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The first time she comes into the casino, Villanelle doesn’t pay her much attention. She’s just another customer, just another lunatic banging their head on the fruit machines. It takes the third, maybe fourth visit for Villanelle to start noticing. And it takes the seventh, maybe eighth visit for her to really start noticing.
Nicely dressed women who frequent casinos alone tend to stick out like that. At least, they stick out to Villanelle. Anything that isn’t a fat businessman in an M&S suit sticks out to Villanelle. They don’t belong. The place looks off when women like that visit. It looks like it’s one piece short of the full puzzle.
Elena walks into the break room where Villanelle is fiddling with a Tamagotchi. She found it in lost property – can’t seem to put it down because the sodding creature keeps demanding food.
“She’s in again,” Elena says as she walks to the photocopier.
Villanelle doesn’t look up from the Tamagotchi. “Who’s in?”
“Er–” Elena stalls. “I forgot what we called her.”
“Helpful.”
“You know,” Elena says. She snaps her fingers as she thinks. “Fruit machine girl?”
That catches Villanelle’s interest. She looks up and studies Elena’s face.
“Fruit loop?”
“Yeah, that one. She’s at the bar.”
“The bar?”
That’s different. Normally, the woman heads straight for the fruit machines. She doesn’t even acknowledge the bar – doesn’t even take her anorak off until she’s comfortable in front of a machine. And when she does take it off, she’s always wearing something amazing underneath, some dress or gorgeous two-piece that looks more expensive than Villanelle’s apartment – or maybe her organs. Something that should never be hidden by an anorak. The best part of Villanelle’s day is wondering what outfit will be underneath it.
Elena walks over. “Yeah, but don’t go and pester her.”
She taps Villanelle’s head with a stack of papers – a warning. Villanelle bats her away because she’s blocking the Tamagotchi.
“I don’t pester.”
“Mm.” Elena is behind her now. She’s looking at the Tamagotchi. “What the fuck is that?”
“My pet.” Villanelle smiles. “It keeps shitting everywhere.”
“Oh, fun,” Elena says. “Your break’s over in two. I’ll see you down there.” She pats Villanelle’s head again, and as she’s walking out of the room, she yells, “Don’t pester!”
“I don’t-” Villanelle shakes her head as she feeds the virtual pet another lollipop. “Unbelievable.”
-
She doesn’t pester.
Well, not for the first ten minutes, at least. After ten minutes, the urge to do something becomes quite strong – it digs around under her skin, stays there as she’s collecting all of the empty glasses from the bar area. She does several slow laps around all of the tables, pretending to thoroughly clean each one as she watches the woman at the bar. She looks incredibly lost in her own thoughts. That’s the first thing Villanelle notices. The second thing is that dress. Villanelle hasn’t seen it before. It’s devastating – leaves Villanelle feeling genuinely devastated.
When she’s filled the plastic tray with empty glasses, she heads over to the bar to leave them for someone else to deal with – not her job. Then she leans against the bar, just a few feet away from the older woman. She pulls the Tamagotchi out of her pocket and hums as she fiddles with it for a few moments. Then, she sighs dramatically.
She glances at the woman, but she’s not looking. She’s too busy staring into her drink as she stirs it with a metal straw – looks proper spaced out and contemplative. So Villanelle sighs again, louder this time. The woman looks up then, a bit startled, and looks at Villanelle.
Villanelle smiles at her.
“Kids,” she chuckles, holding up the Tamagotchi.
The woman looks very confused. And honestly – fair enough.
“You offer them all of this food and they won’t take it. I think it might be dying?” Villanelle frowns.
“Um…”
Villanelle sighs again and hops on the barstool next to the woman. She shows her the Tamagotchi.
“Does that look like a normal amount of shit to you?”
The woman studies the small screen. “That’s supposed to be shit?”
“Yes. It’s weird, right?”
“It looks like– I don’t even know what that looks like.”
Villanelle sighs. “It should not be shitting this much. Something is wrong with it.”
The woman shrugs and sips her cocktail. “I don’t know what to tell you.”
“Is that a metal straw?” Villanelle asks, studying it. “You just carry that around with you?”
The woman looks at her properly then. She sits up a bit straighter – seems a bit defensive all of a sudden.
“Sorry, can I actually help you?”
Villanelle shrugs. “No.”
“Right.”
“I’m Villanelle.”
She smiles at the woman as she pockets the Tamagotchi, pulling out a deck of cards instead. The woman looks back at her – seems like she’s debating something in her head.
Then, she says, “Eve.”
“Nice to meet you, Eve,” Villanelle says. “Can I show you something?”
“I’m really just trying to have a quiet drink…”
“It will only take a minute.”
Eve sighs. She waves her hand for Villanelle to continue. Villanelle smiles and begins shuffling the deck of cards, watching Eve with an amused expression.
“This is the Russian shuffle,” she says, shuffling the cards expertly. Then she begins shuffling the cards in a different fashion. “This is the Reading shuffle,” she says. She takes three cards from the deck and puts them aside, then begins shuffling again. “And this is the Leicester shuffle!”
