS! The Fallout - - - Crown The Empire
NOTES! <3