Welcome to Hickstead, home to both Seven Oak Stables, and Blue Acre - two rival stables. Both offer opportunities for their clients to reach the highest level of excellence. Each stable differs from the other, so choose wisely and never forget, loyalty is everything... Meanwhile as the stables battle it out, there's trouble brewing at the university. Be careful, if you don't pick a side you may get caught in the cross-fire...
This is an chilled out rpg with a super friendly and relaxed atmosphere! Remember to sign up with your characters full name in all caps and don't forget to do your claims! Thank you and Welcome, we've been established since 10th March 2009 but unfortunately have had to close guest view of our boards due to multiple sites ripping off our hard work, such a shame! Come chat to us in Discord before joining if you like!.
Harper yawned. The only thing that had gotten her to come in during daylight was the double pay and the free breakfast. Damn, that Moses was good. He knew how to make his employees happy. It was training today, something that harper didn’t mind. Though, she did wish she could’ve slept in a bit. But thankfully, she was going to be doing the late shift at the lounge tonight so she could go back home and sleep through Aaron coming home. Granted, he had been going out a bit lately. Harper didn’t know what exactly – but he knew he was seeing someone.
She entered through the back entrance, as it was easier to deal with than people wondering why she was entering super early. Harper took a seat at the bar and caught Moses out of the corner of her eye. He had a big bag of food and a few beverages. She eyed her order right away and could feel the drool on her lip. Hell yeah.
Harper also saw the guy that was walking in with him through the front. He looked brand spanking new, like the newest green grass. Oh boy.
Christopher didn't have any trouble getting up early. His job at the barn required him to be up at the crack of dawn anyway. He had been told that breakfast would be provided, but he made himself a cup of coffee.
It took him awhile to decide what to wear for training. He wasn't quite sure what the dress code was, but he didn't have anything super fancy. After finishing his cup, he headed off towards the Lounge. It wasn't a far drive, but he spent it tapping his fingers against the steering wheel in a nervous habit.
He found a free parking spot quickly, which wasn't surprising. Chris wasn't expecting anyone to be at the lounge this early - which made it a perfect time for training. Chris gave himself one last look in the car mirror before getting out of the car and heading inside. He could see his new boss unlock the door, so he hurried to catch up. "Thanks."
The smell of food caught his attention first, he didn't realize how hungry he was until that moment. Chris didn't want to dig into the food until someone else did, but he was ready to eat. "I'm looking for...Harper? The newbie is here for the training." He laughed, often opting to be funny in situations where he was nervous.
Harper looked up and smiled. “That’ll be me!” she grinned.
“Harper is our head tender,” Moses added. “So you’ll be training with her a lot with your first few shifts. If you two need anything, I’ll be in my office.” Her boss gave her his usual friendly face, albeit a bit more tired than Harper had seen in a while.
“Chris, was it?” Harper asked as Moses had given her his resume of sorts to look over. “Feel free to grab something to eat. Why don’t you start telling me what you do know?” She wasn’t the person to show someone how to make a margarita if they already knew how to make one. The till was a different story, and how the bar ran too.
Christopher smiled at his new coworker, glad he didn't completely goof up and show up at the wrong place or time. It was something he was trying his best to work on, without completely losing the goofy side of him. "Perfect, glad I'm in the right spot." Working at Seven Oaks was easy enough, as long as he didn't get lost on the drive from his house to the barn.
"Yep, that's me. Though thank you for not calling me Christopher. Always makes me feel like I'm in some sort of trouble." He wiggled is eyebrows at the joke. Chris was what everyone he knew called him. His name Christopher was only reserved for older family members that loved to scold him after pulling a prank or two. Chis made his way over to the food and picked up a plate, filling it with pancakes, scrambled eggs and some bacon to start. He smeared some butter on the pancakes with a nearby butter knife and poured some syrup over them.
Chris walked back to the bar, placing his plate on the bar top before taking one of the barstools. "Well, I did bartend a bit back in the States to make some extra cash. So I do know how to make the basic drinks, though if there are any special ones I'd need to learn that." He was lucky enough to be able to bartend on the side of his working student job to help pay his bills while living away from his family. "It wasn't a super fancy place like this though, so I'm sure I have a lot to learn."
She quirked an eyebrow. “And they call me Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.” If he knew that reference, then that was some points – but from the looks of it, he didn’t. But nevertheless, Harper remained polite. She knew she could get a bit rambunctious, but she loved her job – and was good at it. It was always fun showing off her skills. Though, she was still nowhere near the artistry of the boss man.
