#CLAPPING AND CHEERING WOOO YEAH WOOOO

[faggotstump]

ALWAYS SUPPORTING THE MUTUALS IN THEIR RPF ENDEAVORS. GO FORTH MY BRAVE SOLDIERS.

[doodlesketchgirl]

PRIDE PFP🤝🤝🤝 AND ALSO NEW BLOG COLORS WOOOOO WOOO YEAHHHH (cheers)(claps)

WOOOOOO YEAH WOOOO WE STAND WITH ARO PRIDE o777777

also I'm late but SELAMAT HARI PANCASILAAA 🗣🗣🗣🇮🇩🇮🇩🇮🇩🇮🇩🇮🇩🇮🇩

[tellamoenlanoche-blog]

              Capitulo Dos: “Me Llaman Trabajadora”

Mari takes a deep breath and paces in front of the bar. The small chalkboard outside the bar reads: ‘Tango Tuesdays - Come Dance or Play! ! !’ She breathes in and breathes out before walking through the bar’s door.

Immediately, she gets bombarded by the smell of incense; a scent that she can’t pin down but it’s effect is heavenly. She can feel the tension leave her body as she walks closer to the bartender.

The bar itself is lit with hues of red; the lights hitting the stage are blue; the contrast is beautiful. There aren’t that many people present yet and Mari knows that has to do more with the time (3:35pm) than the bar itself.

“Whachu want, sweetheart?”

Mari looks up at the bartender, his bright yellow hair contrasting the color scheme of the bar.

“My name is Mariella and I want to play tonight,” she lifts her guitar higher. “I know how to play; I don’t sing but I can play guitar!”

The bartender smiles, “I’m not in charge of the acts,” he points to a woman cleaning glasses in the far corner of the room. “Name’s Mist. She’s the one in charge.”

Mari thanks him before gaining the courage to walk over the woman named Mist.

When she approaches the table, Mist hardly spares Mari a glance before she speaks.

“¿Que quieres, niña?” (“What do you want, kid?”)

Mari tenses up, “I-Me llamo Mariella y yo quiero tocar esta noche.” (“I-My name is Mariella and I want to play tonight.”)

Mist finally looks up at her before she let her eyes rest on Mari’s guitar.

“Tocame algo.” (“Play me something.”)

Mari freezes. She hadn't really expected to be given a chance. She looks around, noticing that no one is really paying attention. She swings her guitar into her arms and nervously tunes her guitar.

“No, go on the stage and play, niña.”

Mari nods before walking up to the stage and plugging in her guitar. She turns around and faces Mist. Now, every person in the bar notices her.

‘Con calma, Mari. Camly, Mari,’ she tells herself before she closes her eyes and begins to play.

Her fingers fly and she loses herself in her guitar and her melody. She doesn't at all think about her shaking knees or trying to breathe. She just plays her guitar.

When the last note passes her guitar, there's complete silence in the bar. She finally lets herself breathe before opening her eyes, and then the applause comes.

Mari smiles nervously before disconnecting her guitar and heading back to Mist.

Mist looks up at Mari, “A las nueve tocas. Llega antes de las nueve, niña.” (“You’re on at nine. Get here earlier than that though, kid.”)

Mari smiles, “Thank you so much. Muchas gracias!”

Mist waves her off as she goes back to cleaning the glasses. Mari tightens her hold on her guitar before walking back to the bartender.

“Here, sweetcheeks,” he hands her a glass full of dark liquid. “On the house.”

Mari sits down, swinging her guitar on her back. She eyes the drink before cautiously taking a sip.

“Oh! It's soda!”

The bartender smiles, “Yeah, I'm not giving a small thing like you alcohol on your debut night.”

“Thank you...um..”

“Samuel.”

“Thank you, Samuel.”

Samuel grins as he begins to wipe down the counter; only to then be distracted by incoming patrons.

Mari looks at her watch, it reads 4:05. It didn’t feel like only half an hour has gone by, she thinks as she finishes her coke. She decides go outside and walk around the neighborhood. She lets her mind wonder about her crippling stage fright and whether it will appear tonight.

She spots a small park and sits down on a bench. She holds her guitar in her lap as she checks her watch again, 4:45pm. She lets herself watch the kids play in the small jungle gym within the park. She hopes she won’t freeze on stage again.

