Short Piece (1)

Louis has a drink at a bar and gets talking to a girl.

The bar girl slide Louis his beer. He thanked her for it, drunk it in one, wiped the residue with his forearm then asked for another. 

"You sure that's a good idea, sir?" said the bar girl. 

"I don't know" said Louis 

The girl eyed Louis' tattoo; a white elephant head on his right forearm. In the neon bar room light the elephant lit up against Louis's brown skin as if it were freshly inked. The girl told Louis how much she liked it. 

"Why thank you" said Louis. 

He took the next drink which came his way, drank it to halfway, then mimed pouring some on his elephant tattoo. 

"What is it?" the bar girl said.

"What this?" said Louis. 

"Yeah" 

"You shitting me?" 

"No" 

"Girl you mean to tell me you don't know what an elephant is?" 

The bar girl scrunched her nose. 

"It's a mammal" said Louis "A big mammal which was around back when animals weren't locked up in cages. You ever heard of a mammoth?" 

"Oh yeah sure I've heard of those" 

"So you telling me you know what a mammoth is but you don't know what an elephant is?"

The bar girl just sort of shrugged. 

"I bet they didn't think people would get bored of elephants when they brought back the mammoth, huh?" said Louis.

"I guess not" said the bar girl. 

Louis drank the rest of his beer until there was a little bit left at the bottom. He checked his wallet. The girl asked if she should get him another. He told her know. One more beer and he wouldn't have a place to sleep tonight. 

"Can I ask you a question?" said Louis. 

"Sure" said the bar girl. 

Louis scooted forward on the bar stool. The bar girl didn't move away. 

"Why's your face like that?" said Louis. 

The bar girl's face was snow white like a geisha and she was pretty like one too, except for her eyes which were a rich blue and her tongue and lips which were a dyed baby pink saturation. She wasn't the only one Louis saw like it, somehow it was all the rage around town. 

"You mean why is my face white?" she said "I don't know people just do it to look good I guess" 

"Is it a sex thing?" said Louis. 

The girl just sort of smiled. Louis smiled too, showing the gap in his front teeth. 

Louis felt a buzz coming on from the five beers he had drunk so far. They didn't have his brand any more and most of the bottles came in white labels with the letters B-E-E-R scrawled in bold letters down the side. 

Louis reached for his drink but found himself swiping at an empty space just to the side of it. 

"Want me to bell a car?" said the bar girl. 

"Naw I'll walk" said Louis. 

"Are you sure? The ride's free after midnight" 

Louis perked up from his drunken stupor. 

"It is? Dayum that's the best news I heard all day. Call it, baby" 

The bar girl tapped a few buttons on the monitor in front of her. 

"It's outside now" she said. 

"That fast?" said Louis. 

She gave Louis a look that said she didn't understand his backward questions. 

"Where have you been lately?" she said. 

Louis finished the last few drops of his beer then eased off the stool. As he lumbered out the bar he said. 

"Prison" 

And walked out to the cab.