“Great! So if I asked you to make a slippery nipple, Long Island, or a classic dry martini – you’d be okay with that?” She picked up a croissant and broke it apart. “Thankfully, the fancier drinks only happen before the club becomes the club,” Harper added, making air quotes. “So from five to ten is the time that the fancier drinks come out. Ten and after is the basic shots and the vodka cranberry knowledge is useful. Have you worked in a high-paced environment before, or more dive areas?”
Christopher cut into the top pancake, making sure it was cut into bite sized pieces - lifting his head as his new coworker spoke. "Sorry? Who is that?" Some days he felt stupid - pulling pranks might not have been the best idea when he was younger. Reading books wasn't really his thing, but he got steady jobs despite all that. He set down his knife and picked up his fork - starting to eat his pancakes.
"Two out of the three I know how to make. The Long Island iced tea and the martini." Back in the States, he lived in a town that barely had 700 citizens - so there was nothing fancy about it. "So the club gets fancy? Does that tend to happen often?" He hated to sound clueless, but fancy wasn't anything he had ever experienced before. Christopher nodded in between bites of pancake, waiting until he was finished the current piece before speaking again. "Interesting. I mean it makes sense that the fancier drinks come right after work is done."
He hoped he was making a good impression, but by the fact that he had even been invited to the interview was saying something. Chris hadn't talked to any of his relatives he was going to apply to work at the Lounge yet, rather wanting to share the news of him actually getting the job. "It was more of a dive type place. A bar in a small town in the States with less than 700 people. Definitely more a beer kind of location." There wasn't much reason for Tourists to stay there - meaning it mostly required him to pour beer from a tap and mix a few drinks.
“Only during times, it’s needed. It’s far from the lounge, that’s fancy all the time. Well, as fancy as it gets with partially stripping people,” she smiled. Despite loving to look and schmooze, Harper wasn’t a creep. She knew how to handle herself at work or when she was visiting. “We do more themed nights. In summer, we often do a few things with the local beach shack too. But it's very rare that anything about suits and ties.” There was the occasional hen and stag, but they often came in their group. Renting out was more of the lounge. Sometimes, an after party of a wedding would show up after a reception.
“So it sounds like, at the moment, working the evening shifts will work better. Until you’re more comfortable with the fancier things. We have some nifty cards that help with measurements if needed. We’re very chill here and are always wanting to help out. There’s a lot of information, so when you’re ready - I can at least start giving you a tour of the bar space.”
He continued eating as Harper explained what the Lounge was like. It sounded like something he could handle though. "Did you just say people strip around here?" His eyes glanced around to see if there was a stage of some sort. "I can handle it, I worked in a town with about 700 residents." He assumed Hickstead had more than that, but it wasn't a big city like London. "Theme nights? Can you give me some examples? Do you go all out and dress up even as staff?" Chris took another bite of pancake off of his fork and contemplated if dressing up as some weird theme was going to be up his alley or not.
It didn't take long for Chris to finish most of his food, gently pushing the plate off to the side. "Evenings are perfect, I have another job lined up for during the day." The interview seemed to be going well as he was already given a time to work. "Oh good, I'm glad. There weren't many people ordering complicated beverages where I used to work. I'm ready whenever you are." He started feeling dumb for not bringing a pen and paper but the bar set up across the world was pretty similar, or it at least made sense to the employees and employers.
“Oh, not here at R&R. The lounge does, it’s a few buildings down,” she said. “People can get just as rowdy here though. If someone starts striping here, it means they need to be cut off and sent home.” Granted, seeing someone take off a shirt was better than being vomited on. That was a whole other mess. She was thankful that Moses hired a professional team to come in twice a week. The bathrooms were all wet bathrooms, meaning the staff could just spray everything down at the end of the night, and squeegee into the drain.
“Excellent! We’ll start with the bar counter itself.” Harper stood up and guided Chris to the belly side of the bar, where everything was neatly lined up and organized. “We have two fridges where we keep the glasses that need to remain chilled. So beer glasses and anything like a ball glass. Theres three ice holders, one each on the ends, and then the center. Everything is kept open, mainly for easy access for when things are busy. Easier than having to keep opening cabinets.”
