Shanell Jackson walked up to her apartment and saw the white paper taped to her door like she was being kicked while she was still down. She did not even have to read it before already knowing that Ashanti did not pay the rent. She quickly remembered all the times her mother would drag her from place to place when the rent was not paid, and that white sign of defeat brought back those memories with anger.
The anger grew so that her purse became a weapon against the couch as it was thrown hard like a pitcher trying to strike out a batter. She knew this was the last time she gave money to her roommate for something she could have done herself. The two bedroom apartment was a splurge that her friend said they could afford if they split the rent.
Storming downstairs to the manager's office, she gathered her emotions the best she could. She still needed to get ready to go to work, and the paper in biology needed to be typed up as well. The light in his office was on, and she knew it was just the matter of figuring out how to come up with the money.
"Excuse me, Mr. Harris. I was just trying to find out how many months I am late. I told my roommate to pay last week, and I guess she never got around to it." Shanell knew it was a lie the moment it came out of her mouth. Ashanti either spent it on drugs or gave it to her loser boyfriend Dashawn.
Mr. Harris was an old raggedy man with balding grey hair. He was quite rotund, and his large, fat belly made it difficult for him to do anything other than waddle up and down the halls. Shanell knew that he hated her and Ashanti and was trying to get them out. Ashanti did not make a case for them to stay in his good graces by parading her boyfriend around as he looked like he could pimp on some occasions. She knew she needed to play nice if she was going to save her apartment.
"You're two months behind. I need the back rent plus next month's rent if you want to stay. And I need it by Monday."
"That's twenty three hundred. I can't get that much money by Monday," Shanell replied, trying to sound polite while feeling her world was now collapsing. The anger at Ashanti was the only thing keeping the tears from flowing.
"I guess you and your other stripper friend need to find another place to live," he answered back with an almost smug smile on his old face.
Shanell hated when someone brought up her profession. She knew she was a stripper and made no attempt to correct people by saying she was an erotic dancer. The real pain came from her knowing her grandmother would not talk to her because she knew about her stripping.
Even when she told people that she was in college, and that stripping was just to pay the bills, it was not enough to sway opinions. The whole act of changing her life around was in hopes she could finish college. She listened to other girls talk about breaking free with all the money they earned, but Shanell knew it was all bullshit they told themselves to lessen the blow of who they really were.
The fear of falling into the routine of being a lifelong stripper forced her to go broke each semester with her tuition. With her mother in jail and her grandmother not speaking to her, the trap of moving to an escort service was closer than she ever wanted it to be. The city life of living in the projects was also new as her grandmother had shielded her from that when her mother was arrested.
Shanell knew she had to get ready for work, but also felt rattled by everything that just went down with Mr. Harris. She hated him from the moment she moved in, but it was the only place she could afford. Even with Ashanti paying half the rent and utilities, the budget was always stretched thin.
Shanell thought about a solution while putting on her makeup and flat ironing her long hair straight. She also needed to vent and release the anger and frustration built up inside of her. She felt both hurt that she was needing Ashanti to pay half the rent, and fucked over that two months of her money was stolen by her. She thought of her as a friend, but also knew not to trust her with certain things. She regretted even letting her take the money last month, but did not think she was going to screw her over like this.
She looked in the mirror to admire her works as her caramel skin gleamed with perfection. She recalled her friends in school wanting to play sports, while she loved the attention she got from dressing up. Although not jealous that her older sister was taller, she was content with being five inches about five feet, and having better hair.
Shanell stood up and made sure her breasts, and long dark nipples were properly dosed with perfume and a small amount of glitter before putting on a bra to cover them up. She knew her brown breasts were soon to be stared at like they were toys to play with, but she enjoyed the fact she could get a man's attention with them. They were not overly large D's, but with her thin frame her C cup breasts had just enough bounce and could fill out any outfit she owned.
Shanell walked to her car and saw that it was gone. The frustration with her friend now morphed into something worse, as she felt despair take over her soul. All she had done in the past was soon to be washed away as thoughts of having all of her things put out on the curb.
She knew Ashanti was in trouble with her boyfriend, but thought it would not boil over to her as she always kept a distance between them and her. Shanell thought about how she once told Ashanti that she might have to move out if things with Dashawn got worse.
It was not something she did often, but Shanell decided on calling Danielle. She knew Danielle was nothing but trouble, and someone that could not be trusted, but also knew there was no other choice. She knew it was a Thursday night, and the Thursday night football game was sure to attract men to see her dance topless or pay for a few lap dances. It was also going to be awkward asking her for a ride on Friday and possibly Saturday, and missing those two nights was not an option when it came to money.
She heard the stories about Danielle's drug dealing, and she made no qualms about hiding the fact she was also an escort on the side. Not that Shanell had a life to look up to being an exotic dancer with her, but she was her ride to the club now. Money had to be made, and she was her only option.
Danielle pulled up in her flashy, yet beat up Lexus. Shanell got in and flashed a smile of appreciation. "Thank you so much for doing this. Ashanti skipped out on me and took my car."
Shanell saw the look of disgust as she pulled off. "I told you girl, she is nothing but trouble. That girl got herself in deep and she is not coming back. She take money too?"
Shanell looked over and knew if she came clean about everything, there was a chance she might have pity on her and spot her some money. Even if she did not give up some charity, there was still a chance she could bum a ride for this weekend. "She took the rent money, and I am now going to get evicted by Monday. I need money fast."
"I got something lined up for tonight if you need money."
"I am not going to fuck some random guys for money," Shanell answered quickly, thinking that she was about to delve into the life of prostitution.
"No hooking it. It's a simple bachelor party. You go in and show them your tight black ass and you get paid. I was going to do it, but I have another gig lined up that's paying more tonight. Figure I can give you five hundred."
She thought about it quick and knew it was a start. The worse thing possible about it was that she could use the extra money to cover the cost of a new place. "Yeah. I will do it."
"Okay. It's set then. I will get the address tonight and drop you off."
