This is my entry to the
Halloween Story Contest 2022
.
**
After graduation I floundered about but finally lucked out and got a good job in Manhattan, the primo borough of New York City. I thought the salary was good but I quickly received a reality check when I encountered apartment rental rates. Whoa. I'd have to find a roommate to even stand a chance of surviving. Besides paying rent, I also wanted to eat food.
I went on the Smith College Facebook Group site and found a recent graduate who "desperately" needed a roommate. I didn't know her from when she was at Smith but we had a few friends in common, her apartment was well located, and my share of the rent was affordable, if barely so.
We hit it off right away. She was thrilled to welcome me as her roommate, as was I with her. There was one warning sign but I ignored it.
"Do you have noise-cancelling headphones?" Monica asked me.
"Yes. They're Bose headphones. Why do you ask? You can borrow them from time to time if you want," I replied.
"Thanks, Joanie. I have my own headphones. It's just that when I entertain a man, well, I can be rather noisy, if you know what I mean."
"I see. No worries. It's important to enjoy the other sex from time to time. You got someone steady?"
"No, not yet. Right now I'm enjoying some variety."
"I can imagine." Monica has a hot body. She's around five feet nine inches tall, with curves to die for and long, shapely legs. Some girls are just lucky that way. Oh yes, her blemish-free face is also pretty. She's the type of girl men pursue.
Me? I'm not so lucky. I mean I'm attractive, even pretty. Being pretty can be rather far away from being a sex siren, however, and that's what Monica is. She's the sex siren of West 91st Street. I mean it: put her in a tight sweater and a mini-skirt and she can stop traffic. Of course, traffic is always stopped in NYC, it seems, but you get my point.
I had nobody. I just moved here from mid-north-central Indiana, via Smith College in Massachusetts, and I hadn't plugged into any networks to meet men. Monica was about the only person I knew well! No, that's not right: there were other recent Smith graduates in Manhattan. Not as many as you might think, since Smith students are more oriented towards Boston than New York.
This meant I kind of vicariously enjoyed Monica's well-established social life. I hoped it at times would include me, and occasionally Monica made a serious effort to include me. I worried she treated me as a charity case when it came to a social life. But, you know, I didn't need men to enjoy myself. There was so much to see and to do in New York that it seemed every weekend I was at a different museum, although the Metropolitan Museum of Art alone occupied four weekends, both days, and I still felt as if I had barely made a dent. I also enjoyed going to the movies alone. I mean, it might have been nice to have gone with a man, but I still enjoyed myself plenty while being solitary.
**
I had been an aspiring actress in high school and in college. In high school the drama teacher had said not to worry: I needed more "life experiences" to draw upon. I took him seriously and so I let Ronnie S. get what he had always wanted from me. It turned out to be one hell of a life experience. The romance lasted several weeks, in fact, and I learned more than I needed to know at that tender age. The affair stopped when Ronnie S. was arrested on drug charges.
Yes, my acting improved as I brought my little but emotionally turbulent affair to mind when I acted in theater class. My acting improved a lot!
In college I felt I needed even more "life experiences" to broaden my perspective on things, so I tried drugs, some exhibitionism, and of course a little sexual activity, often tied into the exhibitionism. I liked the idea of taking the risk of being caught or at least seen. I acquired a few "life experiences" that way. By the time graduation rolled around, I was ready to try my hand at professional acting in New York City, imagining tempting roles on Broadway, or on off-Broadway, or on off-off-Broadway.
The only real offers I got, however, were from the porn industry, across the river in Hoboken, NJ. They were lucrative offers and would doubtless increase my life experiences as well as my income, but they were not for me. I'm just not that kind of girl. I did, however, audition for a role as a naΓ―ve bimbo talked into sex while on a ride in an amusement park. The audition alone sobered me up (and yes, I did have sex on the ride during the audition. It was awesome getting naked and penetrated while everyone around me was screaming). I was offered the role, and while the money was tempting, I just couldn't do it.
**
I gave up on acting and found employment writing code for a contractor with Google, located on 8th Avenue in Chelsea. Boring, I know, but hey -- it paid the rent and then some. I am actually talented with computers and -- modesty aside -- a hacker par excellence.
Let's get back to my living arrangements. One thing about Monica and my need for headphones: When it came to sex with a guy she was astonishingly noisy. God, could that girl moan! Holy shit. Yes, my headphones came to the rescue. Credence Clearwater Revival played loud right into my ears could drown Monica out. Sometimes, though, I stripped off and pretended I was the one being fucked stupid. I began to feel pathetic.
I was not, however, made of the same cloth as Monica. She would hook up with almost anyone, or so it seemed, steady stream of men visited our apartment, with most of them ending up in Monica's bedroom. I had to keep buying new AA batteries for my headphones. I was more of a one man only, please, kind of girl. Of course, it was possible I too would have to run through a few men before I found a keeper. You never know, do you?