Gimme a Break
Who: Zoe and Autumn Where: Deck outside the Circean Delight When: Mid-afternoon, after Kevin's announcement to the kitchen staff
Zoe usually didn't smoke. It was bad for the lungs and she needed her lungs. She took one when offered to her about maybe a quarter of the time by her friends. It was a social thing, like drinking and pot. But now she really needed something to unwind her nerves, so she'd bummed a couple from Nik and headed out on the deck to try to pull herself together.
She should have borrowed his lighter too. She had a couple of books of matches in her apron, but her hands were shaking badly. All of her was shaking. Which was totally reasonable, considering what was going down.
Someone'd been murdered. Security had completely disappeared, except for one guy. More people had disappeared. The head chef was locking up all the knives. Seriously, all of them. She didn't envy the cooks at all.
This was totally fucked up. Somehow, she managed to get a match lit and light up. Thank Buddha for small miracles. Shaking out the match, she took a long drag, tilting her head back as she exhaled smoke. The nicotine was helping almost instantly. Part of being a smoking lightweight. Quick fix achieved.
Too bad it wasn't helping shut up her racing mind.