The Bar

A talented young bartender.

Illustration by Chloe Ma

Name: Akai Misaki
Age: 21
Gender: Female 

When the sun sets and the night falls a bar gleams in bright orange lights. Chatter and laughter from customers, glass cups hitting against each other, and the sweet scent of fresh fruits and alcohol fill the bar. The customers don't come to the bar just to drink, they come to see the talented bartender, Akai Misaki. She is a young bartender that always makes the perfect drink the customer orders. She also has a great sense of art, the drinks she makes are beautiful, no one can start drinking her drinks before taking a picture. 

Of course she wasn’t perfect. She had tons of failures. Sometimes her drinks were too bitter or too sweet, other times the toppings were sinking beneath the drink, too weak, or would break even before putting them on the drink. She got scars all over her hands by cuts from broken glasses. However, she never gave up, she came up with new ideas and designs to create the most beautiful art. Her enchanting red eyes sparkled under the mood light. 

With a leisurely smile, she would ask her customers what they wanted to drink. When she hears the order she nods her head, lays out all the ingredients on the counter, and gives the customers a brief introduction of how she is going to make the drink. Then the performance begins. Customers take out their phones and hit the record button. 

Her hands swiftly move across the counter as the drink builds its shape. She does some fancy tricks here and there to entertain her customers, the reactions are either loud cheering, clapping, or their jaw dropping. She also winks or smiles towards the cameras to make the customers more engaged in the performance. 

When the drink is finished she wipes her hands with her handkerchief and slides the drink towards her customer and says, “Enjoy your drink.”