Chapter Text
You clearly didn't expect to get the Job.
Sitting in your flat smothered in an oversized blanket with your hand just poking out enough to hold a cigarette, doing absolutely nothing. Acutely aware that rent is due next week and your last pitiful handful of coins spent to get the water turned back on.
The interview went as well as it could have done. you were late, though it was entirely the lanes fault for having such uneven gravel, that your crutch gave up and landed you indignantly sprawled out on the curb. much like how you got the injury in the first place - rushing out to be on time for your old job, flying down the stairs of your flat in some sort of attempt to cosplay an acrobat. only you broke your ankle in the process.
Once inside and led up to the private balcony of 'The Last Drop' you were ushered into the booth; answered questions, gave your experience and got on your merry way. The woman with the fabric draped around her left shoulder didn't escort you out or bid you farewell. Just stood as you stood and parted ways down into what looked to be an office.
You caught a fleeting glance of something blue hurl past. but too quick to decipher what it was, you had dumbed it down to the strobe lights playing tricks on you.
It's been a few days since the interview now, you'd almost forgotten entirely until a series of knocks and thuds echo, shedding the blanket and peering out of the peephole...you're met with the strobe lights, only the strobe lights you thought you saw is a girl, who is actually - looking right back at you.
The lock echoes as you turn it, much to the blueberry's delight. You pull - she pushes, you squawk - she squeels, catching yourself on the doorframe luckily quick enough so you don't put too much weight on your ankle.
She's already inside before you can protest.
"Come on, come on your starting later, Sevika already assigned you to the bar!" she chirps looking maybe a tad sheepish for barging you, seemingly noticing your ankle.
The question bubbles up, something along the lines of 'How the fuck did you find my house?' but the girl can't be more than 16 so,
"Care to tell me who you are blue? or how you found my house?" She doesn't seem offended by the nickname - good start I suppose.
"Jinx. and I followed you duuh." she drawls, eyes tracking the smoke of the still smoldering cigarette in your hands
"..." You owlishly blink at her.
"You followed me home?" Though come to think of it. She did mention Sevika, so following you home is probably the better of the possible outcomes.
"and wait I got the job?"
"YES! and I convinced dad to let you start tonight." She's much too proud of herself.
The word 'Convinced' stews in your mind as you get ready. 'convinced' - like he was reluctant. like he didn't particularly want to hire you, but did because of little miss persuasive apparently. You know who 'dad' is. 'dad' is Silco, you knew him when you applied to the job - everyone knows him. he's in every corner of zaun, cemented into the minds of the people. You just didn't think his daughter would come trampling your door down, less that she would 'convince' him to hire you.
"So...why, if I dare to ask. Do you want me working there so bad?"
"I heard your interview with Sevika and you felt like the perfect fit."
A perfect fit in the eyes of a teenager for the job. It doesn't come as much of a surprise that she was listening, following you home has set the bar for what to expect from her.
"Eavesdropper."
"When does that boot come off?" She glances at your foot, while simultaneously trying to figure out the lock mechanism for your door.
"One. The door is already open blue, and two. a few days now, by the time I get properly working it'll be off."
Walking through the lanes with her feels...surreal in some aspects. Shes just a teenager yes, but she's Jinx. Silcos daughter Jinx. Technically a criminal - but no one's completely clean in zaun.
'The Last Drop'
It's not currently open, though it will be in a few hours. Jinx drags you to the back, apparently preferring to stay out of the way of the two guard-like-men standing out front. Inside is as much as you'd expect. Not opulent by any means, but it has a certain heir of creativity, talent.
"Whoever decorated has a good eye."
The blueberry snorts
"Yeah, one good eye."
Oh, Silco decorated then.
You've never actually seen silco in person, though there's a part of you that's almost thankful. The whispers of his face, his eye; marred, gnarled, unsightly. You naively hope that because your simply bar staff you and him won't cross paths, everyone knows he eats, sleeps, and breathes his office.
"Stop staring and move it, we open soon and dad wants to talk to you."
Naive hope.
The staircase is daunting. not just because you now know exactly who's waiting for you - but also because jinx is already whirling up there while the clunky ankle boot slows you down a tad.
"Mind waiting."
"Ugh your not a pensioner, quicken up a bit." The mischevious smirk on her face is telling.
"Well your not far behind - is that a grey hair I see?" you jest, finally reaching the top.
"Mhhm. keep up!" She skips off to the left, past the booth's you were in for the interview, leading to a door.
It would be a miracle to not hear her coming. the way she skips isn't really a skip at all - more like the high knees you practice in PE, then just smacking her boots down on the floorboards.
You gather the courage and knock. Jinx standing to the side to let you go in first - you know silco heard her. He knows that we're here, and yet he takes his sweet time to finally speak.
"Come in."