This feeling again!? I

Silently, I followed Elodie, walking nervously up the stairs to the fourth floor. I had almost forgotten the reason for my discomfort. Someone was waiting for me. He was...

I tried to stuff all doubts into a dark crack inside my brain convolutions. Nothing could happen to me here, so why worry!

"I had never served there before." Only the VIP boxes were located in this area.

"You don't have to be nervous. It's no different from serving in the hall," she looked over her shoulders, smiling. Our eyes met for a moment. Enough time to let this feeling slip into my stomach once more. It was lying there like a stone. Heavy and indigestible.

I quickly turned my head away, desperately admiring the decadently arranged VIP area. Under my feet countless Swarovski stones glittered away under thick glass. The walls were clad in dark wood, fine carvings stretched across them as they moved under the golden light of the chandeliers. "And gold everywhere!"

"Strangely enough, these guests of us are into gold! Golden chains, fat golden brick rings and golden teeth."

"Really?" I asked, happy at the change of topic.

But then there was her kindhearted smile and that feeling was all over again. I was feeling warm, but somehow really sick.

Perhaps it was the first sign of influenza?

After that shift I had to stop by the pharmacy. It would take an arsenal of painkillers to get me through this. But pills again? Instantly the image of a hand filled with drugs appeared before my eyes. Again the same old scene. I was so tired of it. Would that ever stop. A second wave of nausea followed swiftly. At some point this evening also had to come to an end. Until then, I still held out, at least I prayed for it.

"Really?" My voice sounded far too shrill, even for my ears, excited and rushed. It always did that... every time those memories crawled back out of their dark corners.

I forced myself to breathe, to forget. It was already a long time ago. It meant nothing to me. "Hope the tip is generous. Or are these gentlemen rather stingy?", I simply rushed to say. Only to forget the pictures once more... and this nausea. What was wrong with me?

Elodie giggled softly and let herself fall back slightly until she stood next to me. Her lips almost touched my ear as she gently whispered. "Most are very generous... but there are those... I call them little poison gnomes. They are so stingy that they only take the cheapest drinks which you are actually only allowed to order in the hall. But in return they are dressed as flashy as a peacock. Nearly covered in a kilo of gold. Of course, they would never spend a penny too much..."

Immediately Elodie became calm, pulling me by the elbow and forcing me to stop.

I looked at her in question.

"That one." With the tip of her nose she pointed to two figures in black, positioned like steel pillars next to the two sides of a door, as if they themselves were supporting the weight of the entrance.

"What?", the unpleasant feeling started to grow inside me.

"You gotta go in there."

"Sure..." I looked at the two men. Then I looked back at Elodie. That's where I had to go in! She wasn't kidding?

Things were very different than expected.

This was no ordinary guest!

I stared unconsciously at Elodie, while my legs mutated into cooked spaghetti, soft and slippery, without really giving support.

Who would want to see me?

Again Lola's words came to my mind. Filthy rich. Arrogant. Overbearing. Young and handsome.

And why?

Before I could even think, my legs began to move, even though they were on strike a moment ago.

And in my head there was only this one thought...

Something didn't fit together.

I gritted my teeth and nodded stiffly at the two Man in Black. Behind their thick and pitch black sunglasses nothing was visible. That no one had ever filed a customer complaint about intimidation directed at their boss. A friendly smile would have made me feel much more comfortable. This stiff expression on their rough faces didn't make it easier for me to walk past them. I had to scrape together my courage to take a step towards the door.

"Umm... excuse me ...", I whispered and pushed myself past the men.

Of course the ice blocks didn't make a sound. They could have easily been hired as 1st Foot Guards at Buckingham Palace.

With a sweaty hand I reached for the cold door handle. My last look fell over my shoulder at Elodie. She would wait for me? Sighing, I pressed down the door handle.

I knew that even if I screamed, she couldn't help me. Elodie accompanied me only as moral support. Because our boss did not care if we were doing fine, only the interests of his customers did matter.

The door slid open silently. The lodge was only sparsely lit. The whitish light of the stage faded into the room, showing only the faint outlines of a man. I could not expect help when things were going to be difficult.

Please be a nice customer, I prayed as I entered the box.