"Why do you want this job?"

The question rang through the air, picking apart the awkward silence that had settled over the room before descending into it once more.

The man scared me a little; his eyes were flat and lifeless, as though every ounce of joy had been siphoned from them. He regarded me the way that one would a bug. Cold and calculating, as though debating whether or not to crush me.

I swallowed hard, shifting in my seat as I readjusted the tie that felt more like a noose than it did formal wear. He wanted a specific kind of answer, the right kind of answer.

I wasn't sure that telling him that I wanted to be able to afford a six-foot dinosaur soft toy was the answer he was looking for. The thing was humongous! It was taller than me and I knew that I needed it for my bedroom.

"It... seems like a good opportunity," I coached myself, trying to remember the lines that my best friend, Quinn, had fed me. "It will help me become more responsible," I added when his face remained impassive; age stole away at his youth, leaving behind a valley of wrinkles that formed a bulldog-like sag to his cheeks.

"It's not easy work. It's hard and it's not for everyone. You'll have to work a lot of weekends, and usually late shifts."

"That... that's okay," I stuttered out. "I will try real hard. I'm a quick learner."

The man breathed out a deep sigh, shaking his head as he leaned back into his wheeled chair. He was wearing a suit; it looked more expensive than mine did.

"You seem like a nice kid, Asa. I'm just not sure that this is the best fit for you. You'd have to deal with drunken people yelling at you and insulting you. Could you deal with that?"

Neptune's was a club. It wasn't as big a name as some of the ones in the neighbouring cities but it still drew in a decent crowd every weekend. Working behind the bar didn't seem that hard. At least, that was what I tried to convince myself.

I nodded slowly. I wasn't sure if I could but I needed the job. I needed money and I needed a six-foot dino.

He didn't believe me. I was sure he didn't. I wasn't surprised. I doubted that I would have believed me either.

"You can do a trial shift on Tuesday, how does that sound?" the man, Graham Jones, as he had introduced himself, said. "It's quiet on Tuesday nights. I can have Kyle show you the ropes and see how you do."

I forced myself not to squeal or clap. I doubted that would have impressed him. Instead, I nodded. I watched as he scribbled something down on a piece of paper and handed it to me.

"This is the time you should be here," he said quietly. His voice was strange, rough like there was something caught in his throat, but still managed to ring out clear. "Ask for Joel, okay? He'll sort you out."

Outside of the building, a large structure that was wedged in between two other clubs, I let out a deep sigh of relief, fighting against the tie around my neck. I wasn't sure why I had to wear one but Nicky, my sister, had insisted. Something boring about first impressions, or something like that.

It was a cold day; the sky was smothered in angry black clouds that threatened to burst at any moment. The wind was unfriendly, biting at my face as I stood in the harsh elements, squinting as I waited for my sister's car to come into sight.

I jigged on the spot a little, biting my lip as I tried to stay in one place. I didn't know this area very well and Nicky had warned me not to wander off while she came to fetch me. It was hard. I wanted to see how fast I could run down the street and back, and then I wanted to see if the street made a circle and if I ran all the way around, past where it bent into a corner, if I would eventually end up back in the same place.

I resisted the temptation if only because of what had happened last time I had wandered off. I had stopped paying attention to the road and a truck almost turned me into a pancake.

Beat up and one bad day away from the junkyard in the sky, my sister's rusty blue car pulled into view. It pulled alongside the curb and I hoped in.

"How was it?" was her first question.

"I did everything you and Quinn told me too," I told her, bouncing a little in my seat, trying to decide between shutting the door and plugging in my seatbelt. "I didn't touch anything. Cept for the chair. I had to touch that to sit on it. And the note he gave me. I had to touch that or I woulda been rude."

"I meant did you get the job, Asa," she said, rolling her eyes, reaching over me to slam the door shut. "Stop playing about and plug the belt in."

"Oh." I frowned, tongue poking out as I tried to shove the metal bit of the safety harness into the clicky-ima-hold-on-tight part of the seat belt. "Maybe. I got a trial on Tuesday. I have to go in and somebody named... I forgets their name but they're gonna show me some rope. Not sure why. It sounds kind of boring. Are you proud of me, Nick? Can I have ice cream now?"

