dumb

♡OLD AGE ♡

March 3rd, 1989
"I'm old." Maggie had muttered sluggishly. Jenny scoffed in return. "No, you aren't. You're turning twenty five. That isn't old." She said, her Texas accent thick and sweet as honey. "Easy for you to say, you're only nineteen." Cleo chimed in, her arm buried in a bag of potato chips. The women were piled onto the couch of their small living room.

The building they lived in was practically falling apart. The plumbing was always broken and the heating would constantly cut off and on. The place was a portal to hell. But they could afford it, so it's where they stayed.

"You're young too, Cleo." Maggie said, sighing begrudgingly. She swallowed a handful of chips before responding. "According to my mother I'm not. I already should've gotten married and had a shit ton of Greek babies. I'm a hag." She said, causing the girls to laugh.

"Seriously, Maggie. You aren't old." Jenny repeated. "And neither are you." She said, resting her chin on Cleo's tanned shoulder. "Love you Jenny, but you do not yet know the consequences of age." Cleo said, causing Jenny and Maggie to roll their eyes.

A feeling of failure had made itself at home within Maggie. She was turning twenty five, and she lacked a partner, a house, and a respected career; all the making of a successful woman. Self hatred burned through every pore of her body. Maggie Jolivet was a failure.

She knew she could've been the American sweetheart that people seemed to thirst after so greatly, but that dream had melted into the nightmare of a trashy stripper. Her flame flickered weakly like a candle in the wind.

She leaned her head against the back of the couch, her eyes fluttering shut as a yawn flowed past her lips. She slowly drifted off into a blissful state of darkness.

_______________________________

Maggie wanted to scrub her skin raw. The feeling of the clients sweaty skin against hers nauseated her. Private dances were a huge source of income for her, Cleo, and Jenny. Men were willing to blow ridiculous amounts of money for their services, and the women took full advantage. But every time she performed a private lap dance, she couldn't help but feel cheap and disgusting after the fact.

Those clients made her feel dirty and pathetic. But these feelings were to be ignored. This was how she made her money, and it was all she had.

"You good?" Deja, a coworker asked. She had probably noticed the dull expression Maggie wore. She nodded, forcing a weak smile. "Just tired." She insisted. Deja patted her shoulder lightly, before returning to the vanity.

Maggie slowly dressed into her normal clothes; a tee and jeans. Every muscle in her being ached as she tried her best to keep functioning. An incessant throbbing infected her head. She simply wanted to go home and sleep. She always felt tired these days, no matter how much sleep she got. Exhaustion was constant.

Thankfully, Jenny had already performed and gotten in a few private sessions, so they could go home as soon as Maggie got ready. Once she was finally dressed, she tugged on her snow boots, and her raggedy parka coat.

"Are you good to go?" Jenny asked, slinging her purple duffel bag over her pale shoulder. Maggie nodded, and gathered up her bag. "First can we stop by the bar and get a cold glass of water? I'm so thirsty.." Jenny asked. She too looked drained from her work.

"Yeah. Now that I think about it, I could use some water.." she muttered, shocked at how dry her throat felt. The two women headed out, saying bye to their coworkers. Once in the main area of the club, they made a beeline for the bar. Pete immediately approached them.

"Two waters please." Jenny asked sweetly. He nodded.

The two women then sat down on stools. Maggie rested her chin on Jenny's shoulder, and shut her eyes. She could've fallen asleep right there. Jenny rested her head against Maggie's,  her soul equally as drained.

"Here you go," Pete said, placing two cold glasses of water before the women, stirring them back to reality. They separated. "Thank you." They said in unison, before practically chugging down the ice cold liquid.

Once the women had both finished, they said bye to Pete, then left the club.

Winters harshness transcended the barrier of her parka. She grimaced as the bitter cold touched her skin. They walked quickly around the club, to the parking lot. Loud music could be heard from the bar beside Lenny's. A bunch of local bands played there nightly.

As the two entered the parking lot, Maggie noticed a familiar site. Two men stood behind the bar playing the loud music, puffs of smoke crawling past their lips. She immediately recognized them. Kurt, the man from weeks ago, and his friend who she did not know.

It felt strange to approach them. They weren't friends, maybe not even acquaintances. Just passing motions in each other's lives. Maggie shuddered, the thought of the awkward tension making her cringe. She continued walking away alongside Jenny.

"Hey!"

Fuck.

She slowly turned around, hugging her arms around herself to keep warm. The tall man ran over, Kurt behind, cussing desperately at the man, trying to hold him back. The tall man stood before Maggie soon enough, Kurt behind him, face flushed a bright crimson.

"I'd like to apologize for the other night. I'm krist." He said, holding out his large hand for her to shake. Maggie smiled. "Your friend apologized to me, but thanks." She said, shaking his hand. "Are you guys playing?" She asked, pointing over at the bar.

"Yeah, we just played about twenty minutes ago." Kurt interjected. He seemed decently proud. Maggie nodded. "Very cool. Maybe I'll drop by some night." This made Kurts insides stir up and fall apart into mush.

"You should. We're Nirvana." Krist said. "Hey, give her your number so we can call and tell her about any shows." He muttered to Kurt, jabbing him in the side. Kurts face flashed a deeper rouge. "That's why we have flyers.." he grumbled, but ultimately settled as his eyes met Maggie's. She wore a huge grin.

He fished a pen out of his coat pocket defeatedly. "Do you have any paper?" He asked. Maggie shook her head no, and stuck out her hand. "Just write it on here."

His slender fingers wrapped around her wrist, his other hand imprinting his number on her skin with a sharpie krist handed him. His fingers fit around her arm perfectly.

Sweat gathered at the small of her back. She felt her heart begin to pound violently against her ribcage. She loathed the heat that arose beneath her skin. "There.." Kurt muttered, releasing her arm and capping the marker.

Her body went cold once again.

"It was good seeing you two. If I'm free sometime, I'll call and ask about a show." She said, smiling. Kurt nodded, a sweet grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Sounds good. See you around, Maggie." Kurt said, waving as him and krist began to walk away.

Jenny gave her a knowing smirk.

"What?" Maggie scoffed.

She chuckled, and shook her blonde head.

"Nothing, lets go home."