Participants:
| Scene Title | Preparations |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Quinn and Melissa make some last minute preparations for Tartarus's grand opening, and Mel shows Quinn their special raffle items. |
| Date | June 25, 2010 |
It's just hours before the big event, the one night that so many of the employees of Tartarus have been working towards for months. True a few of those months were just hoping that the storm ended so this night could happen, but still. The club is a flurry of activity, with a large chunk of the people trying to finish last minute preparations to make sure that nothing goes wrong. Because if anything does go wrong, Melissa will certainly have the head of the one responsible. This has become important to her.
There are people stocking the bar, others ensuring that the mess of construction and moving so many things around hasn't left a mess. Above all Melissa demands cleanliness from everyone here. Lights are turned on and off, to ensure that they'll work perfectly for the auction, tables are moved this way and that, with one already being set up to sell the raffle tickets and take donations.
As for the manager herself, Melissa has three brown paper wrapped paintings in hand, carrying them across the club as if they were precious. She's smiling, though there's a slight tenseness to her features, and she's dressed in black cargo pants and a black tee-shirt. Even her hair seems to have more black streaks in it than usual, but that's just a trick of the light, right?
Quinn tries so hard to be on time for work related affairs. She's not so good with anything else, but being punctual for work? Not something she messes with. So, of course, it's today of days that she's rushing in the door, several large, what appear to be shopping bags in hand, a messenger bag slung over a shoulder and she huffs and puff. She doesn't have time to check, but she's pretty sure she's here later than she was supposed to be.
Needless to say, spotting Melissa brings a large amount of relief to her face, sending her scuttling in the manager's direction. "Melissa!" She near shouts, a smile on her face as she approaches. "Oh, God, I'm so sorry if I'm late." She exhales sharply, eyes closing briefly as her pace finally slows. "I- had a few things to do this morning."
Melissa pauses and looks over towards Quinn, and she seems amused by Quinn's worry about being late. She may be a neat freak, but she's pretty easy-going beyond that. "You're late? I didn't know," she says, a gleam of mischief in her eyes. "A few things though, huh? Shopping? Did ya get anything good?" she asks, peering at the bags curiously.
"Oh,whew." Quinn sighs, relieved, and then glances down to her bags. "What?Oh, no! No, no, no, this is from this weekend. I tried to, uh, pick up an outfit that seemed a bit for fitting for tonight." Quinn drops the bags to the ground, one hitting with a thunk. "So! Big day!" She comments enthusiastically, looking around. "What's up?"
There's a laugh at Quinn's quick denial. "Hon, if you're expecting me to yell at you for somethin', you're talkin' to the wrong girl. So long as you're set up for tonight, I don't care what you do with the rest of the day." With a motion of her head Mel indicates Quinn should follow as she heads for the DJ booth.
"What's up is, once you get settled, I want you to get familiar with these paintings. I've got a little information on each one, and they're all being raffled off. I want you to hype them up as best you can before the drawing to decide who gets 'em," she explains.
Quinn's gaze moves to the three wrapped objects Melissa carries, quirking an eyebrow and pointing a finger. "What, those? We're givin' out art?" She sounds a bit surprised, arms crossing over her chest. "That's really cool, I thought it'd just be all music stuff. What kind of paintings are they?"
Melissa grins. "We're giving away what people donated. And Daniel Linderman donated these. I'm actually pretty excited about it myself. I'll be buying a couple of raffle tickets — though I'm gonna give 'em to my friend to hold. It'd just look wrong if I ended up winning one."
Reaching the DJ booth, Mel sets the paintings down, and begins to unwrap the top one, showing a dark painting of two people. "These three paintings were done by the late Isaac Mendez. You've heard of him, right?" she asks, studying the "Lovers" for a moment before looking at Quinn curiously.
The name Linderman garners another surprised expression - she had heard the name on the news, and of course the Linderman Act, among other things. "Whoa, really?" The Irishwoman watches intently, fascinated as Melissa unwraps the first painting, an eyebrow raised as it, and the people painted on it are revealed. A hand moves to her chin, looking over the piece with narrowed, appraising eyes.
"Huh. This style looks kinda familiar. It's a really nice peace, though. Looks kinda… I dunno, like a happy reunion, maybe? I think whoever gets it'll be really happy." When it comes to appraising art, it helps to have a mother who's an artist.
Melissa grins. "Kinda familiar? You've gotta be the only person in New York who doesn't know Isaac Mendez," she says teasingly. "But yeah, I think they'll be happy. And I think that having three paintings by him will drive more people to buy raffle tickets, which is why I want you to hype it up."
"Oh!" Quinn exclaims, a look of recognition washing over her. She'd heard the name, seen some stuff before, and she swore she'd seen a comic in the same style at Magnes' - that certainly explained a lot. "Wow, that's pretty awesome. Have you advertised it at all, that could certainly get some people in the door."
Her head tilts, eyeing the other two wrapped paintings. "I think I can handle that. I'll have to look up a few things on my phone, but that should be fun." She gives a wide grin, and a nod to Melissa.
"Unfortunately I found out about these after I started advertising about the whole shindig," Melissa says with a wry smile. "And I have some information. The title of the pieces and all that. So that should help. I'd like to get at least one of them raffled off before the start of the auction. Maybe that'll inspire people to buy more tickets for the other pieces, and people who don't win their chosen date in the auction might choose to spend their money buying tickets."
