1 Be Brave

I stand in front of the building, on the sidewalk, with my eyes closed. I feel the light breeze brush my cheek, and hear the noise created as it hurries some dry leaves down the street. But the rattle of the leaves is quickly absorbed by the louder and more aggressive noises that are often heard in any city in the early evening.

I take a deep breath in and I tell myself that I am being needlessly ridiculous. Now, even though the anxiety still hasn't lessened, I open my eyes. With those greenish- brown eyes, I look at the building. It isn't a new building, but I could tell from the architecture that it had to be less than 80 years old.

I shifted my focus to the sign above the solid wood door. "The Red Goblet" it read, in letters that were gold. Then, after the name of the establishment, a silhouette of a chalice, coloured red was visible on the sign. Above the red chalice, balancing on its rim, sat the black silhouette of a woman, who, quite frankly, looked like she belonged on the back bumper of a rednecks' truck.

"Time's up." I tell myself. "We are going in."

(later that day)

I lie in my bed, my mind replaying the events of the evening like a movie only I can see, projected on the back of my closed eyelids.

"This could be it, Sinead Ninebark." I tell myself in a whisper.

A week ago I gave myself a pep talk. I told myself that I would be brave. I reminded myself that I knew what I wanted from life, and that I wouldn't hesitate, even for a moment, but would hunt down what I wanted; and live my dreams. No one could stop me from being who I was, or what I was meant to be.

I was lying on my bed at that moment as well. I thought about the most current job I held. It was the only job I had ever held. For the past two years, I worked as a waitress in a diner, located a block and a half away from where I lived.

I knew that it was a stable job, that it was a source of income, that I wasn't treated badly there, and that the other staff were friendly. But for me there was more weight in the fact that I felt no challenge. I could do the job with my eyes closed! I also thought I deserved more money for the amount of work I did there, and if I was honest with myself, I really didn't enjoy it. I wanted something that would make me happy.

Over the next couple of days, I worked really hard to think about it as carefully as I could, but no matter what angle I looked at it from, one thing was true, constant, and unyielding; I loved and lived to dance.

There is something you should know about me. Once I make up my mind to do something, I do it. With me, there is no half- assed BS; only slavish dedication. My train of thought left the station in this direction- I was going to be a dancer. I decided I was going to be the best dancer in the city of Gravenlee.

But first, I had to convince someone to give me a chance. I meditated on my starting point. I wanted to go as far up the chain as I could, while still guaranteeing my absolute success on the first try.

I did my research well. Over the next four days, I found out all I could online about the different clubs and bars in the city. I also made sure to case the joints in person. I learned who owned what, who ran what, and what the style of each place was. In the end, my only logical choice was "The Red Goblet". The Red Goblet was a newer business, so it had novelty on its side. But I also found out it was popular from some blogs.

When I stood in front of the building earlier this evening, I found the mob of people waiting to get in intimidating. But the fact that it seemed like such a bustling place, was a good sign for their business. The manager and owner would want the best dancers to help the money keep pouring in. At any rate, I was sure the place would be around for a very long time. For I knew that The Red Goblet was owned and run by vampires. Vampires had a reputation for being very good with money and very good at business. I knew that I had to work at The Red Goblet, I knew it with as much certainty as I knew my own name.