When the clock struck eight, the doors were opened and a crowd of anthros flooded the barroom. Before long, the tables and bar were
filled up and a line was forming outside. After all, there were only nine tables. Brer gave Jake his nametag, which read "LUTRO:
Assistant Floor Manager". He got to work immediately. Checking the schedule, he saw that Dean was with the first group of waiters. He
happened to be reading out loud when he said "Dean".
"Uh-uh," Brer stopped him. "While you're here, you have to call each boy by their work name. He's not Dean, he's Bandit. You're not
Jake, you're Lutro. Get in the habit of using them all the time so you don't slip up in front of a customer. I know it sounds weird, but the
customers like the nicknames better. For example, do you think my name is really Brer? It's your name now, though, got it?"
Jake...no, Lutro...nodded in understanding. He went back to the list to practice the names: Bandit—Raccoon—Tables 1/4/7—Rotation
with Wes—Weasel.
"I thought Wes was a dancer," he questioned Brer.
"He asked to switch, and since you accepted this position we just moved his name over instead of making Lago work a full shift."
"Ah." The other groups were: Stripes—Skunk—Tables 2/5/8—Rotation with Red—Red Panda; Skitz—Squirrel—Tables 3/6/9—Rotation
with Dundee—Crocodile. Dancers were: Fennec—Fennec Fox; Onca—Panther; Varg—Wolf.
Lutro looked out across the barroom. Bandit, Stripes, and Skitz were busy waiting on their tables and Fennec wouldn't dance for
another hour. There was a vast assortment of animal types in the bar, even including a few humans; all of them were males. The
waiters took their tables' orders and came back tithe bar to fill them. While they waited, Lutro got to know them. He had already spoken
with Bandit on the boat, but found out that he had already been bisexual. Stripes was a couple years older than Lutro. He had first
worked at Club Merah during Lago's first year. He hadn't wanted to stay, but he felt like he couldn't leave. When he did, he stayed away
for a year, but something made him come back.
"I don't know what it is," he spoke in a low voice so that Brer wouldn't hear him, "but something pulled me back here. When I was away,
this place was all I could think about. I wasn't even gay before I came here, but now I can enjoy either gender the same. Just be careful
not to let it suck you in like it did me."
This conversation disconcerted Lutro a little, but he figured it must be the magic of the island. Since he was going to learn to control
magic, he figured he wouldn't have to worry. Skitz was several years younger than Lutro, but he had been coming here for two years.
Apparently, Red was his older brother who had brought him here. Skitz didn't seem to have a full grasp of what was going on. He said
he "played restaurant" and sometimes "pet" and that Red gave him some money every day. Lutro wasn't sure what to say to the boy, so
he let him go back to work. He didn't think Red was a very good brother.
The boys had their own table next to the bar where Lago and the off-duty waiters sat. Lutro got to talk with them and learned even
more. Lago had come here three years ago with Stripes and found out his sexuality. He offered to stay all summer when Stripes left
and fell in love with Club Merah. He was a nice kid, but his life as a child prostitute made him very lewd. He didn't think twice about
detailing his encounters with the customers. Ozzy had helped him out, too, by telling his parents he was working at a summer camp for
three months. Lago hated it when he had to go home for the fall.
Dundee was a big guy: even though he was the same age as Lutro, he was about twice as big. He was really strong and muscular, but
didn't seem to have the cocky attitude that usually goes with strength. He was a hockey player, but his parents were poor. He had to
work at Club Merah to pay for his traveling expenses and gear. His meager living was probably why he was so nice.
Red was a stumped for Lutro, he wasn't sure what to think of him. His parents were divorced and his mother left him and Skitz with their
dad. His dad was rarely home and when he was he drank. He tried to avoid his father as much as possible, so every weekend when his
dad came home, Red took Skitz with him to Club Merah. He knew his father wouldn't accept his homosexuality, so he kept it a secret.
He had gone through hell when he discovered himself, trying to change his sexuality and mentally beating himself when he failed. When
he finally accepted his sexuality, he decided to make sure Skitz didn't become bigoted like his dad. He brought Skitz here and
introduced him to sex as a game, so that he would never hate his brother for being gay. Lutro didn't know if that was the best way to go
about it, but he could sympathize with the boy's fears.
Wes was the only one Lutro didn't learn about. He wouldnt talk to anyone and seemed to be in his own little world. Lutro felt that he
must be scared and this was his way of defense. They all left him alone to come to grips with the situation in his own time.
While the boys were talking, a commotion started over at Table 4. A leopard and cheetah were getting loud and being rude to Bandit.
Lutro left the conversation and walked over to Brer.
"Should we see what's going on?" he asked the bear.
"Not yet, let's see if it blows over. If it starts to head south I'll motion Chuck over."
The leopard was obviously drunk and the cheetah wasn't too far behind him. Bandit had brought them their drinks, but the leopard was
insisting it wasn't right and that they wouldn't give him a tip. Bandit was doing pretty well to stay calm and apologized to the cats. He
offered to trade their drinks and asked them what they wanted instead. After he took their order and went to walk away, the leopard
reached out and grabbed his ass. The two cats roared in laughter as Bandit returned to the bar blushing fiercely.
"Don't let them get to you, Bandit," Brer tried to assure him. "They're just drunk and mean. If they go much further I'll have Chuck kick
them out. Just don't lose your cool."
He nodded and returned to their table with the drinks. This time, the leopard went too far. He roared when Bandit brought the drinks and
flipped the tray into the raccoon's face. Before Bandit could react, the leopard had grabbed him around the waist and was removing his
thong. Lutro had just enough time to process this information when an orange streak flew across the room. The leopard went flying as
Chuck punched him in the jaw. The cheetah stood up and lunged at him, but the tiger grabbed him in midair and threw him on the
leopard. The two stood up and got ready to fight again when Chuck punched his open palm and two copies of himself appeared. Faced
with three menacing tigers, the two cats decided it was better to run. They scurried out the door as Chuck and his two mirrors followed.
Bandit ran over to the bar in fear and ran straight into Lutro. The otter held his friend close as be cried in shock. Back home, Lutro would
have found this weird, but, considering the circumstances, he just let it happen. Bandit hugged him tight and he returned the favor. He
didn't even think about the fact that Bandit's thong was still down and his friend's young member was touching his leg. He just hugged
the raccoon until the tears subsided to heavy breathing.
"Wes," Lutro heard Lago say, "I think you need to take over early."