Turned Away At Chevy’s Door (Part 2)

Balloons And Bouncers

Looking like a scene from a Planet Hollywood opening, they had an archway of helium balloons which was the entry and their now dominant fencing for the queue line. There has been a horde of change made to the old Chevy’s which was owned by the Rebels but what they didn’t change was the tiring bouncers they have out the front there every weekend. Hopeful that we could enter with Jonah being there, we whispered to each other “Do you think we need tickets to get in tonight”.

Scolding Tyler for having the whole day off work but doing nothing in the request of buying tickets, we jumped in line eager to head inside with money in our hands but we soon realized that it was going to be tougher than we thought. The bouncers were very forward in their announcements upon everyone in front of us who tried to get into Chevy’s. “Sorry, you can’t get in without a ticket” was the resounding phrase we kept hearing chiseling into our minds.

Knowing now that tickets wouldn’t have gone astray, I was looking around at all the beautiful girls heading inside with mostly suave clothes or nothing much on at all. There was this one girl with a light electric blue top on and with her skirt, she was the most awesome blonde I had seen but unthankful to our desires, she was heading inside and the three of us, stuck outside counting our losses.

Giving our despairing luck a try, we continued through the line with Tyler in front, giving us one feeble attempt at entry. The three of us looked awesome, we didn’t deserve to be rejected back onto the street. Nero was wearing electric blue chord pants that to my surprise were made by his tailor. “Have you got a tailor” I questioned on our way down Queen Street midway through our interesting conversation. Nero explained that he just had to pass on the material, explain exactly what he wanted done and he’d get that one of a kind style happening that no one else has.

Nero certainly is living the ‘In’ bachelor life and when it comes to style and class, he is definitely one step ahead. Nero is like the Ace of the old era that I never got to fully know. Rather, I met Ace when he was starting to resolve to the relationship orientated person he has become now. In his ebbing days I did catch a glimpse of his former glory and he still does have that shine about him but be sure that when he starts putting his head down and thinking seriously about settling into his new house, he’ll lose his old touch.

Nero being only 21 is in his prime like Tyler and myself and of course, for the three of us, things can only get better. Neither of us are destitute to looks and we are favored by the thought that we want to live the bachelor life, not being held up by a woman. Therefore, that is where the most of our ardency is sprung, from our being young and outgoing for any adventure that pops up.

Jonah Says No

Approaching Jonah and the other bouncers in the line for Chevy’s, Tyler tried to put on the charm but from ten steps away, I knew Jonah’s being wary of our approach was looking unpromising. You could almost taste the rejection looming in the air as he turned us back. Tyler didn’t like rejection and after trying to squabble for placing, Jonah wouldn’t relent and Tyler was forced to. “That’s the last time I shake his hand or do any favors for him” Tyler protested as we started walking towards the road, watching everyone else in envy as they walked in.

Nero then explained how he’d gone from a shake of the head to a handshake with Jonah but with this last bout was set to throw in the gloves for such a lame attempt at favoritism. There we stood, trying to devise a plan as we watched all the teasing skirts walk past the balloon archway and into Chevy’s. Walking around, we found the girls to be very friendly to the three of us as they turned and smiled walking up the street but again, this was only a tease to our not being able to get inside.

Despite our strong bid to get inside, when a Lebanese guy walked up to us asking if we wanted to buy a ticket we turned him down as he only had one. Finally, after twenty minutes of patience and hope we gave up and began our trek up Queen Street. The bouncer had said to Nero “We don’t have any spots right now” to which he noted “Right now, I like those odds” and all the way up Queen Street we were saying “They’re good odds to work with, I like those odds”.

Kings Cafe Detour

Full of energy as I was, I kept jumping up in my Sketchers shoes snapping at the shop signs but no degree of energy was going to bring us closer to heading into Chevy’s. I had a bucket full of energy to unleash and incapacitated from dancing, I found jumping for signs the next best thing to unleash some of my raw power. Unsure on our plans, Nero raised the suggestion that we feed our famished stomachs and with agreement all around, funnily enough, we headed up to King’s Café.

Still counting our disappointing losses, we digressed into another fathom of the night, deeper and deeper from original incentive and on the road to a now quick boost. With the Swift still locked up with the keys inside and our refused entry to Chevy’s and the weather starting to create a small chill, our night wasn’t looking too favorable. Stuck with nowhere to go, we knew that we had to get the car opened and our night rolling again or it would have just been another Friday night to the books.

