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. 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.
Recap
:
Liz, Matt, and Mayra are three Juggalo friends who live together and are planning a trip to the
Gathering of the Juggalos
. Thanks to Liz and a questionable 'date' with a guy named Bruce Carroll, the trio has VIP tickets; now all they need is a ride. This entry starts with a short interlude that has no sex but follows up the happenings from the last chapter where Liz and Matt accidentally walked in on Mayra while she was performing a striptease on a webcam to make some extra cash. If you aren't interested in that, skip down to the "Chapter 2" heading.
EPISODE 2: HOT TICKET
Interlude: Family Meeting
HELL'S PIT
(aka Divine Trailer Court)
NORTH LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
"These tickets are amazing," Matt said as Liz dumped the bag of materials she had received from Bruce Carroll onto their worn kitchen table. "You hit the jackpot."
"We get free food, free shirts, a free campsite, special access to almost everything," she nodded. "I haven't even gone through all of it yet, but we definitely got the full monty here."
"Backstage?" Matt asked.
"I think so."
"Fucking awesome!" he exclaimed as he shook his head in disbelief.
"That guy wasn't messing around when he said he could hook you up," Mayra piped up from behind them as she entered the room hesitantly. She was now fully dressed, but her cheeks were still red. She may have even been crying but her hair was in her face and she carefully avoided eye-contact so her roommates couldn't quite tell.
"No, he wasn't messing," Matt replied. "Not a bit."
They all stared in awe at the full VIP package to the Gathering of the Juggalos that was spread out before them. It was a good distraction from what had happened only moments earlier, and it held their undivided attention.
The pile made it clear that Liz had really scored big off of the stranger she met at work. It had sounded too good to be true when she told Matt and Mayra about the deal, but, somehow, it had come through. The tickets, and all the perks, were theirs.
"Tell her the best part, Liz," Matt said, nudging her with a playful elbow.
Before Liz could open her mouth though, Matt excitedly spilled the beans for her: "The guy didn't take the money. I guess Liz danced for him a little and they hit it off good because he gave her all three tickets free of charge."
"Danced?" Mayra asked.
"It wasn't quite like that..." Liz started to say.
"We don't need the details," Matt quickly interrupted. "You know you don't have to explain yourself to us; you got the goods and that's what matters."
"Whoop! Whoop!" echoed Mayra with a half-hearted attempt at levity.
Danced?
Liz thought to herself.
I wish it was that simple.
Little did either of them know the real price Liz had to pay for the tickets. Dancing was just the tip of the iceberg.
When Liz had gotten home the night she received the tickets, she was a wreck. She desperately wanted to knock on Matt's door, wake him up, and cry on his shoulder while relaying the horrors of her 'date' with Bruce Carroll, but she didn't. Instead, she disappeared to her own room, buried herself under her covers, and twisted and turned all night as she tried to wrap her mind around the conflicting emotions she had about her actions.
Bruce Carroll had asked her to do things -- humiliating things -- and she couldn't believe she had willingly gone along with them. She hated herself for submitting to his perversions, for giving in so easily, but she was even more bothered by the fact that she had somewhat enjoyed the humiliation at his hands. Something inside herself had awoken that night, but she didn't quite understand what it was yet. The humiliation seemed to turn her on, to open up feelings deep within herself that she had never encountered before. She had found herself alternating between heightened ecstasy and the depths of despair. She needed to talk to someone, to get it out in the open so she could sort her through feelings and find some resolution because internally she felt lost in the contradictions.
But now was not the time.
She snapped back to the moment and watched as Mayra gleefully ran her hands across the papers on the table. Matt simply smiled and nodded as Mayra's grin grew.
"I can't believe we're actually going to the Gathering!" Mayra screamed suddenly. "Aye, dios mío! It's finally happening for us," she continued as she began jumping up and down with a wild abandonment that contrasted sharply with the subdued anxiety she entered the room with. The other two quickly joined in with her screaming and jumping, playfully bumping against each other and creating an impromptu mosh pit in their kitchen.
