DISCLAIMER:
This story is in no way endorsed by or affiliated with the Insane Clown Posse or Psychopathic Records. It is NOT implied that ICP or any real persons mentioned in this story are depicted accurately or condone the behaviors portrayed. It also does not attempt to define or exemplify the Juggalo lifestyle. Juggalos come from many different backgrounds and lead such vastly different lives that trying to portray a 'typical' Juggalo would prove impossible. There are Juggalos of all races, all classes, all genders, and all sexual orientations, and this story is only meant to reflect a small, fictional group within that larger whole.
EPISODE 1: HOT TICKET
Chapter 1: "Sweaty Bettie"
GARY'S TOPLESS VILLA
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
It was a disappointing crowd for a Friday night. The place was far from empty, but it was even further from full.
Shit!
Liz thought to herself as she shed her street clothes in the dressing room, exchanging jeans and an ABK t-shirt for an uncomfortable studded leather bikini top and thong combo.
Where is everybody?
She needed to make some cash fast. It was already July, and she had next to nothing saved. Fridays were supposed to be her good nights.
Maybe there's a fight at Caesar's Palace.
Liz remembered seeing a boxing match or an MMA bout being advertised on a billboard over the 95 as she rode the bus into work that day, but she hadn't paid attention to the dates.
If it is today, that could mean a nice surge later.
Her shift was just starting, so she'd be set to still be on stage during the prime slots when the fight let out. Heavy traffic also seemed to indicate that there were more people in town than usual, but before she got too carried away she reminded herself where she was...
Gary's Topless Villa.
Right. How many people who have $300+ to drop just for a freakin' nosebleed seat would actually make their way to a place like Gary's afterwards?
She sighed as she picked up a pair of purple chaps with a red fringe belt and started strapping them onto her lean, muscular thighs.
None.
Gary's Topless Villa was a legitimate Las Vegas strip club but only because of the zip code. It didn't show up in city advertisements or guidebooks and it didn't have anyone hawking half-nude flyers for it on the Strip. A few miles from the real action of Vegas, the parking lot had never seen a limo and cab drivers avoided the place like the plague. Even the back pages of the local free papers -- the sections geared towards adult fun and naughty excursions -- made no mention of it, but it existed. Gary's was not the type of strip club most people thought of when they thought of Sin City -- it was more like a dive bar that just happened to have titty dancers.
And this is my life.
Liz slipped her biker vest on in a huff and looked at herself in the mirror.
She had a good body, and she liked the way she looked...for the most part. She was lean and fit, but she lacked curves typical of the more successful girls in her line of work. Her butt was nothing Sir Mix-A-Lot would write home about, and her boobs had ample space to breathe in the padded B cups she wore at the moment. She was skinny and athletic, not voluptuous or sexy.
Not sexy in the stripper way
, she told herself,
but sexy enough
. She smiled.
After playing with her hair for a few moments, she checked her reflection a last time then walked to the performance list posted next to the door. Scanning the sheet, she knew there must be a mistake. Six full spots down the page was her stage name:
Sweaty Bettie
.
"Pedro!" Liz ripped the paper from the wall and stormed into the back office to find a short, squat man wolfing down a giant slice of pizza. "What the fuck, Pedro?"
The man slowly sat up, dropped the crust into the trash, and with a full mouth managed to garble, "What's up, Bettie?"
"The list," she said. "I don't go on for over an hour."
"Is that right?"
She slammed the list down on his desk. "Why?"
"It's randomly generated, babe. Bad luck, I guess."
"But my shift starts now. Why would I sit here all this time when I'm not even dancing?"
"So you can go get a private," he belched. "That's where the money's at -- you know that!"
Liz folded her arms across her chest. Of course she knew that, but that wasn't the problem.
"How?" she asked. They both knew that dancing on the stage was how the girls got the guys interested in a private dance. The stage only garnered some singles tossed up there by the losers sitting in the front rows, nothing compared to where the real money was. It basically served as an advertisement for the girls to suck a guy in for a lap dance backstage; that's how the business worked. "Move me up. Please. Swap me with Jen. She's been here since four. She always gets the top spots."