Quinn taps a finger on her cheek, and then shrugs. "Well, it'll be a good surprise still. Like being at a place that turns out t' be a secret show, maybe people'll call friends and get 'em down to buy tickets for the paintings. So, what are the other two?"
Melissa grins and motions to them. "Go ahead and open them. Oh, and given the nature of these paintings, you'll have a couple of security people up here with you as long as you've got the paintings. Just a precaution."
At Melissa's urging, Quinn's eyes light up. She takes careful hold of one of the brown wrapped paintings and sets it down. Fingers waggle a moment before she takes to pulling the brown paper down, tilting her head as a painting of a street corner, two people visible beneath a lamppost, comes into view.
"I- yeah, I guess that makes sense," is Quinn's response to the notion of heightened scrutiny. It makes her a little uneasy, she's not used to such things - but such is business. She quirks her moth side to side as she looks at the revealed painting. "I think I liked the other one more. It's a nice piece, but it's kinda boring."
"Yeah, I like the other one better myself," Melissa says with a smile. "And don't worry, Quinn. It's just a precaution. Most likely they'll just sit up here keepin' you company between songs."
Quinn sets the painting in hand aside, gently lifting the other. A glance over to Melissa, and a nod. "Right, right. Probably a good idea, just not used t' it." She looks at the wrapped painting with anticipation, and begins to pull away the paper, revealing a man in a river, something in hand. "Wow, the colours in this one look fantastic," Quinn remarks, holding it up.
Melissa grins at Quinn's reaction and she nods. "They're all amazing in their own way. I just hope everyone else reacts how you did. For now though, yeah, spend your time getting ready and getting to know these pieces as well as you can. Oh, and do you have any questions or concerns or anything?"
"I almost kinda hope they don't, I'm considering getting a few tickets for one…" Quinn remiarks, half joking as she places the final painting down with the other two. Torn brown paper is folded back up over it, aiming to protect the painting. "Uh… well, noe or two small things, if you don't mind?" First, she motions to the bags. "I- I admit I'm still not sure if everything I got is proper appropriate fashion or not, mind taking a look? And I… heard, kinda late, from Magnes an' Sable that we'd be playing tonight, so I'd gotten two songs picked out and…" A pause as she draws her phone out of her bag, headphones plugged in as usual, "Wanted to see which you liked better, if either."
There's a laugh and a nod. "Go for it. Like I said, I'm gonna buy some tickets." Melissa moves over to the bags, crouching down and poking around, pulling out something here and there. "Oooh. Corset. I like corsets." She grins up at Quinn. "Got a friend who insists that corsets are underwear. It's actually how we met, over a corset. We've agreed to disagree, though one day I'm gonna get her in one." She straightens. "I totally think you should wear the corset."
Quinn gives an enthusiastic nod in reply, grinning. "I kinda thought they were too, but… well, I went shopping with a friend for something for the auction, and it seemed appropriate." She shrugs, pressing repeatedly on her iPhone. "Lot more comfortable than I figured too." And after a moment, she offers the device over to Melissa. "Just listen to both songs through. If neither of 'em works, I think I can cook something up. But… here's hoping."
"Quinn, I trust you to play good music. If I didn't, you wouldn't be working here." But Melissa takes the phone anyway, slipping the headphones on and hitting play. She leans against the wall as she listens to one, then the other, her eyes closing, head moving slightly to the beat of the music. When they're done, she offers the phone and headphones back. "Either will work, though I like the first one better," she says, referring to the one by Birthday Massacre.
"Whew," Quinn remarks for a second time with relief. "Okay, good, Looking Glass. Christ, that's going to be a busy song. I think I got all the synth and the drums set up properly, I'll have to double check. Lord, everyone gets to see my in public with a keytar." Despite the seeming doubt of the statement, she smiles and sounds confident. Taking back her phone, she lips them into her bag. "That's really it! Whatever you need me t' do to help, I'm yours!"
Melissa grins. "Good to know. First things first though, just make sure you got everything you need, and that it's all set up, here. Without music, we've got no grand opening, no auction. Once that's done you can grab anyone else and help 'em set up. Lot to do before tonight."
Turning back ot the DJ booth, Quinn raises a hand and waggles her fingers again, an eager look on her face. "Not a problem there. I think the band'll be here later with their stuff; I'll help them with that. But I'll let you know when I'm done with this-" She thumbs back to the booth, "And then I'll get right t' helpin' someone else."
Melissa smiles and nods. "Excellent. You need anything else, just hollar. If I'm not around - and I might not be - here's my number," she says, digging around in her pockets before pulling out a business card. It has no name, just a number on it, and it's passed over to Quinn.
Quinn eyes the card curiously for a moment, and then slips it into her bad. "Alrighty! I'll call Magnes an' Sable, let 'em know what's up, and…" She looks around and smiles. "Tonight's gonna be awesome."
Melissa grins and nods. "Oh yeah, it totally is. I'll come and check with you an hour before opening. Until then…have fun. 'Cause I know you're damn sure gonna be busy." One last grin, then it's off she goes, to do managerial things.