The sharp screech of her alarm clock woke Destiny early in the morning. She fumbled to hit the off button before just laying in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Her body aches deep to her bones, the morning chill making her feel stiff and lifeless.
All the same, the start of work wouldn't wait, neither could she.
Shower, brush her teeth, straighten her hair, apply makeup, get dressed.
Catch the bus, check up on emails on her phone.
Destiny always got to work five minutes early. Never any excuse for being late. She barely spoke to her coworkers anymore. She'd been here longer then any of them, and knew how easily they could be turned over. The only two real friends she'd made at the casino were both gone now.
Destiny changed into her bunny suit, touching up her makeup before going out onto the Casino floor.
Destiny would carry trays of drinks, flirt with the customers, encourage them to dream big and spend bigger. Patrons drunk on the casino atmosphere would paw at her, some more bold then others. Destiny put up with it because it usually meant good tips. That's all this was for, after all. Money. It could be worse. It could always be worse.
Destiny took her smoke breaks near the loading dock, standing aside from the other smokers. She used to chat with some of her coworkers. Not anymore.
By the end of the day, Destiny was exhausted. But as she counted her tips, she felt a familiar buzz of comfort seeing what she'd made.
"Hey, Hill!" One of the new girls, Destiny hadn't learned her name yet, said as she approached her. "Some of us are going out for drinks after work. You wanna come with?"
Destiny raised an eyebrow, slipping the stack of cash into her purse. "Drink? No, I'm good. You guys enjoy." She said bluntly, already walking away.
The new girl seemed to deflate. "Oh... Okay."
"I told you she wouldn't agree." One of the other girls whispered behind Destiny's back. "She's got a serious stick up her ass."
Destiny paid them no mind, changing into her everyday clothes and going out to the bus stop.
When she got home she made herself a cup noodle before going to bed, laying on her back as she stared at the ceiling blankly, her body aching to the bones, the days exhaustion making her feel slow and tired.
Eventually, sleep finds her.
---
The screech of her alarm clock woke Destiny up early in the morning. She fumbled with the off button, but couldn't seem to find it. Finally she was forced to swing out of bed to see what she was doing. She stared blankly at the wall for a moment, body aching to the bones, feeling stiff and lifeless.
Shower, brush her teeth, straighten her hair- "Ah, fuck!" Destiny hissed as she burned herself. She hadn't done that in a long time.
Makeup, get dressed. Realize she'd forgotten to do laundry and was out of clean shirts. "The fuck is wrong with me today?" She whispered in frustration.
Wait for the bus. And wait. Wait a little more. What was taking it so long? Destiny checked her phone watch. She couldn't wait any longer. She started walking.
Destiny was late. Really late. Her boss would chew her out for sure.
Get changed into her uniform, touch up her makeup, realize she didn't have enough lipstick left. She felt like she was going to scream.
Nearly an hour late, Destiny made it out onto the Casino floor, but everything felt wrong. Like her entire world had tilted on its axel. She could barely focus, felt like total shit. She was barely flirting, her tips were drying up to pennies.
By the afternoon, she felt physically ill. But she never took sick days, never gave her boss a reason to fire her.
Destiny looked up from the tray she had been holding, looking up to see a customer, tu, looking at her. She realized with a start that tu must have said something. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" Destiny asked. She had to really focus on tu, when was the last time she'd focused on someone like this? tu was... Good looking she had to admit. And there was something in their eyes... Kindness? Understanding? Not looking at her like she was a thing? Or maybe she'd just imagined it. However, deep down, Destiny felt something warm spread through her chest. A warmth that felt... Good. Really good.