Carolina's POV:
"You useless girl. You are 26 years old. Yet, you have no job or boyfriend. You cannot continue to eat in this house. Take your things and get out!" my mother, Lilian, shouted at me after I arrived home from an unsuccessful job hunt.
"Mom," I groaned, standing in the front of her and looking at her face, as she blocked the doorway.
Mom was a 48-year-old woman and refused to allow me entry into the rented apartment.
My mother was of average height but fair-skinned like me, while I was tall, slim, and curvaceous with big bréasts.
Mom was wearing a blue dress, while I was dressed in my faded yellow top and frayed brown skirt. I held my old black bag too and stood in front of her.
"Carolina, you are not entering this house tonight. You better go back and look for a job tonight. If you do not see any job, then do not come home again. If your father and I had known that sending you to the university was a waste, we wouldn't have wasted our money and saved it for your younger siblings."
"How do you expect us to continue to feed a grown-up woman like you in this house? If you do not want to work, then remain outside there!" My mother went back into the apartment and slammed the door in my face.
I stood outside speechless, looking at the door that had been closed on me.
We lived in the city and I had graduated with a first-class degree in business administration, and so far, I hadn't been able to secure a good job. The city was tough, and finding a job as a graduate was challenging.
My parents had five children, and I was the eldest sibling, with two younger sisters and two younger brothers. I was a 26-year-old woman. Yet, I had nothing serious going on in my life—no job, husband, or even a relationship.
I turned to walk back to the road, knowing that my mother shouldered all our family responsibilities, as my father was just a deadbeat. He didn't truly care. He came home to eat, and we might not see him for days.
As I stood by the roadside, I looked around the busy road, thinking of what to do next.
The time was after 8 p.m. There was no agency or shop that I hadn't gone to apply for a job. Blinking my tears away, I reached for my phone in my black bag to contact my best friend, Lucy Campbell.
Lucy worked in a clubhouse here in Mohills City, and I was sure that she would be able to help me get money to take care of my bills for this weekend.
"Hello, Lucy," I said once she picked up her phone.
"Carolina. What's wrong?" Lucy asked me, and I noticed that she was at work.
"I am homeless, Lucy. Can I come and stay at your place?" I asked her, knowing that she lived alone.
Lucy and I had attended the same college, but she didn't further her education.
"Why, Carolina? What happened with your family? Your mom threw you out? It's 8 p.m. How can she send you away in the night?" Lucy asked, sounding annoyed, and I tried not to sob.
"I cannot blame my mother. The economic situation is too hard now, and Mom is trying her best. I need to get a job. If I can find any job for tonight, I do not mind doing it," I told Lucy, sobbing at last.
"It's all right, Caro. Actually, I am at work now. Can you come to The Blues Clubhouse? It's the biggest club in town. I will try to speak to my boss to employ you. But you must quit using big words and speak like a local like me. That way, my boss can employ you and take you seriously. Also, you must be friendly with the male clients. You will have to endure their touch and how they interact with you," Lucy said.
"Really? I must do all this if I want to get the job? Will it involve kissing or what?" I asked her, my heart pounding.
"No, Carolina. What is wrong with you? You will just have to put on a smiling face—that's what I mean. Well, you know that you're a pretty woman. So some of the men might want to ask you out," Lucy said, and I thought about it.
"I do not have any problem with that, Lucy. What matters is that I earn money—even if it means selling my body. I feel like a failure right now," I cried to my best friend, and she sighed.
"It's okay, Carolina. You are not a failure. Where are you? Start coming over. Do you have your transport fare, or should I lend you some money? But I do not have money to give you right now. My elder sister's wedding is next month, and I need to make preparations for it," Lucy said, and I sighed.
"All right. I will pay you back. Please help me, Lucy. You are the only best friend that I have," I told her, and she laughed over the phone with her contagious laughter.
"Don't mention that, Carolina. I am sure that I am not your only friend. Anyway, I will send the money to your account. Get here quickly," Lucy gave me a final ultimatum. She knew how I had been trying to get a job, all to no avail.
I sighed, pacing about the road, and I got a message alert for 5000 in my bank account. I smiled, knowing the money was more than I needed, but I knew that I had to pay Lucy back.
Looking ahead at the road, I hailed a taxi and told the driver, "To The Blues Clubhouse."
The taxi driver looked at me from head to toe and asked, "Are you sure that you are going to the Blues dressed like this?" He eyed me suspiciously, and I frowned.
"Why? I am going there to meet a friend of mine," I told him, and he shrugged.
"Get into the car. All that isn't my problem. But your bill is 1500," the taxi driver said, as I pulled the car door open and entered the back passenger's seat.
"Why? Isn't it 500?" I asked him, and his eyes narrowed at me.
"You can trek. Why get on a taxi?" he replied to me with a stern voice, and I frowned.
"It's fine. Take me to the club," I told him, and he started the car, and drove off to The Blues Clubhouse.