Ruby 11

“Ruby!”

She looked up at the sharp voice, her mind whirling as people darted all around her. It was her boss…Ted Andrews. He was standing behind the bar…and not looking too happy at that. She looked around at the confusion of people, staggering around in their own little drunken world.

“Are you going to put that phone down and get to work,” Ted asked her, wiping the fingerprints off of a glass before filling it with the cheap beer he kept on tap that brought in all the local alcoholics, “I’m not paying you to just stand around.”

“Ss..ss..sorry,” she stammered, shaking her head. Hadn’t she just been somewhere else? She could have sworn that she was at Gran’s. Or had she just been thinking about going to Gran’s? And why was she holding her cell phone? Who was she calling?

“Hey Ruby!” a friendly voice called out to her.

She turned and was pleased to see Joe waving to her from his usual place at the pool table in the back. She smiled…still a little confused. She was pleased to see Joe. But something wasn’t right. She just couldn’t put her finger on it.

Walking over to Joe, she shook her head. She seemed like she was in a fog. She tried to focus on the people moving around her, but they seemed to be going in fast forward while she was stuck in slow motion. So instead, she focused on Joe. He smiled and waved her on over.

“Hey Joe,” she leaned in for a quick kiss, looking back toward Ted. He didn’t like her to get too friendly with the customers while she was working. Ted was still hard at work….cleaning another glass of fingerprints.

“Where you been girl?” Joe asked her, leaning over and knocking a ball into the far pocket. He was so good at this game! She herself was just a clumsy oaf when it came to pool…but she loved to watch Joe when he played.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“I’ve been waiting for you all night,” Joe asked, “I was getting’ lonely. Why don’t you put down that phone you’re holding and we can play a little pool.”

“I…I can’t Joe,” she said, “I’m working right now. Ted would kill me if I just took a break….especially now. This place is packed. I really need to get back to work. I’ll talk to you later though…okay?”

Joe nodded and leaned over to make his next play. He didn’t say anything else. Ruby thought it was rather odd. She walked back over to the bar. People were still buzzing wildly around her. She tried to see if anyone needed drinks, but she couldn’t quite make out anyone’s face. It was almost as if everyone was standing in the shadows. She saw that Ted was still cleaning glasses. How many dang glasses did he have to clean anyway?

He looked up at her and scowled.

“I thought that I said that you needed to get to work,” he growled, “Put that snake down and get some drink orders!”

Snake? Ruby looked down and gasped with horror. Instead of a phone, she was holding a wriggling, squirming rattlesnake! It was hissing and spitting and striking at her arm. She let out a scream and almost dropped it…but something in the back of her mind suddenly kicked in. Don’t let go of that thing girl….or you are as good as dead!

“RUBY!” a voice bellowed from the back.

She turned. There was Joe again. Only this time he wasn’t smiling and playing pool. This time….he was crouched on top of the pool table. Instead of a cue, he was holding a ball. Only it wasn’t a ball….it was a human head. With a howl, Joe threw the head toward her. It landed on the floor at her feet.

With a low moan, Ruby saw that the head was Gran’s. As it came to rest at her feet, the eyes flew open. They were staring right at her….burning with hate. Gran’s mouth flew open and a shriek filled the air.

Ruby screamed and turned back to Ted. He was right behind her. His mouth opened….wider and wider until it seemed to split his head into two separate pieces. His tongue wagged wildly out of his mouth and his hot, rancid breath hit her in the face. She gagged from the stench.

“I….SAID….TO….PUT….THAT….THING…..DOWN!” he yelled.

Until next week….class dismissed.