Chis shook his head, he knew what a rowdy crowd could be like. "Does it get more crazy over there? Or do they have some sort of show where they strip?" Sure he was used to working a bar but in small town USA it wasn't something that happened often. "Speaking of rowdy people, are there security guards that work here if things get out of hand?" There was usually some sort of measure in place, though there was only so many times of fights the bartenders themselves could break up.
The man followed Harper to the other side of the bar. It sounded like it was time to learn - he hoped it would be similar to what he was used to. Chis paid attention to Harper's instructions. "Alright, that makes sense so far. And where do we get ice if these run out? Do they also get filled during the morning shifts?" As it sounded like he was going to be working morning shifts until he was used to it - knowing that the evenings tended to be busier. He was lucky his family was okay with it, there was always work to be done - no matter what the time was. "Same with the glasses I guess. I assume there is a dishwasher in the kitchen?" He hoped he wasn't asking too many questions, though these were things he needed to learn - in order to do his job right.
“They do burlesque shows there, so if you’re looking for some classier raunch, you can go there!” Harper smiled. She didn’t know which way Chris swung, but there seemed to be a good mix of everyone there. Anyone could recognize a hot person, no matter what their interest lay. “Yes, we have security starting at 9 p.m.”
When Chris asked a few more questions, Harper nodded. She was happy that he was asking questions, as it was easier for him to understand what was happening. “No sir, they’re ice makers – so they make ice consistently. If we start to overflow a bit, we turn it off until it gets to a more manageable amount. It prevents less running around. For glasses, we have our bussers that go around and handle all of that. We have a straight shot to the back room and kitchen, without the blockage of patrons.”
Chris didn’t realize how many places there were to hang out. “Huh, that's definitely what I wasn’t expecting for a place like this.” He was still used to a small town having nothing for him to get into trouble. “I’m going to pass on the raunch. I like causing trouble but that’s a little too much.” Chris also didn’t want to check out the competition either. It seemed as if his cousin tended to frequent the nightclub more anyway, which meant he would be coming in more often. “Have you watched any of the shows there?”
He was glad he could pay attention. Asking questions that he had now meant he could get the most out of his training. "Oh good, I know Hickstead seems quiet but I'm sure there are crazies around." There seemed to be more and more of them, even in smaller towns like Hickstead. He enjoyed goofing off, but people's safety was more important. Chris nodded, it was a smart idea. Since they were dealing with drinks, having ice on hand was crucial. "Perfect, there's always some sort of system. Did you have any questions for me? Or what did you have in mind as the next step?"
Harper thought for a moment and then nodded. It would be a bit of a test, kind of. More to see what he had mastered at his old place. See how Chris could handle his time. She pulled out her phone and got the clock app up. Harper didn’t know if Moses would consider this training, but it would be a bit of a break before going over the till system.
“Let’s have a bit of a fun break. I want you to make me one drink you did at your old place. And for some fun, see how long it’ll take you to do so. Keep it to the alcohol and ingredients that are out.” Even if it meant a vodka cran, it’d give Harper a good chance to see how Chris counted his pours and so forth. She hovered her thumb over the screen, and after a brief countdown, she went Go and started the timer.
It was clear to him that their conversation had strayed too far from work, leaving him wondering what kind of shows the Night club put on. Chris would be too focused on serving drinks and food to have time to concentrate on what shows were preformed on stage. That was something he would need to work on - not being distracted by a pretty woman or the chaos going on around him.
He raised his eyebrow at the mention of being timed. "Is this some sort of competition against other people who have applied?" Chris was a competitive person - he had his family to thank for that. He got up from his seat and made his way to the other side of the bar. It was clear Harper was ready - he could see that she had her phone out. He took a deep breath before he gave her a nod as a signal to the blonde that he was ready to go. Chris reached up for a cocktail glass in the cupboard above him and set it down on the bar - quickly working away at making a Gin Fizz. It was something he knew how to make and a cocktail that was popular where he lived before.
Chris quickly mixed gin, lemon juice and simple syrup together in the shaker - timing himself in his mind - fifteen seconds later he added a few ice cubes and continued on. He pulled out the strainer and placed it over the glass, pouring the liquid in. Chris set the shaker on the bar beside him before pulling out the soda gun out and pressing the button for soda water, topping the glass up. He placed the soda gun back into place and set it in front of Harper. "One Gin Fizz for the young lady. Did I pass the fun test?" He used a nearby cloth and wiped the bar down as he waited for his results.
