Chapter 20: The Backstage Brotherhood
Eliana had been at the Night Rose for three weeks, and the initial paralyzing terror had settled into a dull, manageable ache. She hadn't gone on the main stage yet; Anita had insisted she "apprentice" first, learning the rhythm of the club from the shadows of the dressing room. In this underworld, Eliana found an unexpected sanctuary in two people who didn't look at her like a piece of meat.
The first was Samuel, the head barman. A man in his fifties with a jagged scar running across his knuckles and a surprisingly gentle smile, Samuel became her silent guardian. He was the one who slid a glass of water to her when she looked faint and the one who whispered which customers to avoid. Then there was Mimi, a veteran stripper with a sharp tongue and a heart of gold. Mimi didn't see Eliana as competition; she saw a girl drowning in a sea she wasn't built for. "Don't let them see your soul, honey," Mimi told her one night while they shared a plate of spicy suya in the breakroom. "Give them the body, give them the smile, but keep your heart in a box at home. That's the only way you survive this place without breaking." For Eliana, these two became her anchor in a world of neon and noise.