She grins at Eve, who is looking back at her with resounding disinterest. Villanelle frowns.
“Do you get it, Eve, because there is–”
“Less to shuffle. I get it, Villanelle.”
Villanelle purses her lips together. She gathers the cards and then shuffles them again, a bit absent as she watches Eve.
“Normally, people are impressed.”
“Impressed by you shuffling cards?”
“Yes,” Villanelle says. “It’s funny.”
“Mhm.” Eve nods as she looks into her cocktail, twisting the tiny umbrella between her finger and thumb. She chuckles, shaking her head.
“Funny and cool and nice,” Villanelle continues. She spreads the cards between her fingers and offers them to Eve. “Pick a card.”
Eve looks at the cards, then looks at Villanelle. She keeps looking at her as she picks one and holds it to her chest.
Villanelle is smiling. “Look at it, then.”
“What’s in this for me?”
“It’s a card trick, Eve,” Villanelle says. “Nothing is in it for any of us.”
Eve regards her with a fixed stare.
“If you guess wrong, will you leave me alone?”
“Sure,” Villanelle quips. She takes an olive from the bar and pops it in her mouth. Around the mouthful, she says, “But I don’t think you want that.”
Eve shakes her head and looks at the card. After a moment, she returns it to the deck, face down. Villanelle smiles happily as she begins shuffling the cards again. Then, she squeezes her eyes shut very tight.
“What are you doing?”
Villanelle blinks her eyes open.
“This is my– Eve, I am summoning my psychic senses. You ruined it.”
“Oh…” Eve looks embarrassed all of a sudden – looks genuinely apologetic. “Sorry.”
“That’s okay,” Villanelle tuts. “I need silence, please.”
“Yeah.” Eve nods and waves her hand for Villanelle to continue. With a smirk, Villanelle closes her eyes again. This time, she makes a low humming noise in the back of her throat – because there’s something about the ridiculousness of Eve taking this so seriously that strokes her ego. She’s getting off on it.
“Aha!” Villanelle snaps her eyes open and throws the cards. They land in a messy, scattered pile on the bar.
“Jesus!” Eve says. “Don’t do that!”
“Sorry! It’s the process!”
“Your process is giving me heart palpitations.”
“That’s probably the alcohol,” Villanelle says. She nods to the cocktail in Eve’s hand. “How many is that now?”
“Oh-” Eve waves her hand. “Shut up, Derren Brown. Show me my card.”
“Of course, Eve.” Villanelle smiles. “Once again, I need silence.”
“Yep.” Eve downs the rest of her cocktail. Villanelle can’t help but stare at the way the liquid has stained her lips red, made them a bit fuller. “This better be worth my time.”
But Villanelle has already closed her eyes again. She hovers her hand over the cards, moving it slowly as though she is contemplating each one with her psychic forces. Then, she slams her hand down on a card.
“Gotcha!” Villanelle picks up the card and pulls it to her chest before Eve can look at it. “Now, before we do this, Eve, I must warn you of something…”
“Mm?”
“I must warn you that I am very good. Many people would pay good money to see me do this.”
“Aw,” Eve says flatly. “I feel special.”
“Yes.” Villanelle looks her up and down. She smiles and then turns the card for Eve to see. “Is this your card?”
Eve looks at the card. Her eyes widen a bit as she looks back at Villanelle.
“Yeah, that’s- that’s my card.”
“It is?”
“Yes.”
“Seriously?”
“No!” Eve rolls her eyes. “God, I need another drink.”
She waves her hand to get the bartender’s attention.
“I don’t understand,” Villanelle mutters to herself. “This trick never fails.”
“Today’s not your lucky day, is it?” Eve says. She smiles at the bartender as he walks over. “Hi, JD and coke, please.”
“Make that two,” Villanelle adds. She raises her eyebrows at the bartender who sends her a funny look. “What? I’m drinking to forget.”
“Should you be drinking on shift?” Eve quizzes.
“No,” Villanelle says. She grumpily collects the cards and shuffles them again, then looks at Eve. “Should you be visiting this casino every other night?”
That must catch Eve off guard – must reach something inside of her – because one moment she’s taking her debit card out of her purse, and the next she’s turning to look at Villanelle. Eve raises her eyebrows.
“Excuse me?”
“I said should you be–”
“I heard what you said. Why are you so concerned with what I do?”
Villanelle frowns. “I’m not. I just recognise the regulars.”
Eve is about to say something – looks a bit pissed off, actually – but the bartender interrupts her as he places the drinks in front of them. Eve thanks him quietly and picks up one of the drinks, downing the whole thing in one go. Whether it’s impressive or concerning, Villanelle can’t decide. She watches the scene unfold, raising an eyebrow as Eve makes a face and slams the glass down. Sexy, she decides. Sexy and impressive.
“God,” Eve says. “God. I’m a regular. At a casino.”
“Yes,” Villanelle says. She smiles. “I see you here a lot.”
“Stop it.”
“Stop what?”
“Stop reminding me how sad this is.”
