(a story of complete fiction about fictional characters)
*
It had been three long, uneventful months since Penny had been so desperate for money that she had starred in an adult film with three men and a woman. Luckily for her, the film had never been released to the public, but she had still gotten paid for her performance. Since then she had only worked at her chosen profession, acting, a couple of times; and even then she had only appeared as a back-ground actress in two commercials. Once again she was desperate for money, and on the verge of declaring her acting career a complete failure. She wanted to stay in California with her boyfriend Leonard, and not return to Omaha, as a failure. If she absolutely had to, she would swallow her pride and go back to being a waitress at the Cheesecake Factory, but she needed a large sum of money right now to catch up on her debts.
She had walked home from another in a seemingly endless string of auditions, because the transmission in her car had failed. Upon entering her apartment, she listened to her phone messages; all of which were from people wanting money owed to them: her landlord with a final warning, her credit card had reached it's limit, and even the phone company threatening to cut off her service. She called her garage and they agreed to let her retrieve her car as long as she paid the bill by the end of the month. Penny knew that if she remained in her apartment all night, she would just sit there, drinking and feeling sorry for herself; so she walked across the hall to her boyfriend Leonard's apartment. All four of the nerds were there eating take-out Chinese food. Leonard was overjoyed to see her, as always, and they shared his meal. The nerds: Leonard; his super-brain roommate Sheldon; the oversexed and recently married Howard; and sad loner Raj, were excitedly discussing their upcoming annual Dungeons & Dragons three-day marathon. For one long weekend, they played the nerd-popular board game; never leaving Sheldon and Leonard's apartment. It was nice to be around her friends, even if she was pretty much excluded from their conversation, and Penny's mind was distracted from her financial mess.
As she was giving Leonard a good-night kiss, she made a hasty decision to call Jeff, the director of the adult film she had appeared in, and ask if he had any employment opportunities...she was that desperate. He answered the phone on the second ring and seemed genuinely pleased to hear from her, "hi Penny, of course I remember you...you were fantastic. I'm sorry but the producer I usually work for is still not backing any films. He still owes money to the IRS and, you know how those government agencies are, now he's being investigated by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). He's originally from Ecuador, and there is some question about his visa. I don't think your film will ever be released. But if you're truly in a bind, I am involved in a different entertainment venture right now. I have staged several live-sex shows. The money is good, and you get paid immediately."
Penny paused several minutes to think about that venture. She had already made a porno movie; having sex with three men and a woman on camera, so she asked Jeff for more details
"Well, I produce a show that would be absolutely perfect for you. You get up on a stage and perform a strip-tease; then you pleasure yourself with a dildo and have sex with one other male performer," he informed her. "Penny," he added, trying to cajole her, " with your looks I could charge double what I usually do, and split it with you."
She thought for a minute and asked, "there would be no cameras, right?"
"Absolutely," Jeff assured her, "this is a live show." He jokingly added, "you could add to your resume that you had been the star performer in a stage production."
Penny was truly desperate for money,and since there would be no video proof of her indiscretion; she reluctantly agreed.
"There is just one thing," Jeff continued, "due to all the regulations and licensing complications in this country, the show takes place in Tijuana. That's about a 2 1/2 hour drive from here, so you'll have to plan on a whole day. I will pick you up and provide transportation, and be with you the whole time. You do have a passport, right?" She had obtained her passport a couple years before when Leonard was going to take her to Switzerland to see the Hadron Collider (whatever that was) for Valentine's Day; but had never used it because she and Sheldon had contracted the flu. She confirmed that she did have a passport (if she could just find it). Jeff continued, "that's perfect Penny...or should I say Angelina Lincoln (remembering the porn name that Penny had given herself). Just give me a couple days to set it up...if I use a couple pictures of you to advertise; we will make a fortune on this. I'll pick you up Sunday morning." She arranged to meet Jeff outside her former place of employment, the Cheesecake Factory, because she didn't want to chance any of the nerds seeing her leaving with a strange man. She loved Leonard, and didn't want to take any chances of hurting his feelings. She knew Leonard would give her the money she needed; but she didn't want their relationship to be based on money; and besides, that would officially label her a failure.