A small diversion to the master plan came when we were ordering food in King’s Café. Well, I wasn’t buying anything because I could see the little Greek or Turkish guy didn’t want to make eye contact with me, afraid that I would barter with him again. Standing near the bar as Nero started talking to a Samoan bouncer from QSB, I sat one of my old friends from Airds High School walk in.

Uncertain of his name at the moment, I remember he was one of Brodie’s better friends when I was hanging out with Johnnie to which he was married or going out with Merewyn, the chick from my school. As the two of us got to chatting he kept mentioning how we should head up to QSB. “Don’t go to Chevy’s, that’s shit” he argued, “Head up to QSB, there’s good people there and a nice atmosphere”.

From my vantage point of being able to see inside QSB’s windows all I could see was a couple of people on the dancefloor but looks could have been deceiving from that distance. Glancing at Nero and Tyler for their opinions they widened their eyes somewhat with acceptance, mainly to the fact that we had shit else to do. While Nero was talking to the bouncer trying to gain a coat-hanger for his car, my friend told me about his having two kids to Merewyn, showing me a picture of his new woman and how he’s having another child with her.

With a third kid on its way from this child factory I also heard how he not only smokes pot but he takes trips and E’s on occasion. Nevertheless, the tasteless chatter of sobriety was always upon intermission and with our conversation drawing to an end, the four of us after eating ended up heading out of King’s Café. Splitting from our group, the shave-headed guy noted that he had to split down towards Chevy’s to which we now faced looking forward to a downcast QSB.

A Dead Dancefloor

Entering the Queen Street Bar, we knew now why entry was free upon its disgraceful spectacle. Taking our parade around the circuit, I noticed a lame number of people on the deserted dancefloor, totaling around eight. “Yeah, this is really a great atmosphere” we mocked in sarcasm as we were more to jeering than enjoying ourselves. “I can’t believe I locked the keys in the car” I cried again, knowing desperate times called for desperate measures.

Opting to jump onto the pokies as they were the only source to eat up time as we waited for the Samoan bouncer to bring us a coat-hanger, Nero chucked in twenty dollars to the pyramid game and sitting together, we each took a couple of hits trying to jag a win. However, there was no luck to our despaired night apart from that of eating up time as Nero took a hit then I. Slowly the money started to diminish until we had run it down to the ground and from there, we jumped up and headed outside.

Waiting patiently for the bouncer to finish eating his food so he could fetch us a coat-hanger, we stood at Nero’s car cracking jokes about his slow eating. “That’s it, those Samoan’s have to eat before they have sex” Nero noted or something along the lines of that. Not as sound in optimism as Nero, I failed to believe that we could use a coat-hanger to break into his brand new car. Tyler was just standing there, a couple of steps away from the car, being his silent self as usual, without an opinion.

Coat Hanger Rescue

Doubt was still predominant when the bouncer brought out a coat-hanger and as Nero bent it out of shape, he shifted it down the passenger side window and started sliding it around trying to do the impossible. Deeming it a waste of time for me to keep trying the door handle, I kept at it while Nero was undoubtedly making some inside damage to his passenger door, scrapes and what have you.

Being the crowd pleasure and always up to something (Like Ace), when some girls walked past and they looked like they were nearing us Nero would turn around and hide the coat-hanger behind his back, starting to whistle conspicuously. The girls laughed as they walked past at his admirable charm and as we turned back around to try again, his style and persistence along with my now constantly jabbing at the handle had us surprisingly hear a click.

With the door now open, a sigh of relief and a clap of hands went around as with the door’s opening, our night had also opened up some new doors.

Trying Chevy’s Again

No longer was there a stigma upon our night and with this new entry to optimism, I was so pumped up with faith that I kept yelling “That’s it, we’re definitely getting into Chevy’s now, I can feel the vibe, they can’t turn us down now, not after this luck”. Trying one last time, I chucked my glasses in the car to which this time we all made a mental note about the keys and locking the car, we began our jovial walk to Chevy’s.

However, this time around we were cautious, being reserved about who would actually walk up and make the big trek back into the line. Full of optimism, I walked strongly with Nero by my side as Tyler held the same degree of potency for a touch then died off when it came to the crunch. “I don’t want to get rejected again” Tyler noted as we all agreed we feared rejection, making us look bad.

However, still with a flare of intensity, Nero and I walked into line to which I knew in my mind there would be no way we would get let in and as we approached the bouncer, we were turned back with the same story. Therefore, with that being the conclusion to our sorry attempts of entering Chevy’s we headed back to Nero’s car starting the engine and looking anew for some other course of action to keep ourselves occupied for the night.

Going home wasn’t an option and neither was giving up on the night, we needed a club and we needed one soon otherwise the night dressing up would have been a wasted night…