"Jeff's in charge of the list," Pedro said, throwing his hands up together and making as if they were tied.
"Yeah, and she's blowing him. Why do you think she gets whatever she wants?"
"You can blow him too if you want," he let out a chuckle. "No rule against that."
"Pedro, I gotta make bank. You know I'm going to be gone for most of the month."
"That's on you, babe, not me."
"Please. Can't you just bump me up a few spots?"
"Mingle," Pedro said as he picked up another slice of pizza. "Positive attitude and a little ass works every time." He smirked and tilted his head to look at Liz's behind. "A little ass..."
Liz rolled her eyes. "Thanks for nothing," she said as she left in a huff. There was no use arguing, and she knew that. She had two options: blow Jeff or try to sell a lap dance while she waited for the stage.
* * *
"Private dance?" Liz asked at each table as she made her way across the room.
Most of the men dismissed her with a wave of the hand as they kept their eyes glued to the stage. A new stripper named Raven that Pedro had hired only the week before was dancing, and her triple D's were attention grabbers to say the least.
The few guys that were able to peel their eyes away for a quick glance at Liz simply offered her a 'maybe later' brush off. To these men, Liz flashed a coy grin and promised she'd return to take them up on the offer.
She wasn't really having any luck speaking more than a few words to anyone until a group of four guys in Redskins jerseys stopped her and asked when she was going to be on stage.
"Soon," she assured them. "Maybe you want to buy me a drink while we wait?" Every drink a customer bought for her was not only a drink she got for free but also a club bonus of five dollars that was tallied into her payout at the end of the night.
"How about
after
you dance?" one of them said to the absurd delight of the rest of the crew. "We gotta see them moves first. See if a bitch is worth it." The guys laughed at this, and Liz buried her contempt for them under a fake smile.
"I'm definitely worth it," she replied. "I know how to work a pole better than any girl here."
"Work a pole?" the guy replied with a wink.
"You know it."
This seemed to excite the group. One of the other guys decided to join in on the conversation. "How 'bout you flash us dem titties, and I'll give you a sip from my beer," he said in a southern drawl while holding out his frosty mug to her.
"Sorry," Liz said, pushing it away. "Not allowed to drink from the customers' glasses."
"Why not? Is there something wrong with it?" he asked, making a big show of examining his beer by holding it up to the light and squinting at it. "I'm drinking it, and it seems fine to me. You guys don't piss in the hooch here, do you?"
"Management says it's a health issue."
"She thinks you're gonna roofie her," the first guy laughed as he elbowed his friend playfully. "And you do look like the type, Clem."
"Fuck you, Steve!" Clem slugged Steve in the shoulder, and they all laughed some more. Steve slugged Clem back and there was some playful back-and-forth with taunts about who had the bigger dick thrown in for good measure.
When they finally finished the horsing around and quieted down, Clem turned back to Liz and said, "I promise I won't drug you." He took a long drink from his mug and then held it out towards her again. "See? Perfectly safe."
"I'm sure it is, but them's the house rules," she said, pushing it away again and starting to get visibly peeved. The night started off bad, and she guessed it wasn't going to get much better.
"Show dem titties anyhow."
"Yeah, management allows titties for sure!"
"Buy a lady a drink and she just might," Liz said, flashing another forced grin.
"A lady!" Clem nudged Steve, and they both laughed briefly before their friends joined in again.
"Come on," Steve said. "How about a free preview? You're gonna be up there showing them to everyone anyhow, but they seem awfully tiny. Why not give us the first peek up close and let us really see 'em? Don't you like us?"
Liz was about to open her mouth and say something she'd regret, but luckily she was interrupted.
"What goes on during a private dance?" a voice from behind her asked. "I might be interested."
Liz turned around to see a man sitting by himself in a booth. He was a little bit older than her, probably early thirties or so, and he was clean shaven in a button down shirt with a sports jacket -- definitely out of place here. He motioned for her to come over.
"Later fellas," she said as she left their table.
"What about dem titties?" they yelled to her back.