The Aquarium Bar

Gripping the rim of the dirty copper sink, I lift my vodka sprite-soaked head up, and stare into the mirror of this booming billiard bathroom.

“One more time,” I whisper to myself and snatch up the remaining paper towels to ring out my wet hair. I should be more irritated at what just transpired moments ago, but I find my reflection grinning. I stop trying to dry my curls and flip my head back and forth a few times, slicking the sticky mess behind my ears. I fix my smoky eyeshadow, so it looks intentionally strange, and I stand up straight, powerful. Sure, they dumped their drinks on my head in a toddler-esque tantrum, but in their efforts to humiliate me, I only feel encouraged to annihilate them. I had attempted to play like normal, to play nice, but that left time in between rounds and my sass- my mouth got me covered in sprite.

“These two are done,” I announce louder to no one in particular, though some drunk girls come stumbling into the bathroom, screaming something about getting laid. I roll my eyes, “I played nice,” gesturing to myself, “and look where that got you.” The Guild may consist of the best players in the nation, but what Dumb and Dumber don’t understand, is that you don’t have to be apart of The Guild to be the best.

I look at my outfit and frown, “hmm, it’s not patronizing enough.”

With that I take off my shirt and switch it out for something more eye catching. Digging around in my bag I pull out a very reveling, low cut, blackened lace top with my matching black diamond shark earrings. The drunk girls come stumbling out of one stall, one of them looks me up and down, gurgling a compliment towards me, I smile and nod. Nothing beats a drunk girl’s enthusiasm and support. Picking up my bag, I sling it over my shoulder and head for the exit.

Opening the door, the smell of cigars and spills that haven’t been cleaned up properly, smack me in the face and I frown. Only to feel a hand at my lower back, instinctively, I grab their wrist twisting it behind them. Hearing Ben blurt out a cry made me laugh and release him. “You should know better, Benjamin.”

I look him in the eyes and cross my arms, he only shrugs as a response. I usher him to follow, and we stride in silence as the billiard around us thrives in chaos and liquor. Dumb and Dumber who were still claiming the far corner pool table as their own, stood as soon as I exited the bathroom.

“You look good, Jess.” He says after we collected our drinks, mine a coke and his, a vodka red bull, I never drink when I’m fishing.

I give him a once over and his black washed jeans and loose white tee are simple enough, but he has the face alt girls swoon over, so I return the compliment, “As do you.”

We sit at the aquarium bar counter, looking past the thick glass containing hundreds of fishes and other sea creatures. Ben points to the hammerhead shark swimming beneath the floor, it’s color complementing that of my earrings. I turn and ask the bartender for a “cool drink,” which I learned years ago is a code for them to turn off the lights and spin LEDs around the billiard. She makes an announcement, and the room fills with cheers and splashing drinks, as the harsh overhead lights turn off and the music gets slow and dramatic, to fit the vibe of the aquatic life roaming freely Beneath our toes. The Aquarium Bar is the best and most renowned bar in all of New York, if not for the fact its floor is transparent, then I suppose it would be for The Guild.

I glance at Ben again, “I think the music is finally matching my energy, don’t you think?”

Pointing to me, Ben smiles and bowing his head, agrees, “As you wish, Shark.”

I stand, forcing my shoulders back and I begin to glide across the thick glass, my shoes ringing with each step. Dumb and Dumber both have toothpicks in their mouths and their cues on hand. I laugh an accidental evil sort of laugh, and yank on a cue stick stuck to the nearest wall.

The music slows and the drunk girls from the bathroom whisper “Ooo’s” and “Ahhh’s,” as I pass them.

Many of the old men in this bar I have beaten countless times, so they move out of the way and smile at me, considering they no longer like to play against me. Dumb and Dumber are new, they just got accepted into The Guild, and I am determined to ruin their night.

When I finally reach them, their smiles are nasty, showing off their yellow teeth and basically putting their lack of control on display as the fat one can’t stop gawking at my chest.

“I was playing nice earlier,” the other one scoffs, and I can’t help but bite my lips, “I wanted to get to know you two better, you know, since you think you’ll be playing at my bar more often.”

“You’re bar?” The fat one manages to spit out, “I’m sorry kiddo but this bar belongs to The Guild, not some stupid bitch.”

“Oh, really?” Keeping my voice level, “Then you wouldn’t mind beating a little bitch and her friend again, would you?”

They look warily at Ben, believing I must play for shit, it’s safe to assume that Ben could have some unbelievable potential. Dumb and Dumber exchange some words, muffled so I can’t really understand, not that it matters. I tilt my head and tap on my wrist as I loudly clear my throat, “Boys the offer is ticking away, wouldn’t you like another chance to pour your expensive drinks on my head again?”

“Fine,” says the fat one, “but the boy breaks first.”

“Oh, you really don’t want to do that.” I plead, thinking about the way this game will start.

“Oh, no,” He takes that only as conformation, “I think we do.”

“Fine, it’s your funeral.”

By now the lights were back on and the busy room had become busy again, forgetting about us in the corner, except for some stragglers that have played Ben and I before, they knew what Ben was capable of too.

Dumb and Dumber find the rack and get the balls set up, and as Ben positions himself at the ready, prepared to make connection with the cue ball and stick, I shake my head. He pulls back, then shooting forward he misses the entire set. The cue ball, however, does ricochet off the side and smack into the balls, creating a very tight knit design on the pool table.

“Well, would you look at that.” Fatty points and laughs in Ben’s face, I raise an eyebrow looking at him as I would a dirty creepy old man, “the boy sucks too, this is going to be a cake walk.” Ben strides over to me, radiating triumph in his smile “Did you see that!?”

“It was literally impossible to miss.”

“I hit a ball,” bewildered by his accomplishment I pat him on the back, “maybe I’m getting better, might even beat you someday.”

I simply smirk at him and watch fatty take his mark on the yellow 1. He pulls back and forward, whishing the ball into the pocket.

The two cheer and spit a concoction of insults towards Ben and I but I really couldn’t be bothered to listen or comprehend their idiocy any longer.

I take aim at the stripped 10 blue, already creating a path in my mind, I etch it into my brain and my coordination runs with it. I’ve always had a gift for making the perfect amount of hits in any game or rolling the exact numbers in monopoly. Pool, for any number of reasons, just worked well in my head. I pulled back, stopping only to look Dumb and Dumber in the eyes as I pushed my stick towards my goal. I leaned on the wall watching the two men fondle with their embarrassment. The 10 smacking into the 3 then into the 7, and so forth, hitting every single ball into their respectable pockets, until only the 8 and cue ball remained on the green felt table. The silence that followed was payment enough, but still, I enjoyed watching newbies become something less than water at my feet.

“So,” I pause to look at Ben, “What pocket should I call?”