She winced but she was used to my fast and often unceasing chatter.

"That depends," she reasoned. "Are you going to finish tidying your room when we get back?"

I nodded eagerly. I probably wouldn't but if it got me ice cream then of course I was going to say yes. I lived with Nicky; I had been fourteen when I had moved in with her. I was eighteen now and had never once regretted my decision. The alternative had been staying with my dad.

Nicky understood me. She knew how to deal with me when I got too hyper and she knew how to say things to me in a way that had me chilling out and listening. I knew I could be a bit much for some people. I knew how lucky I was to have her as a sister.

There was a small dessert shop on the corner of Fifth Avenue. A cute little unit that looked as though it had been yanked out of the '80s and dumped in the middle of modern chaos. We had been going there since we were kids and it was a tradition that Nicky and I still did. She had even started bringing her little boy, Duncan, with her. He was eleven months old and she occasionally let him slobber all over whatever she had.

I loved him. He was my nephew and he was pretty great but I was a selfish shellfish and I liked the times when I got my sister all to myself.

She knew what I wanted before even asked; I always had the same. Bubble-gum flavoured ice cream with crumbled up cookies mixed in.

"I think this job is going to be good for you, Asa," Nicky said as she spooned a mouthful of her mint ice cream into her mouth. "It might calm you down a little, especially if you're working late shifts."

I nodded a little. I knew at times I was a lot for her to handle. She had often compared me to Duncan, and at times she had even claimed that he was easier to look after than me. It should have hurt my feelings. It didn't. I always felt a little guilty afterwards. I wasn't her responsibility but she had taken me on as though I were.

"Yup." I nodded. "Oops. It jumped from the spoon, Nicky," I told her as I glanced down at where a scoop had fallen in my lap. I tried picking it up but it slid between my fingers, urging a tiny giggle from my mouth.

"Use the napkin!" Nicky exclaimed, waving at them in exasperation. "Honestly, I can't take you anywhere."

I managed to get it up with the tissue. It left my trousers wet but they were black so at least it didn't look like I had wet myself. I held the tissue out to Nicky, who shot me an annoyed look.

"Go and put it in the bin, dummy."

"That's not nice, Nick," I told her, frowning. "I could call you monkey features, but I don't, do I? You haves to be nice. You always tell me that so you have to be too."

She closed her eyes, sucking in a deep breath. We looked a lot alike. We both shared the same blond hair and the same sea-green eyes. Her hair had been braided into a French plait but little unruly wisps escaped, framing her round face. She had a naturally round face and though my own was a little thinner, a little more defined with masculinity, it still held a strong resemblance to hers.

"Asa, button it. Put it in the bin, eat your ice cream and then we can go, okay?"

I nodded glumly. "Nasty pasty."

I felt her glare as I shuffled over to the bin, dumping the tissue in it. The inside of the shop was quite small and there was only a short row of six tables available to customers. Only one other table was occupied, two gossiping teen girls that glanced over at me as I passed them. The redhead smiled, a confident smile that had me looking away.

I managed to eat the rest of my treat without spilling any more.

"Do you think I can buy a unicorn if I get paid a lot?" I asked Nicky as we made our way back to the car. I had slipped the tie from around my neck, tightening it around my forehead so that I had a flippity floppity unicorn horn instead. It earned me a few odd looks from the people passing us but I didn't mind. I knew that Nicky would go Incredible Hulk on them if they said anything.

My sister shot me a strange look; her eyes were shadowed by tiredness. She shook her head, muttering under her breath that she was taking me to see a shrink for my birthday before unlocking the car doors. Sliding off the irritating suit jacket, I climbed in. I shut the door first this time but I accidentally shut the jacket in it. I had to reopen it to get it out.

Sleep wasn't something I planned; it was just something that happened. I remembered talking to my sister about how cool it would be to live in a kangaroo's pouch. Then nothing except being shaken awake.