A Change of Plans & Heart

1

I'm aging at warp-speed, I thought, as I ran my hand through my thick platinum blonde hair. I was only twenty-one, but this life in the city was beginning to take its toll on me. Model by day, stripper by night. Degrading? Not as much as everyone would assume. Tiring? More than anyone could possibly imagine. I barely recall those days where I could be lazy and throw my hair up and throw on sweat pants, but when your body and face are what make the money that feeds you, laziness isn't an option. I had a small apartment, but it was high-end in and "okay" part of Los Angeles. I had a car, it wasn't a luxury car, but it was fast and it looked nice under the sparkling lights of the city streets. I had what I needed to sustain myself, but too many slip-ups might knock me off of my humble pedastal. That's the funny thing about LA. You can have it all, but it only takes a moment to leave you on the streets with nothing.

"Hey, Calista! You're not the only fucking broad in LA that needs some money tonight, so could you hurry it up in there?" an older women's voice boomed at me from outside the bathroom door. I threw my dancing outfit into my backpack and ducked out without saying a word to her. Everyone in this god-forsaken hellhole always had a problem with me. It's not my fault that my body got me an offer at one of the top strip clubs in the county while the rest of those bitches had to do far worse than strip to get an audition. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a cold-hearted cunt. I had feelings, and I wasn't all that proud of myself. I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. My whole teenage life was a constant battle between myself and my family. I had big city dreams. They planned for me to be a doctor and to settle down. If I wasn't trying so hard to prove to them that I can take care of myself, I wouldn't take my clothes off for disgustiong old men to throw money at me. I don't enjoy it. I'm conservative and shy; jesus christ I'm a twenty-one year old virgin!

I stepped out into the alley and shivered. I was wearing long pants and a hoodie, but I was freezing. I put my hood up over my silvery straightened hair and started walking. I took my pack of cigarettes out of my pocket and lit one. It made me feel a little bit warmer.

"Can I have a cigarette? You'd be a life saver," I heard a man say behind me. I turned around. He was huge. I was about five foot eight, but he towered over me. I handed him the pack and he took one out. I reached forward to hand him my lighter and I felt a soft cloth glide over my face, and that's all I remember.