Skank

Chapter 1

Third Person POV

Maria Lewis already knew her fate the second she stepped into that classroom Monday morning. Whispers and quiet laughter flooded the room as she walked to her seat, the whispers instantly fell quiet once she turned to look at them. She sighed, it has been this way for months now. She turned back, adjusting her lacy red corset from underneath her nearly see-through white tank top. She pulled out her phone and reapplied her cherry red lipstick while looking through her semi-shattered phone mirror. She blotted her lips and put away her phone. The boy behind her tapped her back, placing a sticky note without her knowledge, she turned around.

"Yes?" She asked softly.

"How much do you charge per hour?" He teased in a loud voice as the room surrounded with laughter. He high-fived some kids around him. Maria's eyes welled up with tears and she bit her lip in an attempt to hold them back. She turned back around once again.

Thigh high leggings. Short skirts. See-through crop tops. That's been a sad reality for Maria since her father got sick. Strange men. Bruises. Tears. Just everyday things.

Time passes quickly and the bell rings. Maria walks the halls with her head hung low, part of the routine.

"Skank?" A random boy asked.

Maria rapidly turned around, "Excuse me?!"

The boy ripped the note off her back and shoved it in her face. "Skank." He repeated.

Maria took the note, crumbling it up and throwing it on the ground, running away.

The boy rolled his eyes as he watched her run away. "There was a trash can right there..." He muttered, picking it up and throwing it away.

Maria ran out of the building on the verge of tears. This was a near everyday occurrence for her and she was sick of it. She pulled out her phone and called out sick for the rest of the day and got into her car. That's when her phone rang.

She took a deep breath, getting into character. "Hello~?" She answered seductively.

"Well hello there little lady..." The man on the other end answered. "The name is James, I got your name from a friend and I'm interested in your.. services.." He claimed, suddenly speaking very quiet, as if it was a secret.

"Yes sir..." Maria answered shakily as she picked up a pen and notepad and wrote down the address he told her.

"Seven-Thirty sound okay?" He asked.

"Yes sir..." She said once again as the man abruptly hung up.

Eliza's POV

We finished unpacking the last box into our new home. Well, I'd hardly call it a home. I've already decided I don't like America, and America already doesn't like me.

*"Ema! Aba!" I whined, tired of unpacking.

"Shush!" My dad scolded. "We are MOM and DAD now. We are in America, we don't speak Hebrew anymore."

"Be more careful..." My mom warned in a softer tone. "We don't want to be pegged as dangerous, now do we?"

"No mom..." I replied with a sigh.

"Your first day at school is tomorrow, are you excited?" Mom asked.

"Yes mom." I lied with a fake smile.

"Good." She nodded. "Very good.."

All I need is to find one friend. One friend and I'll be okay. That's all I want.

*Ema (אמא) and Aba (אבא) are Hebrew for Mother and Father.

Maria's POV

I arrived at the motel that was on the address. It looked run down and dirty, but that was none of my business. I find the room listed and softly knock on the door.

"Hello." A tall man answered the door. He was wearing a hat that almost resembled one of a cowboy. It's hard to remember faces, however, they all blur into one.

"A-Are you James?" I asked, taking in the surroundings.

"Why, yes I am." He noted with a smirk. "And you must be Maria." He held his hand out for me to shake, so I shook it.

"Yes sir..." I replied, stepping inside the motel room. "May I see the money?"

Eliza's POV

I flopped down on my bed. First day at my new house and it's scary. I don't like it. I miss my home. I miss my friends. I miss my aunt and uncle and everyone else back home. Hell, I even miss my crotchety old neighbor. This house feels so empty, so.. emotionless.. I tried to disregard my negative thoughts, but it's hard, so hard.

"Goodnight Eliza!" I heard my mom yell. Damn, these walls are so thin. And anyway, maybe school won't be as bad as it is in my imagination. But then I remember the moving guy who laughed at my accent. The store clerk who snickered as I struggled with English. How do I know school won't be exactly the same?

I sighed, taking out my sketch book and beginning to draw. I'm thinking maybe I will hang my artwork around my new room, as it is much bigger than my old one. Maybe that will take away the emptiness still lingering the air. Maybe I'll even hang my bi flag, once I order one, draping on one of my walls. Though, I still have yet to come out to my parents.

I drew and drew and let time slip away from me. I drew my homeland, beautiful Israel. How I miss the wonderful city of Tel Aviv. It's the middle of the night there, most of my friends won't be up for a few hours. Then, it will be the next day for them. I wonder if my friends will keep in contact with me. Will they still care?

I heard my mother cry in the other room through these thin, thin walls. I plugged in my earbuds and try my best to drown it out. I've always hated hearing her cry, but it felt a lot louder now.

Before I know it, I'm sound asleep.

Maria's POV

I woke up with a throbbing headache. I groaned and held my head as I got up, my thighs and abdomen killing me as well.

"James..?" I looked over to see he was nowhere to be found. I panicked for a moment before noticing the amount he owed me sitting on the dresser. I let out an exasperated sigh of relief. I got up and the first thing I thought to do was look in the mirror. I looked at my body which was coated in hickeys and scratches. It pains me to see myself like this, it physically burns. I couldn't look anymore, I had to look away. This is not my body. My body hasn't belonged to me for quite sometime. I quickly got dressed and slipped the money in my coat pocket and left.

"Daddy? I'm home!" I called, walking into my house. "Sorry for not coming back last night, my boss had me work the overnight shift." Of course, that wasn't the truth, but it would break his heart to know the real way I was getting the money.

"In here..." My dad's strained and broken voice called from the bedroom. I walked in to see my father, pale and sickly, attempting to sit up to see me.

"I got more money for your medicine daddy..." I walked over to him and handed him the money. "I hope it's enough..."

My dad began to cry. "You take such good care of your daddy, do you know that...?" He pulled me into a hug. I hated hugging him, solely based on the fact that when he wrapped his arms around me, I could feel his frail bones in his back. "I couldn't ask for a better daughter." He looked at me with love and pride.

"I love you daddy." I smiled at him. My dad meant everything to me and I sure as hell wasn't going to let him down. No matter the cost.