“You know you’re not allowed to smoke in here don’t you mister?” she repeated.

Pride dented but hope not extinguished Guy hastily swept clean his crotch and, casual as a council meeting, replied,

     “Oh yeah? I didn’t see no sign”, despite knowing full well that there were about fifty of them decked out all over the walls. He gave her his best cheesy grin. Birds like a guy with confidence, he thought.

     “You know you’re not allowed to smoke in here don’t you mister?” Sindy said with the same unaffected stare.

     “Are you gonna stop me?” Guy said, trying to be all saucy but becoming unnerved by her expressionless gaze. Why was she staring at him like that?

     “You know you’re not allowed to smoke in here don’t you mister?” Sindy said.

     Okay, what’s going on? Guy thought. Who is this imposter? This isn’t Sindy, not his Sindy. Has working in this place made her like this? Turned her into this robot? And why was she staring at him like that? Something was very wrong here.

     “You know you’re not allowed to smoke in here don’t you mister?”

     Dreadful panic was now crawling across his brain. What the fuck was going on? It was those eyes! Dazzling blue globes they were, but utterly immovable. She hadn’t blinked for half a minute. He could feel himself falling into them, dizzily circling in their swirling waters, tumbling ever closer to the black hole in their centre, that terrible, tempting rabbit-hole that spoke of the void beyond. Why was she doing this to him? Why?! He couldn’t move, he couldn’t breathe. The life force was being sucked from him and into that black vacuum below the surface waters of her eyes. Why couldn’t he just look away? He felt paralysed, fixed onto her hollow gaze. Was he going crazy? Was this really happening? The blackness was growing, was starting to become him. Maybe if he put the cigar out? Then she’ll go away. She was just doing her job after all. That’s all she wants. Put the cigar out, that’s it, that’s all you have to do! Hurriedly, Guy snuffed the cigar out on the bar-surface and put the unsmoked majority back in his inside pocket.