                                           ♮♮♮♮♮

When her watch reads 8:45pm, Mari walks back to the bar. It’s overwhelming when she walks, the scent of incense is replaced with the scent of people. The overwhelming amount of people makes her balk. There are dozens of people here. Some dancing, some at the bar and a lot of them just sitting, watching and talking. The once empty bar was now full to the brim.

Mari jumps when a hand grabs her shoulder but relaxes as much as she can when she realizes it’s Mist.

“You’re going up soon; go near the stage.”

She gulps before nodding. Her hold on her guitar tightens as she navigated through the crowd. She hadn’t expected this many people. She hadn’t fucking known this was such a fucking popular bar.

Mari watches the duo before her play and she’s amazed by their energy. She watches as they seem to just play off one another and she wishes she had that again.

‘There are so many people here,’ she thinks as she surveys the crowd. She see and hear the dancers as well as the crowd yell and clap.

She jumps when she feels someone hand on her shoulder again. She turns and it’s Samuel. He grins at her.

“Ready for your debut, sweet cheeks?”

She looks once more at the crowd, before nervously smiling at Samuel. She feels like she can’t speak.

Samuel laughs, “Don’t worry, sweetie. You’ll kill ‘em!”

He, then, claps and hollers before he jumps on stage as the duo before her ends their song. The whole room explodes into applause. She can feel the room begin to get warmer.

“Woo! Everyone please give the Ramirez’ siblings another round of applause for that spectacular set! Woooo! No everyone, we have a newbie amongst us. She came in today wanting to play tonight and Mist le dijo que si!” (“... and Mist said yes!”)

Mari can see everyone is chuckling to each other; as if it was an inside joke.

“Please help me welcome to our stage: Mariella!”

The crowd erupts into applause as Mari walks on stage. She gets a quick pat on the back from Samuel as he hops off the stage and Mari looks into the crowd.

Dozens of faces stare back and Mari feels like she has thickest honey in her mouth. She opens it and closes it before closing her eyes and taking a quick deep breath.

She opens her eyes and grabs hold of the mic.

“Mari is what I like to be called. I-I hope you all like what I have to play tonight.”

She looks once more into the crowd and-and-

‘godfuckingdamnit!’ she thinks as everyone just stares. ‘The heat has to be on. It just has to be.’

She clears her throat and realizes that the mic is still on and so the whole room has just heard her clear her throat. The crowd starts to whisper.

She swallow the saliva that has started to accumulate in her throat and she feels like she can’t even swallow.

Mari steps a bit back and then, someone yells:

“Wooo! Mari, you got this! Wooo!”

She spots the person immediately and recognizes him. It’s Mr. Orange-Cat-Star-Wars. It’s Oscar.

He continues to yell his encouragement and Mari finds that it helps. She can breathe, she can swallow.

Mari steps into the mic, “Thank you. Disculpas. Sorry. I will- Tocare ahora.”

Oscar stops and Mari can still breathe as she begins to play.

She closes her eyes and lets herself get lost in her set. She can feel everyone beginning to cheer and dance but she just focuses on her guitar.

She plays and plays and people dance and clap and her fingers fly. She can breathe this time.

When she ends her set, the crowds claps and the dancers all cheer. She bows accepting the praise and her eyes spot Oscar, who’s quickly making his way to the front of the stage.

Samuel pulls her back on stage when she tries to step down. He holds her hand while he talks to the crowd. Oscar is right there in front.

“Everyone, please give another round of applause for the magic that is Mari!”

She blushes as everyone cheers and claps again.

“Now, does anybody want an encore?!”

Mari’s stomach drops, her eyes going wide. She hadn’t signed on for that. The crowd explodes with a cry of “Encore, encore!”

Samuel laughs, “Well, come back for every Tango Night and you’ll see Mari again!”

Mari breathes, realizing that she hadn’t been breathing since Samuel suggested an encore. And then, his words stick. ‘Come back for every Tango Night and you’ll see Mari again!’

She yells with the rest of the crowd when she realizes that she has a job; a god-to-honest gig that would pay her and wants her back and doesn’t think she’s a fuck up. ‘AMOTHERFUCKINGJOB,’ is all that goes through her head as she and Samuel step down from the stage.

She grabs hold of Samuel’s arm, “Are you-Mist said I can come back?”

Samuel hugs her, “Sweetie, yes. You better!”

She hugs him back and when she feels someone tap her shoulder and sees that it’s Oscar. She lets Samuel go before going to hug Oscar

Oscar laughs, hugging the over-excited Latina.

“Hola Ma-”

“OSCAR I HAVE A MOTHERFUCKING JOB!”