“It’s not sad,” Villanelle says. “This is my job. I like it.”
“I have a job,” Eve says. Her chin is in her hand now. She’s staring dreamily at Villanelle’s drink. “I have a job and a house and a cat and a life and friends. But now I’m a regular at a casino.”
“Eve,” Villanelle tuts. “It’s not that bad. It could be worse.”
“Yeah?”
“You could be a regular at the police station. Now that would be really sad.” Villanelle widens her eyes.
Eve studies Villanelle’s face. She looks like she’s about to say something profound – something else for Villanelle to ruminate over at night, as if she hasn’t been given enough already – but instead she points to Villanelle’s drink.
“Can I have that?”
Villanelle looks at the drink, then looks back at Eve. She slides the drink to her with a slightly concerned expression.
“Thanks,” Eve says. In the same fashion as the previous drink, she finishes it in one go.
“I’m not one to dish out advice-” Villanelle starts.
“Then don’t.”
“-but that is your fifth drink of the evening, and you haven’t even made it to the fruit machines yet.”
“Dutch courage,” Eve says, shrugging.
“Gambling doesn’t require courage,” Villanelle says. “It’s just luck. And, well-”
Eve looks at her. Her hair is a bit tousled now, a bit wild. Villanelle might be wrong, but she swears there is even more volume in her curls than before. It’s maddening. It’s maddening that Villanelle is expected to finish the rest of her shift with those curls in her brain.
“Well?” Eve says.
“It’s not entirely luck. The machines are rigged – kind of.”
Eve stares at her. She looks perplexed, looks sort of like Villanelle just told her that Father Christmas doesn’t exist.
“What- is that even legal?”
“Perfectly.”
“Oh my God,” Eve says. “Oh my God. What am I doing here?”
Villanelle frowns. “You really didn’t know? You didn’t play those claw machines when you were little? Those are very rigged.”
“No! I just thought I was really bad at them!” Eve rubs her face. “Wasted all of my pocket money trying to win Bagpuss once.”
Villanelle purses her lips into a tight line – and, she tries, she really does – but she can’t help the laugh that escapes her. Eve moves her hands from her face and looks at Villanelle. They stare at each other for a few moments. Villanelle is half expecting Eve to flip her off, or do something, but she doesn’t. She just starts laughing with her. It’s bizarre, and Villanelle’s stomach kind of hurts, but they’re just laughing.
“I’m still-” Eve chuckles, wiping her eyes. “I’m still traumatised from it.”
“I bet you are. Bagpuss is a catch. I would be sad to see him go.”
“Right?!” Eve says. She grins at Villanelle, as if now seeing her for the first time. “That’s exactly what I said. My friends told me I should’ve tried for Snoopy instead.”
“Ugh,” Villanelle says. “Lame.”
“So fucking lame. And now some other idiot has my Bagpuss, probably.”
“That idiot doesn’t deserve him,” Villanelle says.
Elena walks over then. She’s collecting all of the empty glasses from the bar. She picks up Eve’s glasses – all five of them – and sends Villanelle a knowing look.
“Working hard or hardly working, Villanelle?”
Villanelle matches her stare. “Both.”
“I need you on Blackjack,” she says. “I’m about to go on my break.”
Villanelle tips her head back and sighs.
“Two minutes,” she says. Then she looks at Eve. Eve is looking back at her with a subdued smile. It’s a nice smile – not stoney or sarcastic or defensive. It’s a tipsy smile. It makes Villanelle smile, too. Then she whispers, “I have to go. More people to scam.”
Eve nods quickly and waves her hand.
“Yeah, don’t let those bastards walk away with a single penny.”
“I’ll try my best.”
Eve starts to stand up. “And while you do that, I’m gonna go put all of my money into those fruit machines–”
“Wait, Eve.” Villanelle stands up, too. She frowns and looks at Eve’s bag. “I just saw something.”
Eve looks confused. “What?”
“In your bag,” Villanelle says. “Stay very still.”
She steps forward until she’s in Eve’s personal space, completely crowding her.
“Uh–”
“Aha,” Villanelle whispers as she reaches into Eve’s bag. She pulls out a card from the original deck. “Is this your card?”
Eve looks at Villanelle, then takes the card from her. As she studies it, her face seems to go a bit pale.
“Yes,” she says quietly.
“Yeah?”
She looks at Villanelle. Her shocked expression turns into more of a smirk. She shakes her head and laughs.
“You’re good,” Eve says.
“Yeah?”
“Very good.”
“Good enough for your number?”
“No,” Eve says immediately. Then, just as fast: “Wait. Yes. What the fuck?”
Eve grabs a pen from her bag and starts scribbling on the card. She hands it back to Villanelle, who looks at it with a smile. Villanelle runs her thumb over the drying ink.
“Pretty face, pretty handwriting.” She nods. “Makes sense.”
“Stop it,” Eve says. “Go do your scamming before I change my mind. Scammer.”
Villanelle smiles and delicately puts the card in her bra.
“Don’t worry. I will think of you while I’m rinsing them dry.”