Aspiring Nobody

Chapter 3 Desperate times

ERIN'S POV

The next morning, I run my hands over my sunken gut and down to my protruding hipbones. After looking at my lean frame in the mirror, I know I can't go another day without food. I've always been skinny but not this skinny; any fat reserves I had, have gone. How many days of starvation can the human body endure before death? Google says three weeks, but I'm not sure I believe it. Upside though, I still have two weeks and three days to figure something out before I die of starvation.

After showering, I don a knee-high blue dress. The light material is perfect for the sweltering conditions outside. Then I pull my hair back into a low bun, snarl at my useless self in the mirror, and then apply a layer of makeup. I need a job and I'm not sure what more I can do if I don't find one today? And asking mum for more money isn't an option. She'll think I'm incapable of looking after myself, which wouldn't be a stretch when you look at my current situation. Without mum over seeing my life, it's falling apart quicker than I can keep it together.

The sudden tap on my door has me rushing to it. The sight of Simone, my new friend and next-door neighbor, brings a smile to my face.

"Hey, babes," Simone smiles, pulling her long brown dreadlocks over her shoulder, "almost ready?"

"Just about."

"So, was that guy hot? The one you went off to meet yesterday." Simone glides through the door in a short grey dress, bright green toe nails, and holding a black pair of sandals in her hand.

"Yep, he was."

"Oh, really. Like a 10."

"More like a 13."

Simone pulls a face. "Babes, those ones are rare. We're talkin lava hot."

"Lava guy is also a prick," I say.

Simone giggles. "Sounds about right... anyway, are you loving this life of freedom or what?" she asks in an upbeat tone.

"Yeah, but I am a little homesick." I'm more homesick than I care to admit. I miss my mumma.

"Yeah, I can see how that would suck when you're so far from home." Simone nibbles the inside of her gum. "I could hear you crying last night."

My breath catches in surprise. "You did?" How many times has she heard me cry this week?

"Yeah. They must have used compressed cardboard between these walls. I wanted to come over and see if you were ok, only it was late and I wasn't sure if you'd be cool with that."

"Oh. I was just having a premenstrual meltdown, is all."

"About what?"

Where do I start? Maybe with how stupid I am. "Because I have no money and no job." This situation sucks. "I'm just about at the point I'll do anything to make some money?"

Simone stops between my bed and desk to stare at her make up free face in the mirror, "anything, huh?"

"Well, maybe not anything."

Simone giggles. "Sounds dodgy. Just as long as you don't go painting your door red."

As desperate as I am, I am not about to sell my body as so many struggling university students have done, are doing. Not that I have a problem with anyone who wants to make money that way, but it's not something I could do.

Simone slumps down on my bed and slips her sandals on. "I can loan you some cash. I know what it's like to be broke, trust me. Sometimes my father makes me go days without topping up my credit card."