The Strip - Max

7 / Summer of change

My first weekend of work at Busters came to an end, and Monday evening, right after school, I was in a skimpy bikini waiting tables again. Bunny pulled me aside and said, "I heard you did great. How do you feel?"

"I was pretty nervous, but I got a lot more comfortable with performing and... the other stuff by Saturday night," I replied. "I'm excited to go back."

"Okay, that's great. I would love to have been there to see you up on that stage, but I was short a few girls here on Thursday." She gave me one of those I mean you kind of looks. "Didn't you have school on Friday? I hope you aren't skipping classes to work."

"No. The first Friday of the month, all the teachers and staff have some sort of workshop thing. It's been like that for a couple months now."

"Oh, good. But does that mean I'll loose you again on a Thursday night?" She looked disappointed, having predicted my answer.

"I don't know. Maybe? There are a couple more of those Fridays this year."

I didn't know what to tell her about the summer months when I was sure I would be spending more nights at Busters.

"I'm really happy for you. Just promise me one thing, okay. Your aunt has been really vocal about staying clean and sober while working. I want to add one bit of advice to that. Know when to get out of the business. It's a job. Not a life style."

I nodded and promised I wouldn't stay on the job longer than I should. Instantly my mind sank into memories of Baby. She had started in the business with fake ID a couple years before she could legally work in a club. Her life revolved around the work, and she made loads of cash doing it. But years passed and she still lived in a tiny apartment with nothing to show for all that time. As tips and money from lap dances and extras dried up, liquor and drugs filled the void. The bubbly forty-something-year-old woman I first met had faded. We all called it an accident, but the coroner had a different opinion. The overdose was her way out of the business.

My initial nod and "yeah, I will," became, "Bunny, I promise. I'll get out when I should. Not a minute longer."

The rest of my final year of high school went by in a flash. I had seen Mr. Jackman around town, and occasionally at school when he would pick up Talia. He hadn't come back to the club but the smile that filled his face when we exchanged glances told me he hadn't forgotten.

As graduation approached our new school principal called me into her office for a chat. It seemed she had found out about my employment situation and wanted to make sure I wasn't doing it under duress. She might not have been happy about the work I was doing but she was relieved that I was doing it by choice. Then the topic of the graduation ceremony and the banquet came up.

"I have heard some rumors about some... plans for when you walk the stage at the ceremony." She was talking about plans of other students to disrupt my moment and embarrass me in front of the audience.

"I am going to the ceremony but I'm only there to see a couple friends graduate. I'm not going to cross the stage," I replied. "I heard those rumors too. I haven't told anyone I'm not going to be on the stage and I'm not going to the dinner either."

She seemed relieved but saddened by the issue. She wished she could do something to prevent it without making things worse for me. I would have liked for my aunt to watch me graduate, but the one person I wished could be there to see it had left us four years earlier. It seemed pointless without my father there to see it.

When graduation day came, I snuck into the school theatre and found a seat near the back where none of my tormentors could see me. Talia's mother had weaseled her way into some organizing position that required little work but gave her a VIP seat on the stage. As for Mr. Jackman, he found a seat in the back of the theatre as well. The one right next to me.