They quickly stopped, however, when Matt slammed into the table and knocked half of the papers to the floor. As he and Mayra quickly bent down to recover them, Liz grabbed three beers from the fridge and passed them around.
The trio made a toast to the good life, their Juggalo brethren, and the Dark Carnival, before taking long swallows and giggling some more at their good fortune. Mayra finished her whole can at one go, and it seemed the embarrassment of earlier had mostly disappeared along with her beer.
"Listen, I can't speak for Mayra," Matt said somewhat ceremoniously, "but I think you should keep the money we gave you. That money was specifically for the tickets, chedda we had to spend anyway, but you put yourself out there -- again, I'm not asking how -- and you got them for free for us so I think you deserve the cash. You earned it, so keep it and use it for your share of the trip expenses."
"I can't do that. It's you guys' money," Liz said dismissively.
"I agree with Matt, chica," Mayra chimed in. Her voice seemed a little off balance, but she still sounded certain. "You got the tickets, you paid the price, you should keep the cash. I'll have the rest of my share to pay back Matt in a few days," she nodded.
There was an awkward pause after Mayra said that, and as she noticed her roommates looking at her funny, her smile quickly disappeared.
Liz and Matt both suspected the money she was alluding to had something to do with the elaborate computer masturbation scene they had just walked in on, but neither of them wanted to broach the subject.
Before the silence got too awkward, Liz spoke: "I'll tell you what, I'll put it in an emergency stash. Traveling cross country, I'm sure something is bound to go wrong and somewhere we'll need a little extra cash. Flat tire... bail money... bribing an officer? Whatever."
"That's true," Matt agreed with a laugh.
"But it's still yours, chica," Mayra added, pointing her finger directly at Liz's face as if to hammer her point home. She was slurring a little as she said, "You decide what's an emergency and what it gets spent on. It's for your bail first, okay? If there's enough left over, then you bail us out, too."
Liz laughed and nodded and held her beer up for another 'cheers.' Matt followed her lead, but Mayra shrugged and crushed her empty can, showing them she had already finished. They laughed some more and Liz grabbed the last beer from the fridge and tossed it to Mayra. They all took a drink.
"Speaking of getting cross country," Liz said, "I looked into the bus tickets, and while it'll be long and miserable, they're definitely doable..."
"Oh," Matt interrupted, almost spilling his beer with excitement. "I think I have us a ride."
The girls both looked at Matt with a flicker of curiosity in their eyes. Liz arched her eyebrow.
"I found some people in a Facebook group who are going," Matt said excitedly. "There's a lady here in Vegas who's got an old, school van, and she said she's looking for people to chip in on gas and maybe drive some for her."
"Are you kidding?" Mayra asked with a slight hiccup. "That would be perfect."
"It'll be cheaper than bus tickets, and definitely more comfortable."
"When will you know for sure?" Liz said with a little more skepticism.
"I'm supposed to meet her at that Nevada HorrorCore Fest that's going on in Goodsprings."
"That's tomorrow," Mayra said.
"We were planning on going to that anyway, right?" asked Liz.
"I thought so," Matt nodded. "So I told her we'd meet her there for the details and to check her out and hopefully get it all taken care of. What do you think?"
"Está bueno," squealed Mayra.
"It sounds a little too good to be true," Liz said as her thoughts drifted back to Bruce Carroll. "Does she seem legit? Is there a catch?"
"Or is she going to flake out on us?" Mayra added.
"Well, I'm not holding my breath," he admitted, "but I think she's legit. I figure it's at least worth a shot."
"Definitely," Mayra said before taking another swig of beer. Then she added, "Sadly, I'm not going to be able to make it tomorrow though. I've got to work."
"They're finally giving you more hours?" Liz asked cheerfully.
