My Life: Congrats, You Lost Me

Chapter 6 - A Day in the Life of Roxy

***May 3rd***

I wake up with my alarm at 7:30 this morning and roll out of bed. I open the fridge and pull out a bottle of water and grab a box of cereal. I pour some cereal into one of the cups the hotel sits in the rooms. I eat the cereal with my fingers and sit down on the couch. I flip on the tv and click through the channels before landing on some older show. I pull out my phone and see no new messages, wow have they really just said forget her so quickly? I flip my phone shut and toss it onto my bed. I turn off the tv and walk into the bathroom. I turn on the shower and climb under the hot water.

Once I'm finished I turn off the water and the shower-head and step out. I look at myself in the mirror as I brush out the knots in my wet hair. All my bruises are almost gone and my side no longer looks like I was hit by a car, just a little more bruised than the rest of me. I walk out of the bathroom and grab some clothes from my dresser. My only nicer set of clothes, a button up t-shirt and a pair of black pants. I get my uniform for the pet store today when I leave though.

I reenter the bathroom and brush my drying hair out before tying it back into a braid. I grab my toothbrush and finish up in the bathroom. When I'm finally finished I look at my clock and it says 8:21. I pick up my phone and look down at the empty screen sadly. Just one little call. I can't, they should be in school. I flip open my phone and dial her number anyway. She always keeps her phone on her so she can always call me if she needs it.

Ring... Ring... Ring... Ring... "Jessie? Jessie is that you?" There was utter happiness in her voice as she spoke.

"Yes, Becks, it's me. I told you I wouldn't cut you off. I just had to focus on getting a job."

"I know, but Allan told me you weren't coming back, and I was scared. I just want you to come home."

"Sis..."

"Stop it. Don't even say it. You can't come home, you're going to stay gone aren't you? You're going to break your promise." She sounded like she was close to tears. "You lied to me Jessie. You said you weren't going to leave and that if you did you'd come back but you didn't! You just left me here just like Aunt Jewel!" She was now screaming into the phone and I could hear her arguing with one of her teachers in the background.

"Becks, I promise I'll be back, but you need to go back to class. I just had to talk to you again." I can tell she didn't hear me, because before I finish the phone is rumbling and the call is disconnected. Her teacher had taken her phone and shut it off. "I'm so, so sorry." I wipe my eyes and dial another number. I dial Allan and listen to the phone.

Ring... Ring... I'm sorry, the person you are trying to reach cannot come to the phone right now...........

I shut my phone and throw it against my pillow. Is he really that angry with me. Who am I kidding, he's probably in class.. I hope he's in class. I stand up from my bed and glance at the clock, 8:32. "I should get going, work starts in close to 20 minutes," I mumble to myself. I leave my phone on the bed and walk out the door with my empty bag on my back.

I make it to the pet store by 8:47 and check in, in the back. "Well you're here early," Julia says as I come inside. "Good to see a ready worker this early."

"Morning Julia, so what do I have to do?" She rattles off a list of things I have to do before my 12 hour shift ends, mostly having to do with cleaning the cages and feeding each of the animals. I nod and head off to start.

******

"See you tomorrow Jessie," Julia calls out as I leave the shop. It's already dark besides the lights of the shops. I hurry down the street towards the club I was at yesterday and slip into the fog coated entrance. I keep my head down as I open a heavy door into the back room where I'm supposed to get ready.

"What are you doing back here, you shouldn't be in here. Jonathan!"

"No, I work here, I just got the job yesterday and I'm here now to get ready."

"Yeah, whatever, there's an empty place right over there. Get dressed before Jonathan gets angry." Jonathan, that must be who I talked to yesterday to get the job.

I walk over to the spot I was shown and drop my bag there. I open the drawer and pull out a ton of makeup. If I'm gonna be up there I at least gotta look good. I slap on a ton of stuff to cover up the bruises on my face and add some blush to put some color back into my cheeks. I smear bright red lipstick on and look at myself in the mirror. I look around at the other women sitting at their little tables, smearing on pounds of makeup and putting on skimpy outfits just for the sake of their job. I notice that everyone has their name somewhere on their table, so I take my lipstick and write Roxy across the corner of the mirror and put a little lip stain below it.

I walk over to a rack full of outfits that apparently are the things I have to choose from. I find a one piece red thing, a pair of stockings, and a pair of black stilettos. I change into this and cringe when I look at myself in the mirror. I shove my clothes into my bag and look myself up and down. The outfit hides the giant bruise on my side and the makeup covers everything else. The top of the skimpy one piece pushed up my chest and made me feel like I was going to pop if this thing was any tighter.

I sigh and walk out into the main room with a plastered-on smile stuck to my face. I climb up on stage and start dancing like the rest of the women I had seen over the past months. My name is Roxy, I'm a stripper, I love what I do and don't care for who knows it! I tell myself this as I dance around the stage for the next 5 hours.

***Early May 4th***

By the time I'm finished it was almost 3:00 in the morning and things were still running wild in the main room. I walk out of the room and take the dollars that are tossed to me as I go by. One person put a $10 bill into the empty spot on my chest. This made me cringe but it was money that could put me and Becca through school. I make it to the back room and start to take off the cringe-worthy outfit as several bills start to fall out of the places they were stuffed. I gather the bills and shove them into my bag as I get dressed into my normal clothes, and tie up my black converse.

Another one of the women comes up to me, still dressed like she just came in, and says, "So you're new?"

"Yeah, I just started today."

"Well I'm Rebecca, and I have to say that you have definitely done that before. I've been here for 2 years now and I've never seen a newbie do that well their first night."

"Thanks, Rebecca." The name felt awful as I spoke it to somebody who was something I hoped my sister never became. "I used to work at a club in a town called Carlisle where I served drinks. I watched a lot because I was stuck right next to the stage."

"That's it... But even still, you're a natural."

"Well thanks, but I'm gonna go." I flash a smile and use a wet wipe to get the makeup off my face as I walk out. I wave at Rebecca as I go, but she was already back to getting ready.

I walk home and drop my bag onto my bed and dump out all the cash I made that night. I count it up and I had made $97 from just being up there dancing. Hey, it brings in the money I need. I unlock my cash box and drop in the money before locking it again and collapsing into the unmade bed.

I am Jessamine Taylors. I have a sister named Rebecca and a best friend named Allan. I work 1 job at a pet store and live in a motel so I can take care of Rebecca. I lost my father to cancer when I was 10 and took care of my sister ever since. My mother is an alcoholic and a drug addict who is always sleeping with somebody new. I am happy now that she is far away from me, and even my sister. I am 15 years old, nearly 16. I love reading and am a straight A student. I will never be any less than I am now. I tell myself this repeatedly before finally falling asleep for the night.

It's what I have to do, lest I think I am becoming Roxy.